(Ebook) Frankness, Greek Culture, and the Roman Empire; First Edition by Dana Fields ISBN 9780429292170, 0429292171

(Ebook) Frankness, Greek Culture, and the Roman Empire; First Edition by Dana Fields ISBN 9780429292170, 0429292171

Frankness, Greek Culture, and the Roman Empire discusses the significance ofparrhe-sia (free and frank speech) in Greek culture of the Roman empire.The term parrhe-sia first emerged in the context of the classical Atheniandemocracy and was long considered a key democratic and egalitarian value.And yet, references to frank speech pervade the literature of the Romanempire, a time when a single autocrat ruled over most of the known world,Greek cities were governed at the local level by entrenched oligarchies, andthe social hierarchy was becoming increasingly stratified. This volume challengesthe traditional view that the meaning of the term changed radicallyafter Alexander the Great, and shows rather that parrhe-sia retained bothpolitical and ethical significance well into the Roman empire. By examiningreferences to frankness in political writings, rhetoric, philosophy, historiography,biographical literature, and finally satire, the volume also explores thedynamics of political power in the Roman empire, where politics was locatedin interpersonal relationships as much as, if not more than, in institutions.The contested nature of the power relations in such interactions – betweenemperors and their advisors, between orators and the cities they counseled,and among fellow members of the oligarchic elite in provincial cities – revealsthe political implications of a prominent post-classical intellectual developmentthat reconceptualizes true freedom as belonging to the man whobehaves – and speaks – freely. At the same time, because the role of frankspeaker is valorized, those who claim it also lay themselves open to suspicionsof self-promotion and hypocrisy.This volume will be of interest to students and scholars of rhetoric andpolitical thought in the ancient world, and to anyone interested in ongoingdebates about intellectual freedom, limits on speech, and the advantages ofpresenting oneself as a truth-teller.