Title: "Illiberal" misanthropy: mîsanthrôpiâ and aneleutheriâ in the rhetorical literature of 4th century BCE Athens
Source document: Graeco-Latina Brunensia. 2023, vol. 28, iss. 2, pp. 89-103
Extent
89-103
-
ISSN1803-7402 (print)2336-4424 (online)
Persistent identifier (DOI): https://doi.org/10.5817/GLB2023-2-6
Stable URL (handle): https://hdl.handle.net/11222.digilib/digilib.79117
Type: Article
Language
License: CC BY-SA 4.0 International
Rights access
open access
Notice: These citations are automatically created and might not follow citation rules properly.
Abstract(s)
This article examines the interconnectedness of the concepts of classical misanthropy or mîsanthrôpiâ and aneleutheriâ or "illiberality" in a politico-legal context in the rhetorical literature of Classical Athens. My approach offers new insight into the complex nature of mîsanthrôpiâ and Athenian societal values, especially regarding the concept of freedom. Mîsanthrôpiâ is usually understood as the universal hatred of humanity, and it is in this sense that the concept is typically used in ancient Graeco-Roman literature. However, in the rhetorical literature of Classical Athens mîsanthrôpiâ is presented as the quality of a free male citizen who is contemptuous of his fellow citizens and who has failed to properly fulfil his obligations to society and exercise his freedom as a member of the polis. In this setting, mîsanthrôpiâ is closely associated with the multifaceted concept of aneleutheriâ and its moral and civic implications. I argue that this specific rhetorical use of mîsanthrôpiâ was unique to the historical context of Classical Athens and its democratic political system and values and that this explains its disappearance from ancient Greek literature at the end of the Classical period.
References
[1] Adams, Ch. D. (Transl.). (1919). The Speeches of Aeschines. London: William Heinemann Ltd.
[2] Armstrong, D., & McOsker, M. (Transl.). (2020). Philodemus: On Anger. Atlanta: The Society of Biblical Literature.
[3] Balot, R. K. (2001). Greed and Injustice in Classical Athens. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
[4] Berthelot, K. (2003). Philanthrôpia Judaica − Le débat autour de la "misanthropie" des lois juives dans l'Antiquité. Leiden − Boston: Brill.
[5] Bury, R. G. (Transl.). (1968). Plato (Vol. 11). London: William Heinemann Ltd.
[6] Christ, M. R. (1998). The Litigious Athenian. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press.
[7] Christ, M. R. (2006). The Bad Citizen in Classical Athens. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
[8] Christ, M. R. (2012). The Limits of Altruism in Democratic Athens. Cambridge − New York: Cambridge University Press.
[9] Dover, K. J. (1976). The Freedom of The Intellectual in Greek Society. Taλanta, VII, 24–54.
[10] Dover, K. J. (1994). Greek Popular Morality in The Time of Plato and Aristotle. Indianapolis − Cambridge: Hackett Publishing.
[11] Filonik, J. (2019). 'Living as One Wishes' in Athens: The (Anti-)Democratic Polemics. Classical Philology, 114, 1–24.
[12] Fowler, H. N. (Transl.). (1966). Plato (Vol. 1). London: William Heinemann Ltd.
[13] Godley, A. D. (Transl.). (1963). Herodotus: The Persian Wars (Vol. II). London: William Heinemann Ltd.
[14] Gulick, Ch. B. (Transl.). (1927). Athenaeus: The Deipnosophists. London: William Heinemann Ltd.
[15] Hall, F. W., & Geldart, W. M. (Eds.). (1907). Aristophanes: Comoediae (Vol. 2). Oxford: Clarendon Press.
[16] Hansen, M. H. (2010). Democratic Freedom and the Concept of Freedom in Plato and Aristotle. Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies, 50, 1–27.
[17] Hatzilambrou, R. (2022). Being Unsociable in Classical Athens: A Very Bad Attitude Indeed. In R. Matuszewski (Ed.), Being Alone in Antiquity: Greco-Roman Ideas and Experiences of Misanthropy, Isolation and Solitude (pp. 149–166). Berlin − Boston: De Gruyter.
[18] Hesk, J. (2000). Deception and Democracy in Classical Athens. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
[19] Kamen, D. (2009). Servile Invective in Classical Athens. Scripta Classica Israelica, 28, 43–56.
[20] Kamen, D. (2020). Insults in Classical Athens. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press.
[21] Kock, Th. (1801). Comicorum Atticorum Fragmenta, I: Antiquae Comoediae Fragmenta. Leipzig: Teubner.
[22] Kucharski, J. (2012). Vindictive Prosecution in Classical Athens: On Some Recent Theories. Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies, 52, 167–197.
[23] Lamb, W. R. M. (Transl.). (1967). Plato (Vol. 3). London: William Heinemann Ltd.
