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Commentary on the Pseudonymous Letters of Aeschines

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Zilong Guo examines the letters attributed to Aeschines, highlighting their blend of literary traditions. Through analysis and commentary, he reveals their role in Greek literature, from rhetorical...
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  • 30 September 2025
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Through a comprehensive introduction and detailed commentary, Zilong Guo reappraises the letters attributed to the Attic orator Aeschines. These letters merit a place in Greek literature for their synthesis of preexisting literary forms. Letters 2, 3, 7, 11, and 12 imitate the letters of Demosthenes in a manner akin to rhetorical exercises. Letters 1, 5, 6, 8, 9, and 10 exhibit features reminiscent of the epistolary fiction that flourished in the first centuries AD. Letter 4 is a prose paraphrase of Pindar's victory odes. Like other literary forgeries, these letters are both problematic and fascinating. Likely products of rhetorical culture, they nevertheless hold a unique place as early - and remarkably successful - examples of how literary and political trends were interwoven to (re)shape the Classical tradition.
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Price: £114.50
Pages: 370
Publisher: Mohr Siebeck
Imprint: Mohr Siebeck
Series: Themes and Forms in Graeco-Roman Literature
Publication Date: 30 September 2025
ISBN: 9783161646881
Format: Hardcover
BISACs:

HISTORY / Ancient / General, Ancient history, Ancient, classical and medieval texts, Ancient Greek and Roman philosophy

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Introduction 1. The letters of Aeschines? A background 2. History of scholarship 3. Spuriousness and imitativeness 4. Milieu and date of composition 5. Concluding remarks 6. Notes on text and translation Text and translation Commentary on the ‘Demosthenic’ counterparts Commentary on the epistolary fictions Commentary on the Pindaric exegesis