A remarkable growth of studies on memory and forgetting in the last three decades – a ‘memory boom’ – has sparked extensive research across diverse disciplines, including social studies, cognitive sciences, humanities and media studies. Cultural memory studies have offered a fruitful and fascinating framework for exploring ancient civilisations, since they have helped to uncover the processes by which societies construct, preserve and transmit their collective memories and narratives over time. The volume under review is part of this strand of studies, and it explores how the ancients represented their past. The work aims to examine thoroughly the techniques employed by ancient Greeks and Romans in shaping their narratives, while also providing valuable insights into the diverse ways in which modern scholars and writers engage with and interpret the past.
The book is divided into three sections (‘Political Legacies’, ‘Religious Identities’ and ‘Literary Traditions’). The fifteen chapters, spanning a millennium of history from 500 bce to 500 ce, explore a wide range of topics related to the construction, deconstruction and reconstruction of remembrance and reputation in the diverse cultures surrounding the ancient Mediterranean. Moreover, the volume includes contributions on modern receptions of aspects of the ancient Greek and Roman world.
After a concise preface by the two editors, which also explains that most of the chapters originated as papers delivered at a conference held in Pretoria in November 2018 (the 19th Classics Colloquium in collaboration with the Australian Research Council Discovery Project ‘Memories of Utopia: Destroying the Past to Create the Future’), the volume opens with an introduction by G. Clark, which frames the topic of the book and provides an overview on the main themes addressed. Clark states that memory is shaped by reinterpretation, rediscovery, changes in perspective and shifting priorities, and this volume ‘helps to show why historians will always need to reassess evidence and interpretation, and why memories will always need to be remade’ (p. 7).
The first two studies deal with the manipulative creation or erasure of a certain reputation, focusing on the cases of the tyrants of Syracuse. R. Evans, in ‘The Generalship of Dionysius I and Dionysius II of Syracuse: Memory Unmade’, aims to explain the reasons why Dionysius I and Dionysius II were not counted among the ‘successful generals’ (and rulers) of the ancient world. Diodorus Siculus’ narrative provides several pieces of evidence of their military success in Books 13 and 14 of his The Library of History, extensively discussed by Evans. The main thesis is that the memory of the Dionysii's military prowess was quickly erased after their family lost power in Syracuse in the 340s bce for at least two reasons: (i) the limited interest of historians (such as Xenophon or Ephorus) in the history of Sicily; (ii) some historians (such as Timaeus), who were hostile to tyranny and the Dionysii, were influenced by Thucydides’ disdain for tyranny. Moreover, the memory of the Dionysii's military skills was compromised by the interests of authors such as Cicero and Plutarch, who were concerned with the moral condition of tyrants and the stories relating Plato to the tyrants of Sicily.
The purpose of F. Pownall's chapter, ‘The Making and the Unmaking of the Memory of Gelon of Syracuse’, is to explore how Sicilian rulers strategically manipulated the past to justify their power, not only in relation to their dynastic rivals in Sicily but also to their Hellenic counterparts on the mainland, with whom they engaged in a competitive rivalry against foreign invaders. Pownall investigates the construction of the claim that Gelon, the first member of the Deinomenid dynasty to rule over Syracuse, was the saviour of Greece during the Persian invasions, a narrative initially propagated by his immediate successor, Hieron. Pownall emphasises the role of historians such as Diodorus Siculus and Philistus in shaping these narratives and influencing the perception of Gelon's heroism (Philistus undermined his heroism and instead supported the claim of Dionysius I to have achieved far greater victories).
A. Tronson, in ‘Alexander in Jerusalem: Constructing a “Jewish Life” for Alexander the Great, Josephus AJ xi 302–343’, addresses the controversial passage in Josephus’ Antiquities of the Jews, which describes the alleged visit of Alexander the Great to Jerusalem in 332 bce. During the 332/1 campaign from Tyre through Syria to Egypt, Tronson argues, Alexander visited Jerusalem, although this event is not mentioned in the ‘canonical’ Graeco-Roman history of Alexander the Great's life. The absence in Greek and Roman narratives could be interpreted either as an indication that Jews were marginal in their accounts or that Josephus invented or embellished a memory of that event, crucial to Jewish and Christian tradition. Nevertheless, this story is based on a consensus of events and anecdotes found in the six existing literary sources, at least half a dozen ‘non-canonical’ accounts, which significantly differ from one another.
The next three chapters focus on the Roman Empire in the first century ce. In ‘The Forum of Augustus: Reshaping Collective Memory about War and the State’ T. Stevenson examines the Forum Augustum, a grand architectural project that linked the Julian family to their divine ancestors and intertwined the history of the republic with the reign of Augustus, portraying him as the father of both the family and Rome.
