Narrative and Experience in Greco-Roman Antiquity

‘Some speeches (logoi) cause sorrow, some pleasure, some fear, some give the audience confidence, and some drug and bewitch the mind through some evil persuasion’ (Gorgias, Helen 14). Gorgias might have been able to relate to a recent trend in literary scholarship which shows an increasing discomfort with the once dominant hermeneutic, semiotic and (post-)structuralist paradigms and their emphasis on the process of signification. Scholars like Gumbrecht make a forceful case for the capacity of literature and other media to cast a spell on their recipients: they jolt us into fictional worlds and stir strong emotions in us.

In this context, ancient literature merits special attention, for Gorgias’ sentiment is not an isolated occurrence. The tears that Odysseus sheds in response to the songs of Demodocus are a still earlier acknowledgement of the emotional impact of literature and even Plato’s ban on poets seems to be rooted in the power he ascribes to poetic performances. The goal of our conference is to explore the experiential dimension of and in ancient narrative, that is its capacity to elicit strong responses and the ways this capacity is reflected on.

Kontakt:

Seminar für Klassische Philologie
der Universität Heidelberg

Frau Annika Domainko

Herr Aldo Tagliabue

Marstallhof 2 - 4
69117 Heidelberg

Tel. +49 (0) 6221 54 300 35
Mail. annika.domainko@skph.uni-heidelberg.de

          aldo.tagliabue@skph.uni-heidelberg.de