Written Texts and the Rise of Literate Culture in Ancient Greece

From the sixth through the fourth centuries BCE, the landmark developments of Greek culture and the critical works of Greek thought and literature were accompanied by an explosive growth in the use of written texts. By the close of the classical period, a new culture of literacy and textuality had come into existence alongside the traditional practices of live oral discourse. New avenues for human activity and creativity arose in this period. The very creation of the ‘classical’ and the perennial use of Greece by later European civilizations as a source of knowledge and inspiration would not have taken place without the textual innovations of the classical period. This book considers how writing, reading and disseminating texts led to new ways of thinking and new forms of expression and behaviour. The individual chapters cover a range of phenomena, including poetry, science, religions, philosophy, history, law and learning.

• Focuses on the uses of literacy and texts • Concerned with understanding specific cultural practices in Greece as people began to use written texts • Explores variation and unpredictability of the introduction of written texts to Greek culture

Preface; Contributors; Introduction: why written texts? Harvey Yunis; 1. From letters to literature: reading the ‘song culture’ of classical Greece Andrew Ford; 2. Writing religion: inscribed texts, ritual authority and the religious discourse of the Polis Albert Henrichs; 3. Letters of the law: written texts in archaic Greek law Michael Gagarin; 4. Writing, law and legal practice in the Athenian courts David Cohen; 5. Literacy and the charlatan in ancient Greek medicine Lesley Dean-Jones; 6. Literacy in Greek and Chinese science: some comparative issues Geoffrey Lloyd; 7. Writing philosophy: prose and poetry from Thales to Plato Charles H. Kahn; 8. Prose performance texts: Epideixis and written publication in the late fifth and early fourth centuries Rosalind Thomas; 9. Writing for reading: Thucydides, Plato and the emergence of the critical reader Harvey Yunis; 10. Reflecting on writing and culture: Theocritus and the style of cultural change Richard Hunter; Bibliography; Index.