The Greek Graffiti of Herculaneum

Benefiel, Rebecca R.; Sypniewski, Holly M.

doi:10.3764/aja.122.2.0209

Cited by 2 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…The rarity of foreign languages in inscriptions at Rome is not just a function of literacy levels, since inscriptions and language choices could be orally dictated (see Adams 2003a: 84-5). On the nature of ancient graffiti see Baird and Taylor 2011;Keegan 2014;Milnor 2014: 1-43; on foreign language graffiti at Pompeii see Benefiel and Sypniewski 2018;Helms 2021. 109 For calculations of numbers of Greek inscriptions see Kaimio 1979: 172;Moretti 1989: 5;Tacoma 2016: 218. This article has argued that the metaphor of 'granting citizenship' to words was not a cliché, but delivers insights into ancient thinking about both citizenship and language.…”

Section: V: Citizens Of the Wordmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Citizens of the Wor(l)d? Metaphor and the Politics of Roman Language

Elder

2022

J. Rom. Stud.

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In his discussion of Roman wind-names, Seneca the Younger employs a striking metaphor to describe the integration of the name of the south-east wind, Eurus, into Latin. The name Eurus, Seneca says, has been ‘granted citizenship’. This is one of six instances of the metaphor of ‘granting citizenship to words’ in surviving ancient texts. In this article, I use this metaphor as an entry-point to reconsider the importance of citizenship and language to ancient conceptions of Roman identity and status. The metaphor is revelatory of ancient thinking about what citizenship meant, what it depended on, and to whom and on whose authority it should be granted, questions that became urgent as citizenship spread across the Empire. Different versions of the metaphor offer tellingly divergent views of citizenship and of language. These reflect the tensions between origin and culture, inclusion and exclusion, cosmopolitanism and nativism, in contemporary notions of what it meant to be or belong as Roman.

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Section: V: Citizens Of the Wordmentioning

confidence: 99%