
This is the first book-length treatment of supplication, an important social practice in ancient Mediterranean civilizations. Despite the importance of supplication, it has received little attention, and no previous study has explored so many aspects of the practice. Naiden investigates the varied gestures made by the supplicants, the types of requests they make, the arguments used in defense of their requests, and the role of the supplicandus, who evaluates and decides whether to fulfill the requests. Varied and abundant sources invite comparison between the societies of Greece and Rome and also among literary genres. Additionally, Naiden formulates an analysis of the ritual in its legal and political contexts. In constructing this rich and thorough study, Naiden considered over 800 acts of supplication from Greek, Hebrew, and Roman literature, art, and scientific sources. 30 illustrations and a map of the relevant locations accompany the text.
How did the ritual of supplication function as a social, legal, and political mechanism within ancient Mediterranean civilizations? Fred S. Naiden, a scholar of classical antiquity, examines the practice of supplication across Greek, Hebrew, and Roman cultures. By synthesizing evidence from over 800 documented acts, he argues that supplication was a structured interaction governed by specific gestures, rhetorical arguments, and evaluative criteria used by the supplicandus to determine the outcome of a request.
What You Will Find
Scope Limits
Scholars recognize this work as the primary foundational text for the study of supplication in the ancient world. Readers frequently note the academic density of the prose and the exhaustive nature of the source material provided by the author.
Page Count:
440
Publication Date:
2006-01-01
Publisher:
Oxford University Press
ISBN-10:
0190293071
ISBN-13:
9780190293079
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