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15 - Ancient readers

from Part IV - Reception

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 June 2008

Tim Whitmarsh
Affiliation:
University of Oxford
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Summary

“POET O anxieties of mankind! O how great is the emptiness in matter! / BYSTANDER Who will read this? / POET Are you talking to me? No one, by Hercules. / BYSTANDER No one? / POET One or two people, or no one. / BYSTANDER A shameful and wretched outcome.” (Persius, Satires 1.1-3) / 'Who read this?' is a question which scholars of the ancient novel, perhaps more than those engaged with any other Greek or Roman literary form, have persistently and anxiously posed. The opening of Persius' first Satire, a poem that may close with one of the very few references in literature of the high classical period to one of the extant Greek novels, ought to make us ask 'Does it matter?' We might, however, first consider why the Greek (in particular) novel has attracted this special anxiety about readership - and why it does indeed matter.

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2008

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  • Ancient readers
  • Edited by Tim Whitmarsh, University of Oxford
  • Book: The Cambridge Companion to the Greek and Roman Novel
  • Online publication: 28 June 2008
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CCOL9780521865906.015
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  • Ancient readers
  • Edited by Tim Whitmarsh, University of Oxford
  • Book: The Cambridge Companion to the Greek and Roman Novel
  • Online publication: 28 June 2008
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CCOL9780521865906.015
Available formats
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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.

  • Ancient readers
  • Edited by Tim Whitmarsh, University of Oxford
  • Book: The Cambridge Companion to the Greek and Roman Novel
  • Online publication: 28 June 2008
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CCOL9780521865906.015
Available formats
×