Forging the Philosopher?: Epistolarity and Pseudo-documentarism in Philostratus's Life of Apollonius
Emerging from scholarship on ancient fiction, »pseudo-documentarism« describes the invocation of fabricated sources in a narrative work. This article places pseudodocumentarism intoaconstellation of attributive practices, of which pseudepigraphy is also a part, that work to shape the identity of a p...
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Mohr Siebeck
2023
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| In: |
Early christianity
Year: 2023, Volume: 14, Issue: 4, Pages: 529-547 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Philostratus, Atheniensis ca. 3. Jh.
/ Philostratus, Flavius 160-245, Vita Apollonii
/ Pseudepigraphy
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| IxTheo Classification: | BD Ancient European religions KAB Church history 30-500; early Christianity TB Antiquity |
| Further subjects: | B
ApolloniusofTyana
B Characterization B pseudo-documentarism B Type and type-founding B Memoirs |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | Emerging from scholarship on ancient fiction, »pseudo-documentarism« describes the invocation of fabricated sources in a narrative work. This article places pseudodocumentarism intoaconstellation of attributive practices, of which pseudepigraphy is also a part, that work to shape the identity of a purported »author.« To do so, it analyzes an assemblage of letters attributed to the first-century wonderworker Apollonius of Tyana and their deployment in his only extant biography, composed by the third-century sophist Philostratus of Athens. Through a narratological reading of the Life of Apollonius, this article traces the subtle pseudo-documentarist strategies - the invocation of Apollonian letters - by which Philostratus characterizes his biographical subject as the supreme Pythagorean philosopher, as an alternative to the magician whom his detractors present. |
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| ISSN: | 1868-8020 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Early christianity
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1628/ec-2023-0035 |