Invited Talks by T. Davina McClain
Modern scholars have tended to examine Galen’s animal dissections not just for their anatomical s... more Modern scholars have tended to examine Galen’s animal dissections not just for their anatomical significance, but also for the way they operated as public performances (Von Staden 1995; Gleason 2009). Galen himself was heavily depended on the
rhetorical strategies promoted by the intellectual movement of the ‘Second Sophistic’, and used strong – at times highly bombastic – language to persuade his audience of his medical competence. In this paper, I would like to turn mainly to Galen’s methods of persuasion in his ethical writings – a largely neglected group of texts, and discuss the rhetorical means he employs in encountering patients with emotional disturbances or in addressing moral advice to a wider readership. His recently discovered treatise Avoiding Distress (Περὶ ἀλυπίας) is a good staring point, as it provides us with instances in which the autobiographical perspective of Galen’s narrative and the
intimacy between author and addressee ensure the efficient treatment of anxiety. Additional persuasive techniques applied in the therapy of emotions involve the construction of authority on Galen’s part, the ‘character assassination’ of contemporary figures, and the play on his audience’s sense of honour (αἰδώς) and
ambition (φιλοτιμία). In a larger project that I currently run, I show that Galen’s role as a healer of the soul corresponds to his role as a practising physician on a number of levels, and in this paper I hope to make clear that Galen’s persuasion techniques across his medical and ethical treatments of patients is one such level.
Papers by T. Davina McClain
The Classical Review, 2000
The Classical Review, 2009
female characters. R.’s main diversion from structuralism occurs at the end of each analysis. Her... more female characters. R.’s main diversion from structuralism occurs at the end of each analysis. Here, she turns to the endings of the plays and highlights the multiplicity of interpretations allowed for by their inherent ambiguity. R. uses this ambiguity in two ways. First, to argue for the universality of Greek tragedy that allows for its relevance to today’s audience, a relevance R. explores further in the epilogue that gives fascinating insights into modern productions of the plays. Secondly, R. utilises this ambiguity to demand a response from her readers to the multiplicity of interpretations, insisting they form their own opinion. Indeed, throughout her monograph R. asks questions that compel readers to re·ect upon the analysis or debate that has been presented (e.g. pp. 117, 143 and 165–6). In Part 1, R. reveals how modern scholars are in·uenced by their own socio-historical circumstances (pp. 33–4); in Part 2, she turns that observation back to her reader and asks them to re·ect upon their own opinions and how these may be moulded by their own cultural and political backgrounds. In so doing, R. introduces her audience to a self-awareness essential to critical thinking. Unfortunately, this attention to readership does not extend to R.’s referencing. Whilst supplying guides to further reading at the ends of Chapters 1, 2, 3, 7 and 8, R. often mentions debates, such as that on the role of the tragic chorus (p. 27), or claims ‘to some x is clear, to others y’ (e.g. p. 107) without elaborating upon this mysterious ‘some’ or indicating where the debates may be pursued. Intended as the book is for a student audience, such indications would have been invaluable. Despite these limitations and omissions, R.’s book fulμls its goals of introducing the web of Greek tragedy to a general and student population and of revealing the relevance of the genre to a modern audience. Her intended readership is re·ected in R.’s use of translations, her succinct summaries of the plays, and the extensive and functional index with which the book ends. It is re·ected, too, in R.’s readable and friendly prose that demands a rare active participation from its readers and forces them to question their assumptions and analyses. For these reasons, this monograph would be useful for anyone attempting to come to grips with or introduce others to Greek tragedy.
Archaeologists have identified the house of Sp. Stertinius Sp. ? at Delos on the basis of a house... more Archaeologists have identified the house of Sp. Stertinius Sp. ? at Delos on the basis of a household shrine bearing a dedication to Artemis Soteira found in the entryway. The shrine, a recessed wall niche that probably once supported a statuette, was located in the entry corridor of House E on the East Avenue, directly opposite the entrance to the Sanctuary of Apollo at its northeast corner *. Although an ongoing excavation project will soon tell us more about the house, from all appearances it was a large, modestly decorated, and relatively comfortable two-storied structure like its abutting neighbor, House F. Snugly placed behind and slightly to the right of the altar of Dionysus (Bruneau, Guide, 81), its facade of four shops (two to either side of the entry way) was shielded from the afternoon sun by a narrow portico of 8 marble
The Rhetoric of Unity and Division in Ancient Literature, 2021
The Ancient Art of Persuasion across Genres and Topics, 2019
International Journal of the Classical Tradition, 2009
Organising Department: -- Department of Social and Political Sciences, University of Cyprus Co-sp... more Organising Department: -- Department of Social and Political Sciences, University of Cyprus Co-sponsors: -- Department of Classics, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens -- Department of Classics and Philosophy, University of Cyprus Conveners: -- Kyriakos Demetriou (Cyprus) -- Sophia Papaioannou (Athens) -- Andreas Serafim (Cyprus/ OU Cyprus/ Trinity College Dublin) Keynote speaker: -- Michael Gagarin (Austin) Confirmed speakers: -- Adele Scafuro (Brown) -- Alessandro Vatri (Oxford) -- Andreas Hetzel (Fatih/Magdeburg) -- Andreas Michalopoulos (Athens) -- Antonis Petrides (OU Cyprus) -- Antonis Tsakmakis (Cyprus) -- Benoit Sans (Brussels) -- Brenda Griffith-Williams (UCL) -- Christopher Carey (UCL) -- Costas Apostolakis (Crete) -- Dimos Spatharas (Crete) -- Eleni Volonaki (Peloponnese) -- Flaminia Beneventano della Corte (Siena) -- Francesca Scrofani (EHESS/Università degli Studi di Trento) -- Gabriel Danzig (Bar Ilan University) -- Georgios Vassiliades (Paris IV-Sorbonne) -...
