111001 |
Identity Theft: Masquerades and Impersonations
in the Contemporary Books of Cassius Dio |
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Maud W. Gleason, Stanford University |
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Abstract - The contemporary books of Cassius
Dio’s Roman History are known (to the extent
that they are read) for their anecdotal quality and
lack of interpretive sophistication. This paper aims to
recuperate another layer of meaning for Dio’s anecdotes
by examining episodes in his contemporary books that
feature masquerades and impersonation. It suggests that
these themes owe their prominence to political
conditions in Dio’s lifetime, particularly the revival,
after a hundred-year lapse, of usurpation and
damnatio memoriae, practices that rendered
personal identity problematic. The central claim is
that narratives in Dio’s last books use masquerades and
impersonation to explore paradoxes of personal identity
and signification, issues made salient by abrupt
changes of social position at the highest levels of
imperial society. |
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This paper replaces (110901) originally published
in November 2009. It has now been published in
Classical Antiquity 30 (2011), pp. 33-86. |
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110901 |
Identity Theft: Masquerades and Impersonations
in the Contemporary Books of Cassius Dio |
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Maud W. Gleason, Stanford University |
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Revised November 2010. See entry 111001. |
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070801 |
Making Space for Bicultural Identity: Herodes
Atticus Commemorates Regilla |
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Maud W. Gleason, Stanford University |
 |
Abstract: Herodes and Regilla built a number
of installations during their marriage, some of which
represented their union in spatial terms. After Regilla
died, Herodes reconfigured two of these structures,
altering their meanings with inscriptions to represent
the marriage retrospectively. This paper considers the
implications of these commemorative installations for
Herodes’ sense of cultural identity. |
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This paper has now been published in Local
Knowledge and Microidentities in the Imperial Greek
World (Cambridge University Press, 2010). |
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010702 |
Shock and Awe: The Performance Dimension of
Galen’s Anatomy Demonstrations |
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Maud W. Gleason, Stanford University |
 |
Abstract: Galen’s anatomical demonstrations
on living animals constitute a justly famous chapter in
the history of scientific method. This essay, however,
examines them as a social phenomenon. Galen’s
demonstrations were competitive. Their visual,
cognitive and emotional impact (often expressed by
compounds of ѳαῦμα and ἔκπληξις) reduced onlookers
to gaping amazement. This impact enhanced the logical
force of Galen’s arguments, compelling competitors to
acknowlege his intellectual and technical preeminence.
Thus, on the interpersonal level, Galen’s
demonstrations functioned coercively. On the
philosophical level, Galen was using a rhetoric
traditional to Greek science, a way of arguing that
involved a unitary view of nature and an emphasis on
homology between animals and man. But he was also using
a rhetoric of power and status differentiation
articulated via the body. As played out in the flesh,
public vivisection resonated with other cultural
practices of the Roman empire: wonder-working
competitions, judicial trials, and ampitheater
entertainment. |
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This paper has now been published as "Galen's
Anatomical Performances" in C. Gill, T. Whitmarsh, J.
Wilkins, eds. Galen and the World of Knowledge
(Cambridge University Press, 2010). |
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