<Articles>Past and Present in the Second Sophistic: In the Case of Aelius Aristides

MASUNAGA, Masataka

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<論説>｢第二のソフィスト｣にみる過去と現在 --アイリオス・アリステイデスの事例から--
「第二のソフィスト」にみる過去と現在 : アイリオス・アリステイデスの事例から
「ダイニノソフィスト」ニミルカコトゲンザイ : アイリオス・アリステイデスノジレイカラ

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This paper argues the nature of the Second Sophistic in the high Roman Empire, exploring how the classical past to which many Greek writers frequently referred was described and how the past was contrasted to the contemporary society, based particularly on orations by Aelius Aristides, one of the most illustrious orators in the second century, Focusing on the act of recounting the past rather than the content of the past described in the texts, previous researches have clarified that the Greeks recognized the classical past as a basis of their own identity and that many of them maintained or improved their social status by narrating the past as cultural capital. But, since scholars have emphasized the importance of rhetoric in the works of the Second Sophistic and on the aspect of the performance of the speakers, the narrated past itself has not been systematically investigated. However, a recent study insists on correspondences between the narrated past and the contemporary world and, as a result, indicates the possibility of further text examination. This article attempts, therefore, to expose the relationship between the past and the present more clearly with a systematic inspection of the two political orations of Aristides, “To the Rhodians: Concerning Concord”（Aristid. Or. XXIV）and “Concerning Concord”（Aristid. Or. XXIII）. Although Aristides expresses some opinions expedient for the Roman rule in both orations, on the whole he underlines affairs of pride as a Greek. In this way, he depicts the classical past not only as confirmation of the people's identity but also as a competitor which they should emulate and even strive to surpass. This competition with the past mattered to the orator himself too. Undoubtedly, Aristides kept in mind some distinguished writers or speakers who in the past had made addresses on the same subject. Accordingly, we should understand the past to which sophists referred not as mere nostalgic inclination, but as a kind of foil which indicated the present Greeks' superiority.

Journal

Acta academiae antiquitatis Kiotoensis

Acta academiae antiquitatis Kiotoensis 20 31-52, 2020-12-10

京都大学大学院文学研究科