Perceptions of the Second Sophistic and Its Times

Review

'Every contributor to Perceptions of the Second Sophistic and Its Times is unquestioningly well acquainted with the literature on the group's main figures, history, image, surrounding culture, and efforts towards posterity. With each article shedding new light on different aspects of the movement, Thomas Schmidt and Pascale Fleury's collection is a major contribution to research and scholarship.' (Alain Billault, Professor, University of Paris-Sorbonne)

Product Description

The Second Sophistic (50 to 250 BCE) was an intellectual movement throughout the ancient Greek and Roman world. Although it can be characterized as a literary and cultural phenomenon of which rhetoric is an essential component, other themes and values such as peideia, mimesis, the glorification of the past, the importance of Athens, and Greek identity pervade the literature and art of this era.
From a workshop held at Université Laval, Perceptions of the Second Sophistic and its Times brings together fourteen essays and a range of perspectives, including work from scholars in literature, philology, linguistics, history, political science, sociology, and religion. The essays explore the Second Sophistic and describe how the intellectual elites of this period perceived and defined themselves, how they were judged by later authors, and how we understand them today.

About the Author

Thomas Schmidt is professeur ordinaire de philologie classique, Institut des Sciences de l'Antiquité et du Monde byzantin, Université de Fribourg (Suisse).

Pascale Fleury is professeure agrégée, Département des littératures, Université Laval.