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Oral Tradition and Written Record in Classical Athens

Rosalind Thomas author

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Cambridge University Press

Published:9th Mar '89

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Oral Tradition and Written Record in Classical Athens cover

Despite its written literature, ancient Greece was in many ways an oral society. This is the first major attempt to study the implications of this view.

Concentrating on the plentiful evidence from Classical Athens, Dr Thomas shows how the use of writing developed only gradually and under the influence of the previous oral method of communication - an insight of considerable significance for the interpretation of ancient literacy.Despite its written literature, ancient Greece was in many ways an oral society. This is the first serious attempt to study the implications of this view. Dr Thomas stresses the coexistence of literacy and oral tradition in Greece and examines their character and interaction. Concentrating on the plentiful evidence from Classical Athens, she shows how the use of writing developed only gradually and under the influence of the previous oral communication. Drawing on anthropological discussion, the author isolates different types of Athenian oral tradition, building up a picture of Athens' traditions about its past and examining why they changed and disappeared. This study provides crucial insights into the methods and achievements of the Greek historians. It also has major implications for the interpretation of ancient literacy.

'Rosalind Thomas has given us a landmark book: sinewy, provocative, closely argued, widely ranging, selectively learned and discreetly imaginative.' Peter Parsons, London Review of Books

ISBN: 9780521350259

Dimensions: 236mm x 156mm x 24mm

Weight: 624g

336 pages