French Literature Reviews - 2026
A. Georgiadou, K. Oikonomopoulou (eds.), Space, Time and Language in Plutarch
Philosophy, Anthropology and Ideas
Space, Time and Language in Plutarch
Aristoula Georgiadou, Katerina Oikonomopoulou (eds.)
De Gruyter, Millennium Studies 67.
EAN13 : 9783110539479
382 p.
Ed. by Brandes, Wolfram / Demandt, Alexander / Krasser, Helmut / Leppin, Hartmut / Möllendorff, Peter von / Pollmann, Karla, collection "Millennium Studies", 2018.
OVERVIEW
‘Space and time’ have been key concepts of investigation in the humanities in recent years. In the field of Classics in particular, they have led to the fresh appraisal of genres such as epic, historiography, the novel and biography, by enabling a close focus on how ancient texts invest their representations of space and time with a variety of symbolic and cultural meanings. This collection of essays by a team of international scholars seeks to make a contribution to this rich interdisciplinary field, by exploring how space and time are perceived, linguistically codified and portrayed in the biographical and philosophical work of Plutarch of Chaeronea (1st-2nd centuries CE).
The volume’s aim is to show how philological approaches, in conjunction with socio-cultural readings, can shed light on Plutarch’s spatial terminology and clarify his conceptions of time, especially in terms of the ways in which he situates himself in his era’s fascination with the past. The volume’s intended readership includes Classicists, intellectual and cultural historians and scholars whose field of expertise embraces theoretical study of space and time, along with the linguistic strategies used to portray them in literary or historical texts.
Published by De Gruyter in the Millennium Studies series, this collection brings together international scholars to examine the works of Plutarch of Chaeronea from a fresh interdisciplinary angle. By combining rigorous philological methods with socio-cultural readings, the contributors investigate how the first- and second-century writer linguistically codified spatial and temporal dimensions across his biographical and philosophical corpus. The volume highlights the ways Plutarch engaged with his contemporary era's deep fascination with antiquity, offering nuanced insights into ancient Mediterranean mentalities and cultural geography.
This scholarly resource is particularly valuable for classicists, intellectual and cultural historians, and researchers investigating the theoretical framing of space and time in ancient texts. By shedding light on Plutarch's terminology and conceptual frameworks, the essays help readers understand how ancient literature invested its settings and chronologies with symbolic meaning. It serves as a helpful reference for anyone exploring the intersection of classical philology, linguistics, and the evolving methodologies of modern spatial and temporal studies in the humanities.