Locating theatre in Herodotus’ Histories

• Autores: Irene Stone
• Localización: Hermathena, ISSN 0018-0750, Nº. 206, 2023, págs. 59-92
• Idioma: inglés
• Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
• Resumen

  • This article is a reflection on aspects of Herodotus as an oral prose performer. Central to its deliberation is the effect of Homeric epic and Attic tragedy on the Histories, particularly when identified in the historian’s use of oratio recta. On these occasions, I suggest, Herodotus adopted both the poet’s skill of irony and the artistry of say, a Sophoclean tragedy performance, to produce a form of theatre entirely germane to a speaker of prose. It is a premise unable to be argued with proof. However, should the ‘theatre’ of Homer and the ‘dramatics’ of the playwright be considered capable of blending, as they do on occasions of direct speech, it seems reasonable to imagine such presentation by Herodotus was possible, and perhaps even probable.