Abstract Archytas of Tarentum was a prominent philosopher of the Classical period from whom regrettably limited genuine material is preserved. The scholarly community accepts only four fragments to be the genuine work of Archytas and regards the vast majority of the Archytean corpus as pseudo-Pythagorean forgeries. In this paper, I challenge this majority view and argue for the Archytean origin of On Law and Justice , five fragments handed down in Stobaeus’ fifth-century CE Anthology . In the course of my demonstration, I produce three compelling textual arguments, overlooked by classical scholarship, suggesting strong agreement with the genuine fragments and testimonia. I also propose an alternative reading for the fragments, according to which On Law and Justice ought to be regarded as a treatise predominantly concerned with moral psychology.
Abstract This article studies the theme of false advertising in Seneca’s philosophy. It first explores how and why Seneca used this theme in polemics against the Epicureans. The article then argues that he redirected against his opponents a criticism frequently leveled at the Stoics themselves, particularly regarding their use of paradoxes about the ideal sage, but that Seneca’s employment of Stoic paradoxes risked replicating the very issues he exposed in Epicurean discourse. Finally, the article investigates how Seneca addressed the accusation of false advertising, contending that he develops a distinctive approach to his use of the Stoic paradoxes, which he considers both non-deceptive and valuable for moral progress.
Abstract This article foregrounds Horace’s underexplored engagement with tragedy in Odes 1.6, arguing that this interaction exceeds the conventional limits of recusatio and engages with both literary and political discourses of the period. First, by qualifying Ulysses as duplex (line 7), the poem not only humorously debases the epic genre but also participates in ancient debates about Odysseus/Ulysses, possibly originating in Greek tragedy. Second, the reference to Varius’ Thyestes (line 8) may suggest an intertextual dialogue with tragic treatments of the saga of the Pelopids and its prominence in contemporary political discourse. Third, I point out further tragic references in the last two stanzas of the poem. The generic disavowal of Homeric epic feeds into the panegyrical intent of this poem, to honour Agrippa/Augustus. However, Odysseus/Ulysses’ duplicitousness and the violent crimes of the Pelopids also acquire a loaded meaning in the immediate context of Horace’s Odes in the aftermath of Actium (31 BC ).
Abstract The aim of this paper is to investigate how the sea in Chariton of Aphrodisias’ novel is skilfully used to portray the character of the hero (namely, Chaereas) and arrange an elaborate narrative. As the analysis will try to show, through the references to the sea in relation to Chaereas, Chariton highlights some peculiar features of his hero and weaves a complex network of cross-references, which strengthen the connection between Chaereas and other characters of the novel and introduce events which have a proleptic function, or compel the reader to re-examine previous passages. Moreover, Chariton’s peculiar use of the sea will be highlighted through a comparison with the other extant Greek novels.
