| Oral Tradition and Written Record in Classical Athens Contributor(s): Thomas, Rosalind (Author) |
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ISBN: 0521350255 ISBN-13: 9780521350259 Publisher: Cambridge University Press OUR PRICE: $144.40 Product Type: Hardcover - Other Formats Published: July 1989 Annotation: Scholars are becoming increasingly aware that, despite its written literature, ancient Greece was in many aspects an oral society. In the first major attempt to study the implications of this discovery, Dr. Thomas stresses the coexistence of literacy and oral tradition in Greece and examines their interaction. Concentrating on the plentiful evidence of Classical Athens, she shows how the use of writing developed only gradually and under the influence of the previous oral communications. Using insights from anthropology, the author isolates different types of Athenian oral tradition, constructing a picture of Athenian traditions and exploring why they changed and disappeared. Thomas researches not only the nature of individual traditions, but the mechanisms of oral tradition and memory in general; then the possible effect of writing on oral tradition. This study provides crucial insights into the methods and achievements of the Greek historians and therefore into the very material of Greek history. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - History | Ancient - Greece - Foreign Language Study | Ancient Languages (see Also Latin) |
| Dewey: 480.938 |
| LCCN: 88022918 |
| Series: Encyclopedia of Mathematics and Its Applications |
| Physical Information: 1.12" H x 6.42" W x 9.3" (1.54 lbs) 336 pages |
| Themes: - Chronological Period - Ancient (To 499 A.D.) - Cultural Region - Greece |
