Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gbm5v Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-23T19:04:02.912Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Chapter 2 - Word and World: Fiction(ality)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 May 2023

Jonas Grethlein
Affiliation:
Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg, Germany
Get access

Summary

While some Classicists have made cases for the birth of fiction, linking it to various authors and texts, others have argued that fictionality is a core concern of Greek literature from its beginnings to the Imperial era. In chapter 2, I agree with the idea that fictionality did not have to be discovered at some point but then proceed to argue that neither did it ever play an important role. After presenting evidence for the familiarity of fictionality in antiquity, I reconsider two authors who often appear as cornerstones in histories of fictionality, Gorgias and Aristotle. A closer look at their reflections draws our attention to two dimensions of ancient narrative that were deemed far more important than its referentiality, namely its immersive quality and its moral thrust.

Type
Chapter
Information
Ancient Greek Texts and Modern Narrative Theory
Towards a Critical Dialogue
, pp. 20 - 51
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

  • Word and World: Fiction(ality)
  • Jonas Grethlein, Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg, Germany
  • Book: Ancient Greek Texts and Modern Narrative Theory
  • Online publication: 11 May 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009339605.002
Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

  • Word and World: Fiction(ality)
  • Jonas Grethlein, Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg, Germany
  • Book: Ancient Greek Texts and Modern Narrative Theory
  • Online publication: 11 May 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009339605.002
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Word and World: Fiction(ality)
  • Jonas Grethlein, Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg, Germany
  • Book: Ancient Greek Texts and Modern Narrative Theory
  • Online publication: 11 May 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009339605.002
Available formats
×