A Companion to Greek and Roman Historiography

This two-volume Companion to Greek and Roman Historiography reflects the new directions and interpretations that have arisen in the field of ancient historiography in the past few decades.

• Comprises a series of cutting edge articles written by recognised scholars
• Presents broad, chronological treatments of important issues in the writing of history and antiquity
• These are complemented by chapters on individual genres and sub-genres from the fifth century B.C.E. to the fourth century C.E.
• Provides a series of interpretative readings on the individual historians
• Contains essays on the neighbouring genres of tragedy, biography, and epic, among others, and their relationship to history

Notes on Contributors xii

Preface xx

Acknowledgments xxii

Ancient Authors: Abbreviations xxiv

Reference Works: Abbreviations xxxvii

Introduction 1
John Marincola

PART I Contexts 11

1 The Place of History in the Ancient World 13
Roberto Nicolai

2 The Origin of Greek Historiography 27
Catherine Darbo-Peschanski

3 History and Historia: Inquiry in the Greek Historians 39
Guido Schepens

4 Documents and the Greek Historians 56
P. J. Rhodes

5 The Prehistory of Roman Historiography 67
T. P. Wiseman

6 Myth and Historiography 76
Suzanne Saïd

7 The Construction of Meaning in the First Three Historians 89
Carolyn Dewald

8 Characterization in Ancient Historiography 102
L. V. Pitcher

9 Speeches in Classical Historiography 118
John Marincola

10 Readers and Reception: A Text Case 133
A. J. Woodman

PART II Surveys 145

11 The Development of the War Monograph 147
Tim Rood

12 Continuous Histories (Hellenica) 159
Christopher Tuplin

13 Universal History from Ephorus to Diodorus 171
John Marincola

14 Local History and Atthidography 180
Phillip Harding

15 Western Greek Historiography 189
Riccardo Vattuone

16 Greek Historians of Persia 200
Dominique Lenfant

17 The Historians of Alexander the Great 210
Andrea Zambrini

18 Greek Historians of the Near East: Clio’s ‘‘Other’’ Sons 221
John Dillery

19 The Jewish Appropriation of Hellenistic Historiography 231
Gregory E. Sterling

20 The Greek Historians of Rome 244
Christopher Pelling

21 The Early Roman Tradition 259
Hans Beck

22 Memoir and Autobiography in Republican Rome 266
Andrew M. Riggsby

23 Roman Historiography in the Late Republic 275
D. S. Levene

24 The Emperor and his Historians 290
John Matthews

25 The Epitomizing Tradition in Late Antiquity 305
Thomas M. Banchich

PART III Readings 313

26 To Each His Own: Simonides and Herodotus on Thermopylae 315
Pietro Vannicelli

27 Rhampsinitos and the Clever Thief (Herodotus 2.121) 322
Stephanie West

28 The Enigma of Discourse: A View of Thucydides 328
Leone Porciani

29 Contest (Ago ¯n) in Thucydides 336
Donald Lateiner

30 Narrative Manner and Xenophon’s More Routine Hellenica 342
Vivienne Gray

31 Fortune (tych¯e) in Polybius 349
Frank W. Walbank

32 Polybius and Aetolia: A Historiographical Approach 356
Craige B. Champion

33 Diodorus Siculus on the Third Sacred War 363
Peter Green

34 Caesar’s Account of the Battle of Massilia (BC 1.34–2.22): Some Historiographical and Narratological Approaches 371
Christina Shuttleworth Kraus

