FIRST LECTURE SERIES: GRECO-ROMAN ANTIQUITY
Third Lecture

Antonis K. Petridis (Open University of Cyprus)

“Libanius, Declamatio 27: The Difficult Old Man and His Son. Misanthropy and the Politics of Laughter in Fourth-Century AD Antioch”

ABSTRACT

Declamation 27 of Libanius, the pre-eminent rhetorician and teacher of rhetoric of the fourth century AD, who lived and worked in Antioch, returns to the traditional figure of the dyskolos—the misanthrope, the churlish old man who detests everyone and everything. In this declamation, the irascible old man delivers a speech before the Council, requesting permission to disown his son, who mocked him publicly after he suffered an accident in the marketplace. Libanius constructs his character on the model of Menander’s Cnemon from the comedy Dyskolos (first performed in 316 BC). To this familiar recipe, however, a non-traditional element is added: the misanthrope’s vehement hostility towards laughter. Where did this element originate? And why did Libanius choose to renovate the misanthropic tradition in this particular direction?

The lecture is organised in collaboration with the Programme Studies in Greek Culture of the Open University of Cyprus.

Hosting sponsor: Hellenic Bank