The manipulation of facts and the distortion of reality, what we would call ‘fake news’ today, can be found in Pliny the Younger's Panegyricus, specifically in his portrayal of the reign of Augustus as the father of both the family and Rome. M. Szöke explores this aspect in ‘An Age of Post-Truth Politics? Making and Unmaking Memory in Pliny's Panegyricus’, focusing on Pliny as the author of the Panegyricus and his political career. Szöke examines the efforts of Pliny the Younger to rewrite his personal history in the aftermath of Domitian's assassination. Despite acknowledging the advancement of his career under Domitian, Pliny claimed to have distanced himself from the tyrannical aspects of the emperor's rule. However, evidence from Pliny's letters and inscriptions contradicts his narrative, suggesting that he continued to hold office during that time. According to Szöke, it was difficult for others to challenge Pliny's reinterpretation of his career because they were also involved in Domitian's reign and had their own reasons for reshaping their memories.
E. Varner's ‘Monster or Martyr? Contesting Nero's Memory in Rome’, which closes the first part of the volume, traces the history of Nero's controversial reputation, from his death (and subsequent damnatio memoriae) to the twentieth century. While the damnatio memoriae undoubtedly played a role in tarnishing Nero's image, it ultimately failed to erase his memory entirely. Instead, Nero's legacy endured, fuelled by his infamous status as a legendary ‘bad emperor’.
The second part, ‘Religious Identities’, begins with H. Ziche's ‘Misremembering Constantine in Eusebius and Zosimus’, which explores the contrasting portrayals of Constantine by Eusebius of Caesarea and Zosimus. The core of this section of the book consists of three essays on John Chrysostom. Christians built memorials for martyrs, commemorated their deaths and shared their stories of suffering. Non-Christians, such as the emperor Julian, found this practice disgusting as they believed divine power had no connection to mortality and viewed dead bodies as contamination. On the other hand, John Chrysostom argued that corpses do not defile and criticised Julian's actions. W. Mayer, in ‘Remembering Dystopia: Re-reading Chrysostom's Homily On the Holy Martyr Babylas through the Lens of Disgust’, analyses the text through the lens of Moral Foundations Theory, engaging in a dialogue with cognitive research on pollution as a concept and contamination considerations.
C. de Wet's chapter focuses on a reassessment of the commemoration of John Chrysostom's martyrdom in Ps.-Martyrius’ Oratio funebris in laudem Sancti Johannis Chrysostomi. In this work the martyr is portrayed as a heroic figure due to his non-violent resistance against barbarians and heretics.
The essay by K. Papadopoulos, ‘The Emperor's Floor and the Naked Wife: Chrysostom's Retelling of Imperial History in In Philippenses hom. 16 and the Fate of Fausta’, accompanied by an extensive bibliography, aims to break the scholarly impasse by examining Chrysostom's account of imperial hardships and exploring the various interpretative possibilities regarding Fausta's story as it is remembered.
The third part, ‘Literary Traditions’, opens with F. Lupi's chapter, ‘“Lest We Forget”: Inventions and their Memory on the Greek Tragic Scene’, which explores the role of the ‘first inventors’ in fifth-century bce Greek tragedy and raises the question of whether they are examples of a shared collective memory.
In ‘Treacherous Transmission: the Case of Augustine's Sermons 151–156’ H.R. Drobner focuses on textual transmission. Written records and the preservation of catalogues are susceptible to loss due to chance; therefore, memory can be compromised. The preservation of Augustine's sermons relied on individuals who desired shorthand records that could be transcribed into a final copy. Drobner analyses Augustine's Sermons 151–6 as a case study to demonstrate the complexities and potential distortions that arise from interpreting the manuscript and textual transmission.
A. John examines the role of education in the conscious preservation of memory in ‘Cultural Memory and Classical Education in Late Antique Gaul’. Through a diachronic approach, John's study explores how grammatical and rhetorical education influenced the collective cultural memory of Rome and the preservation of elite Roman identity in late antique Gaul.
The book ends with two chapters on reception of classical literature and myth. In a study on Lucretius’ translation by John Mason Good S. Moreland analyses the differing perspectives on Lucretius’ atomism. The puritan poet of the seventeenth century Lucy Hutchinson sympathised with his critique of pagan religion and politics, while Thomas Creech emphasised the threat of Lucretius’ ideas to Christianity and monarchy by translating religio as ‘religion’. John Mason Good, on the other hand, translated it as ‘superstition’ with a gothic twist, associating it with a hidden force (vis abdita) and the Creator God.
In the final chapter S. Sharland delves into Oscar Wilde's poem Charmides, a work that exemplifies his profound classical education acquired at Oxford. Charmides features a story that foreshadows Wilde's later downfall and fate, and it revolves around a recurring theme in his works: a young man who risks everything to fulfil his erotic desires. In Wilde's view, Charmides, which he considered his best poetry, demonstrates how classical memories display passion and irrationality.
With enlightening perspectives offered in multiple chapters, the book is elegantly presented, despite a few minor typographical errors. This book is a valuable resource for scholars and researchers studying themes of memory, historiography and the portrayal of the past in the ancient world.