Organisation of Conferences/Seminars by T. Davina McClain
by Jennifer Devereaux, Andreas Serafim, Sophia Papaioannou, Kyriakos Demetriou, Andreas Hetzel, Maria Kythreotou, Georgios Vassiliades, Judith Mossman, kostas apostolakis, Flaminia Beneventano della Corte, Sophia Xenophontos, Roger Brock, T. Davina McClain, and Andreas N . Michalopoulos Organising Department:
-- Department of Social and Political Sciences, University of Cyprus
C... more Organising Department:
-- Department of Social and Political Sciences, University of Cyprus
Co-sponsors:
-- Department of Classics, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
-- Department of Classics and Philosophy, University of Cyprus
Conveners:
-- Kyriakos Demetriou (Cyprus)
-- Sophia Papaioannou (Athens)
-- Andreas Serafim (Cyprus/ OU Cyprus/ Trinity College Dublin)
Keynote speaker:
-- Michael Gagarin (Austin)
Confirmed speakers:
-- Adele Scafuro (Brown)
-- Alessandro Vatri (Oxford)
-- Andreas Hetzel (Hildesheim)
-- Andreas Michalopoulos (Athens)
-- Antonis Petrides (OU Cyprus)
-- Antonis Tsakmakis (Cyprus)
-- Benoit Sans (Brussels)
-- Brenda Griffith-Williams (UCL)
-- Christopher Carey (UCL)
-- Costas Apostolakis (Crete)
-- Dimos Spatharas (Crete)
-- Eleni Volonaki (Peloponnese)
-- Flaminia Beneventano della Corte (Siena)
-- Francesca Scrofani (EHESS/Università degli Studi di Trento)
-- Gabriel Danzig (Bar Ilan University)
-- Georgios Vassiliades (Paris IV-Sorbonne)
-- Jakob Wisse (Newcastle)
-- Jennifer Devereaux (Southern California)
-- Jessica Evans (Middlebury)
-- Jon Hesk (St Andrews)
-- Judith Mossman (Nottingham)
-- Kathryn Tempest (Roehampton)
-- Margot Neger (Salzburg)
-- Maria Kythreotou (Cyprus)
-- Michael Paschalis (Crete)
-- Rebecca van Hove (KCL)
-- Ricardo Gancz (Bar Ilan University)
-- Robert Sing (Cambridge)
-- Roger Brock (Leeds)
-- Sophia Xenophontos (Glasgow)
-- Stephen Todd (Manchester)
-- T. Davina McClain (Northwestern State University)
-- Tazuko Angela van Berkel (Leiden)
-- Thierry Hirsh (Oxford)
-- Tzu-I Liao (UCL)
-- Victoria Pagan (Florida)
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Invited Talks by T. Davina McClain
rhetorical strategies promoted by the intellectual movement of the ‘Second Sophistic’, and used strong – at times highly bombastic – language to persuade his audience of his medical competence. In this paper, I would like to turn mainly to Galen’s methods of persuasion in his ethical writings – a largely neglected group of texts, and discuss the rhetorical means he employs in encountering patients with emotional disturbances or in addressing moral advice to a wider readership. His recently discovered treatise Avoiding Distress (Περὶ ἀλυπίας) is a good staring point, as it provides us with instances in which the autobiographical perspective of Galen’s narrative and the
intimacy between author and addressee ensure the efficient treatment of anxiety. Additional persuasive techniques applied in the therapy of emotions involve the construction of authority on Galen’s part, the ‘character assassination’ of contemporary figures, and the play on his audience’s sense of honour (αἰδώς) and
ambition (φιλοτιμία). In a larger project that I currently run, I show that Galen’s role as a healer of the soul corresponds to his role as a practising physician on a number of levels, and in this paper I hope to make clear that Galen’s persuasion techniques across his medical and ethical treatments of patients is one such level.
Papers by T. Davina McClain
Organisation of Conferences/Seminars by T. Davina McClain
-- Department of Social and Political Sciences, University of Cyprus
Co-sponsors:
-- Department of Classics, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
-- Department of Classics and Philosophy, University of Cyprus
Conveners:
-- Kyriakos Demetriou (Cyprus)
-- Sophia Papaioannou (Athens)
-- Andreas Serafim (Cyprus/ OU Cyprus/ Trinity College Dublin)
Keynote speaker:
-- Michael Gagarin (Austin)
Confirmed speakers:
-- Adele Scafuro (Brown)
-- Alessandro Vatri (Oxford)
-- Andreas Hetzel (Hildesheim)
-- Andreas Michalopoulos (Athens)
-- Antonis Petrides (OU Cyprus)
-- Antonis Tsakmakis (Cyprus)
-- Benoit Sans (Brussels)
-- Brenda Griffith-Williams (UCL)
-- Christopher Carey (UCL)
-- Costas Apostolakis (Crete)
-- Dimos Spatharas (Crete)
-- Eleni Volonaki (Peloponnese)
-- Flaminia Beneventano della Corte (Siena)
-- Francesca Scrofani (EHESS/Università degli Studi di Trento)
-- Gabriel Danzig (Bar Ilan University)
-- Georgios Vassiliades (Paris IV-Sorbonne)
-- Jakob Wisse (Newcastle)
-- Jennifer Devereaux (Southern California)
-- Jessica Evans (Middlebury)
-- Jon Hesk (St Andrews)
-- Judith Mossman (Nottingham)
-- Kathryn Tempest (Roehampton)
-- Margot Neger (Salzburg)
-- Maria Kythreotou (Cyprus)
-- Michael Paschalis (Crete)
-- Rebecca van Hove (KCL)
-- Ricardo Gancz (Bar Ilan University)
-- Robert Sing (Cambridge)
-- Roger Brock (Leeds)
-- Sophia Xenophontos (Glasgow)
-- Stephen Todd (Manchester)
-- T. Davina McClain (Northwestern State University)
-- Tazuko Angela van Berkel (Leiden)
-- Thierry Hirsh (Oxford)
-- Tzu-I Liao (UCL)
-- Victoria Pagan (Florida)
rhetorical strategies promoted by the intellectual movement of the ‘Second Sophistic’, and used strong – at times highly bombastic – language to persuade his audience of his medical competence. In this paper, I would like to turn mainly to Galen’s methods of persuasion in his ethical writings – a largely neglected group of texts, and discuss the rhetorical means he employs in encountering patients with emotional disturbances or in addressing moral advice to a wider readership. His recently discovered treatise Avoiding Distress (Περὶ ἀλυπίας) is a good staring point, as it provides us with instances in which the autobiographical perspective of Galen’s narrative and the
intimacy between author and addressee ensure the efficient treatment of anxiety. Additional persuasive techniques applied in the therapy of emotions involve the construction of authority on Galen’s part, the ‘character assassination’ of contemporary figures, and the play on his audience’s sense of honour (αἰδώς) and
ambition (φιλοτιμία). In a larger project that I currently run, I show that Galen’s role as a healer of the soul corresponds to his role as a practising physician on a number of levels, and in this paper I hope to make clear that Galen’s persuasion techniques across his medical and ethical treatments of patients is one such level.
-- Department of Social and Political Sciences, University of Cyprus
Co-sponsors:
-- Department of Classics, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
-- Department of Classics and Philosophy, University of Cyprus
Conveners:
-- Kyriakos Demetriou (Cyprus)
-- Sophia Papaioannou (Athens)
-- Andreas Serafim (Cyprus/ OU Cyprus/ Trinity College Dublin)
Keynote speaker:
-- Michael Gagarin (Austin)
Confirmed speakers:
-- Adele Scafuro (Brown)
-- Alessandro Vatri (Oxford)
-- Andreas Hetzel (Hildesheim)
-- Andreas Michalopoulos (Athens)
-- Antonis Petrides (OU Cyprus)
-- Antonis Tsakmakis (Cyprus)
-- Benoit Sans (Brussels)
-- Brenda Griffith-Williams (UCL)
-- Christopher Carey (UCL)
-- Costas Apostolakis (Crete)
-- Dimos Spatharas (Crete)
-- Eleni Volonaki (Peloponnese)
-- Flaminia Beneventano della Corte (Siena)
-- Francesca Scrofani (EHESS/Università degli Studi di Trento)
-- Gabriel Danzig (Bar Ilan University)
-- Georgios Vassiliades (Paris IV-Sorbonne)
-- Jakob Wisse (Newcastle)
-- Jennifer Devereaux (Southern California)
-- Jessica Evans (Middlebury)
-- Jon Hesk (St Andrews)
-- Judith Mossman (Nottingham)
-- Kathryn Tempest (Roehampton)
-- Margot Neger (Salzburg)
-- Maria Kythreotou (Cyprus)
-- Michael Paschalis (Crete)
-- Rebecca van Hove (KCL)
-- Ricardo Gancz (Bar Ilan University)
-- Robert Sing (Cambridge)
-- Roger Brock (Leeds)
-- Sophia Xenophontos (Glasgow)
-- Stephen Todd (Manchester)
-- T. Davina McClain (Northwestern State University)
-- Tazuko Angela van Berkel (Leiden)
-- Thierry Hirsh (Oxford)
-- Tzu-I Liao (UCL)
-- Victoria Pagan (Florida)