[24] Liddel, P. (2007). Civic obligation and individual liberty in ancient Athens. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
[25] Mathieu, G. (2000). Sur la couronne. Paris: Les Belles Lettres.
[26] Murray, A. T. (Transl.). (1939). Demosthenes (Vol. 5). London: William Heinemann Ltd.
[27] Norlin, G. (Transl.). (1980). Isocrates (Vol. 2). London: William Heinemann Ltd.
[28] Raaflaub, K. (1981). Zum Freiheitsbegriff der Griechen. Materialien und Untersuchungen zur Bedeutungsentwicklung von ἐλεύθερος/ἐλευθερία in der archaischen und klassischen Zeit. In E. Ch. Welskopf (Ed.), Soziale Typenbegriffe 4: Untersuchungen ausgewählter altgriechischer sozialer Typenbegriffe und ihr Fortleben in Antike und Mittelalter (pp. 180–405). Berlin: Akademie-Verlag.
[29] Raaflaub, K. (1985). Die Entdeckung der Freiheit. Zur historischen Semantik und Gesellschaftsgeschichte eines politischen Grundbegriffes der Griechen. München: C. H. Beck'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung.
[30] Raaflaub, K. (2004). The Discovery of Freedom in Ancient Greece. Chicago − London: The University of Chicago Press.
[31] Rackham, H. (Transl.). (1971 [1952]). Aristotle (Vol. 20). London: William Heinemann Ltd.
[32] Rackham, H. (Transl.). (1972). Aristotle (Vol. 21). London: William Heinemann Ltd.
[33] Rackham, H. (Transl.). (1975). Aristotle (Vol. 19). London: William Heinemann Ltd.
[34] Smith, Ch. F. (Transl.). (1923). Thucydides: History of the Peloponnesian War (Vol. IV). London: William Heinemann Ltd.
[35] Smith, Ch. F. (Transl.). (1928). Thucydides: History of the Peloponnesian War (Vol. I). London: William Heinemann Ltd.
[36] Sulek, M. (2010). On the Classical Meaning of Philanthropy. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 39 (2), 193−212.
[37] Too, Y. L. (2008). A Commentary on Isocrates' Antidosis. New York: Oxford University Press.
[38] Vince, C. A., & Vince, J. H. (Transl.). (1971). Demosthenes (Vol. 2). London: William Heinemann Ltd.
[39] Vince, J. H (Transl.). (1978). Demosthenes (Vol. 3). London: William Heinemann Ltd.
[40] Volt, I. (2003). Aspects of Ancient Greek Moral Vocabulary: Illiberality and Servility in Moral Philosophy and Popular Morality. Trames, 7(57/52), 67–82.
[41] Wallace, R. W. (1994). Private Lives and Public Enemies: Freedom of Thought in Classical Athens. In A. L. Beogehold, & A. C. Scafuro (Eds.), Athenian Identity and Civic Ideology (pp. 127–155). Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press.
[42] Wallace, R. W. (2006). Withdrawing Graphai in Ancient Athens: A Case Study in 'Sycophancy' and Legal Idiosyncrasies. In H. A. Rupprecht (Ed.), Symposion 2003: Vorträge zur griechischen und hellenistischen Rechtsgeschichte (pp. 57–66). Vienna: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften.
[2] Armstrong, D., & McOsker, M. (Transl.). (2020). Philodemus: On Anger. Atlanta: The Society of Biblical Literature.
[3] Balot, R. K. (2001). Greed and Injustice in Classical Athens. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
[4] Berthelot, K. (2003). Philanthrôpia Judaica − Le débat autour de la "misanthropie" des lois juives dans l'Antiquité. Leiden − Boston: Brill.
[5] Bury, R. G. (Transl.). (1968). Plato (Vol. 11). London: William Heinemann Ltd.
[6] Christ, M. R. (1998). The Litigious Athenian. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press.
[7] Christ, M. R. (2006). The Bad Citizen in Classical Athens. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
[8] Christ, M. R. (2012). The Limits of Altruism in Democratic Athens. Cambridge − New York: Cambridge University Press.
[9] Dover, K. J. (1976). The Freedom of The Intellectual in Greek Society. Taλanta, VII, 24–54.
[10] Dover, K. J. (1994). Greek Popular Morality in The Time of Plato and Aristotle. Indianapolis − Cambridge: Hackett Publishing.
[11] Filonik, J. (2019). 'Living as One Wishes' in Athens: The (Anti-)Democratic Polemics. Classical Philology, 114, 1–24.
[12] Fowler, H. N. (Transl.). (1966). Plato (Vol. 1). London: William Heinemann Ltd.
[13] Godley, A. D. (Transl.). (1963). Herodotus: The Persian Wars (Vol. II). London: William Heinemann Ltd.
