Case Studies

The book is the second volume of a series of studies dealing with the Submerged literature in ancient Greek culture (s. vol. 1: G. Colesanti, M. Giordano, eds., Submerged Literature in Ancient Greek Culture. An Introduction, Berlin-Boston, de Gruyter, 2014). It is a peculiar starting point of the research in the field of Greek culture, since it casts a light on many case studies so far not yet analyzed as literary products subjected to the process of submersion: e.g. oracles, philosophy, phlyax play, epigrams, Aesopic fables, periplus, sacred texts, mysteries, medical treatises, dance, music. Therefore the book investigates the complex and manifold dynamics of ‘emergence’ and ‘submersion’ in ancient Greek literary culture, dealing especially with matters as the interaction between orality and literacy, the authorship, the cultural transmission, the folklore. Moreover, the book offers the reader new stimulating approaches in order to reconstruct the wide frame which contained the overall cultural processes, including the literary products subjected to the submersion, in a chronological span going from Greek archaic age to the Imperial age.

Giulio Colesanti, Rome, Italy; Laura Lulli, Università di Roma, Italy.