The “Second Sophistic” traditionally refers to a period at the height of the Roman Empire’s power that witnessed a flourishing of Greek rhetoric and oratory, and since the 19th century it has often been viewed as a defense of Hellenic civilization against the domination of Rome. This book proposes a very different model. Covering popular fiction, poetry and Greco-Jewish material, it argues for a rich, dynamic, and diverse culture, which cannot be reduced to a simple model of continuity. Shining new light on a series of playful, imaginative texts that are left out of the traditional accounts of Greek literature, Whitmarsh models a more adventurous, exploratory approach to later Greek culture. Beyond the Second Sophistic offers not only a new way of looking at Greek literature from 300 BCE onwards, but also a challenge to the Eurocentric, aristocratic constructions placed on the Greek heritage. Accessible and lively, it will appeal to students and scholars of Greek literature and culture, Hellenistic Judaism, world literature, and cultural theory.
Tim Whitmarsh is Professor of Ancient Literatures, Corpus Christi College, Oxford University.
"As the premier authority of Greek literature under Rome, Tim Whitmarsh redefines the literary history of the period and extends a challenge to anyone who would care or dare to follow in his adventurous wake."
—James I. Porter, University of California, Irvine, author of The Origins of Aesthetic Thought in Ancient Greece
"Whitmarsh's forays into the fringes of the canon demonstrate the richness and variety of post-classical culture, as well as the great amount of interest inherent in texts that lie 'beyond the Second Sophistic.' Essential reading."
--Lawrence Kim, Trinity University, author of Homer between History and Fiction in Imperial Greek Literature
296 pp.6 x 9
9780520344587$34.95|£30.00Paper
May 2020