[14] Gulick, Ch. B. (Transl.). (1927). Athenaeus: The Deipnosophists. London: William Heinemann Ltd.
[15] Hall, F. W., & Geldart, W. M. (Eds.). (1907). Aristophanes: Comoediae (Vol. 2). Oxford: Clarendon Press.
[16] Hansen, M. H. (2010). Democratic Freedom and the Concept of Freedom in Plato and Aristotle. Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies, 50, 1–27.
[17] Hatzilambrou, R. (2022). Being Unsociable in Classical Athens: A Very Bad Attitude Indeed. In R. Matuszewski (Ed.), Being Alone in Antiquity: Greco-Roman Ideas and Experiences of Misanthropy, Isolation and Solitude (pp. 149–166). Berlin − Boston: De Gruyter.
[18] Hesk, J. (2000). Deception and Democracy in Classical Athens. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
[19] Kamen, D. (2009). Servile Invective in Classical Athens. Scripta Classica Israelica, 28, 43–56.
[20] Kamen, D. (2020). Insults in Classical Athens. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press.
[21] Kock, Th. (1801). Comicorum Atticorum Fragmenta, I: Antiquae Comoediae Fragmenta. Leipzig: Teubner.
[22] Kucharski, J. (2012). Vindictive Prosecution in Classical Athens: On Some Recent Theories. Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies, 52, 167–197.
[23] Lamb, W. R. M. (Transl.). (1967). Plato (Vol. 3). London: William Heinemann Ltd.
[24] Liddel, P. (2007). Civic obligation and individual liberty in ancient Athens. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
[25] Mathieu, G. (2000). Sur la couronne. Paris: Les Belles Lettres.
[26] Murray, A. T. (Transl.). (1939). Demosthenes (Vol. 5). London: William Heinemann Ltd.
[27] Norlin, G. (Transl.). (1980). Isocrates (Vol. 2). London: William Heinemann Ltd.
[28] Raaflaub, K. (1981). Zum Freiheitsbegriff der Griechen. Materialien und Untersuchungen zur Bedeutungsentwicklung von ἐλεύθερος/ἐλευθερία in der archaischen und klassischen Zeit. In E. Ch. Welskopf (Ed.), Soziale Typenbegriffe 4: Untersuchungen ausgewählter altgriechischer sozialer Typenbegriffe und ihr Fortleben in Antike und Mittelalter (pp. 180–405). Berlin: Akademie-Verlag.
[29] Raaflaub, K. (1985). Die Entdeckung der Freiheit. Zur historischen Semantik und Gesellschaftsgeschichte eines politischen Grundbegriffes der Griechen. München: C. H. Beck'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung.
[30] Raaflaub, K. (2004). The Discovery of Freedom in Ancient Greece. Chicago − London: The University of Chicago Press.
[31] Rackham, H. (Transl.). (1971 [1952]). Aristotle (Vol. 20). London: William Heinemann Ltd.
[32] Rackham, H. (Transl.). (1972). Aristotle (Vol. 21). London: William Heinemann Ltd.
[33] Rackham, H. (Transl.). (1975). Aristotle (Vol. 19). London: William Heinemann Ltd.
[34] Smith, Ch. F. (Transl.). (1923). Thucydides: History of the Peloponnesian War (Vol. IV). London: William Heinemann Ltd.
[35] Smith, Ch. F. (Transl.). (1928). Thucydides: History of the Peloponnesian War (Vol. I). London: William Heinemann Ltd.
[36] Sulek, M. (2010). On the Classical Meaning of Philanthropy. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 39 (2), 193−212.
[37] Too, Y. L. (2008). A Commentary on Isocrates' Antidosis. New York: Oxford University Press.
[38] Vince, C. A., & Vince, J. H. (Transl.). (1971). Demosthenes (Vol. 2). London: William Heinemann Ltd.
[39] Vince, J. H (Transl.). (1978). Demosthenes (Vol. 3). London: William Heinemann Ltd.
[40] Volt, I. (2003). Aspects of Ancient Greek Moral Vocabulary: Illiberality and Servility in Moral Philosophy and Popular Morality. Trames, 7(57/52), 67–82.
[41] Wallace, R. W. (1994). Private Lives and Public Enemies: Freedom of Thought in Classical Athens. In A. L. Beogehold, & A. C. Scafuro (Eds.), Athenian Identity and Civic Ideology (pp. 127–155). Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press.
[42] Wallace, R. W. (2006). Withdrawing Graphai in Ancient Athens: A Case Study in 'Sycophancy' and Legal Idiosyncrasies. In H. A. Rupprecht (Ed.), Symposion 2003: Vorträge zur griechischen und hellenistischen Rechtsgeschichte (pp. 57–66). Vienna: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften.