James S. Romm

Anthology of Ancient Greek Popular Literature

Introduction Part One: Popular Fiction 1. Romantic Novel Xenophon of Ephesus, an Ephesian Tale Translated by Moses Hadas 2. Christian Novella Anonymous, the Acts of Paul and Thecla Translated by R. Mcl. Wilson 3. Wisdom Literature Anonymous, Secundus the Silent Philosopher Translated by Ben E. Perry 4. Comic Novel Pseudo-lucian, Lucius or the Ass Translated by Paul Turner 5. Comic Biography Anonymous, the Aesop Romance Translated by Lloyd W. Daly 6. Historic Novel Pseudo-callisthenes, the Alexander Romance Translated by Ken Dowden Part Two: Popular Compilations 7. Wonders Phlegon of Tralles, Book of Marvels Translated by William Hansen 8. Fables Anonymous, Collectio Augustana Translated by William Hansen 9. Jokes Hierocles and Philagrius, the Laughter Lover Translated by William Hansen Part Three: A Popular Handbook 10. Fortunetelling Anonymous, the Oracles of Astrampsychus Translated by Randall Stewart and Kenneth Morrell Part Four: Popular Literature in Public Places 11. Popular Literature on Stone Gravestone Verse Translated by William Hansen Works Cited

Divinity and History: The Religion of Herodotus, and: Herodotus in Context: Ethnography, Science and the Art of Persuasion (review)

life is one foreign to the Greeks and Aristotle. The latter may be a slight overstatement, but the basic point is sound and offers a good correction. Most, however, frames his argument with the hackneyed metaphor of the pendulum: “Worrying about genre seems once again to have become a generic requirement of studies in Classics. . . . As the pendulum of critical fashion swings back and forth between two extremes . . . it crosses each time a point of potential equipoise in the precise center” (15). The pendulum trope has become the common property of political pundits, literary critics, and self-help gurus. One cannot turn on PBS or NPR without hearing talk of the pendulum swinging back to the center. The problem is that there is no evidence that history works this way, nor is there any ontological argument ever offered for why the evolution of critical theory, political sentiment, or patterns of childrearing, for that matter, should be conceived as an alternation between two extremes (with cooler heads always seeking the elusive middle). To take only one example from history, should the political changes that gave rise to the Augustan principate be seen as the opposite extreme of a full-blooded republicanism or the middle ground between it and the despotism of the later emperors? The question is meaningless. Any answer would be purely self-serving, designed to cast opposing views as extremist while reserving the “point of potential equipoise in the precise center” for one’s own supposedly reasonable and moderate position. In sum, this book as a whole is well worth reading. It may not advance the overall debate about genre in literary study to a significant degree, but it contains fine readings that offer genuine and important insights about both ancient genres themselves and the stories we tell about them. The production values are high, although there are a few instances of typographical nonsense where Greek fonts were not properly converted. Csapo’s, Day’s, and Barchiesi’s contributions in particular, I believe, have the potential to reconfigure the debates in their respective fields. Many of the other essays are valuable contributions as well.