35 The Politics of Sallustian Style 379
Ellen O’Gorman

36 The Translation of Catiline 385
Andrew Feldherr

37 Claudius Quadrigarius and Livy’s Second Pentad 391
Gary Forsythe

38 Fog on the Mountain: Philip and Mt. Haemus in Livy 40.21–22 397
Mary Jaeger

39 Clothing Cincinnatus: Dionysius of Halicarnassus 404
Clemence Schultze

40 The Imperial Republic of Velleius Paterculus 411
Alain M. Gowing

41 Josephus and the Cannibalism of Mary (BJ 6.199–219) 419
Honora Howell Chapman

42 Quintus Curtius Rufus on the ‘‘Good King’’: The Dioxippus Episode in Book 9.7.16–26 427
E. J. Baynham

43 Tacitus and the Battle of Mons Graupius: A Historiographical Route Map? 434
Rhiannon Ash

44 Feast Your Eyes on This: Vitellius as a Stock Tyrant (Tac. Hist. 3.36–39) 441
Elizabeth Keitel

45 Arrian, Alexander, and the Pursuit of Glory 447
A. B. Bosworth

46 Toward a Literary Evaluation of Appian’s Civil Wars, Book 1 454
Gregory S. Bucher

47 Cassius Dio: A Senator and Historian in the Age of Anxiety 461
Martin Hose

48 Ammianus’ Roman Digressions and the Audience of the Res Gestae 468
David Rohrbacher

49 ‘‘To Forge Their Tongues to Grander Styles’’: Ammianus’ Epilogue 474
Gavin Kelly

PART IV Neighbors 481

50 Epic and Historiography at Rome 483
Matthew Leigh

51 Ethnography and History 493
Emma Dench

52 Tragedy and History 504
Richard Rutherford

53 Antiquarianism and History 515
Benedetto Bravo

54 Biography and History 528
Philip Stadter

55 Geography and History 541
Johannes Engels

56 Fiction and History: Historiography and the Novel 553
J. R. Morgan

PART V Transition 565

57 Late Antique Historiography, 250–650 CE 567
Brian Croke

Bibliography 582

Index Locorum 642

General Index 677

John Marincola is Professor of Classics at Florida State University. He is the author of Authority and Tradition in Ancient Historiography (1997), Greek Historians (2001) and, with Michael A. Flower, Herodotus: Histories Book IX (2002). He is currently at work on a book on Hellenistic historiography.

A Companion to Greek and Roman Historiography reflects the new directions and interpretations that have arisen in the field of classical historiography in the past few decades. In a series of cutting-edge articles by authoritative scholars, these volumes communicate the results of recent research, and demonstrate the diversity of approaches towards the past in studies of the ancient world.

This two-volume companion includes five sections. The first presents broad, diachronic treatments of important issues in the writing of history in antiquity. In the second section, the major genres and sub-genres of classical historiography are covered in individual articles. The third section presents readings of individual historians and works, while the fourth section looks at those genres – biography, epic and fiction – on the borders of historiography. The final part explores the transition into late Antiquity.

"This is a major work … that any library serving scholars in or relating to this field—and there will be many and widely distributed among disciplines—will need to purchase … .It is logically planned and constructed." (Reference Reviews, Issue 5 2008)

"Marincola personally speaks with authority on the entire tradition of ancient historiography, both Greek and Roman … and has collected a fine supporting cast of no fewer than 56 scholars." (The Anglo-Hellenic Review, Autumn 2008)

“This new Companion gives a hearty boost to the ‘We are winning!’ camp, in its sustained engagement with this important issue … and also in its sheer energy and vivacity. One finds oneself with a veritable host of companions at one's elbow, each with a distinctive style and personality, and the product of various nationalities and scholarly traditions. The juxtaposition captures vividly the flavor of current scholarly debate, particularly since the majority of contributors are central figures in their area of scholarship. The volume represents an exhilarating compendium of cutting-edge perspectives on a range of themes. This tremendously valuable two-tome assembly of a stellar array of scholars and scholarship-its whole indeed greater than the sum of its parts-is a credit to its editor and publisher, displays the vibrancy of the field, and will well serve scholars and students in years to come.” (New England Classical Journal, November 2008)

"All that you ever needed to know about Greek and Roman historians and current academic study thereon." (Journal of Classics Teaching)

“Major work on a major genre … with no rival in English (or any other language) … .An indispensable guide to the subject. Essential.” (Choice)

“Thorough, vigorous and up-to-date treatment of the subject, it should find a place on the shelves of scholars and students of antiquity alike.” (Bryn Mawr Classical Review)