RHETORICAL EXAMPLES OF “ANTHOCH ORATION” BY LIBANUS

Abstract

The Antioch oration of Libanius is, on the one hand, a typical product of the sophistic work of the orator, designed to glorify his native city, and on the other, one of the best examples of the panegyric of the city in late ancient oratory. A panegyric to the city is a popular genre of solemn eloquence, well studied and described in the ancient rhetorical literature. However, Libanius’ Antioch oration is particularly interesting as the result of the development of ancient oratory, accumulating the old rhetorical tradition and the best achievements of ancient Greek orators in this genre, dating back to Isocrates and to the first sophists. The discovery of the closest literary samples for the Antioch oration allows us to determine the degree and nature of the influence of the previous rhetoric literature (the so-called Second Sophistic) on the development of late ancient eloquence, often referred as the Third Sophistic, as well as assess the contribution of Libanius as a panegyrist to the history of ancient oratory. Refs 35.