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Representations of Truth and Falsehood in Hellenistic Poetry

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2018, PhD, University of Cincinnati, Arts and Sciences: Classics.
This dissertation examines how five Hellenistic poets represent the processes of evaluating truth and falsehood. Applying the philosophic concept of a criterion of truth, I demonstrate that each poetic persona interrogates truth by suggesting a different kind of criterion. Due to the indebtedness of Hellenistic poetry to previous literature, the second chapter summarizes the evolution of pertinent vocabulary for truth and falsehood, tracking the words’ first appearances in early poetry to their reappearance in Hellenistic verse. In my third chapter, I discuss notions concerning the relationship between truth and poetry throughout Greek literary history. The fourth chapter covers Aratus’ "Phaenomena" and Nicander’s "Theriaca," two poems containing scientific subject matter framed as true. Yet, as I argue, the poems’ contrasting treatments of myths attest to the differences in the knowability of the respective material. In the "Phaemomena," a poem about visible signs, Aratus’ myths offer a model for interpreting an ordered Stoic universe via regular and perceptible signs. By contrast, Nicander’s myths replicate the uncertainty of his subject matter (deadly creatures and remedies) and the necessity of direct experience as a criterion. The dichotomy between certainty and uncertainty applies also to the fifth chapter, which analyzes the narratorial voices of Callimachus in the "Aetia" and Apollonius of Rhodes in the "Argonautica." While the Callimachean persona exhibits a confident attitude in assessing sources and information, employing personal experience as a criterion, the Apollonian narrator expresses doubt and implies a lack of a definite criterion. The sixth chapter, devoted to Lycophron’s "Alexandra," focuses on how the prophetess Cassandra assesses truth through her understanding of hidden inner essences. Cassandra’s strategy, however, contrasts with that of the messenger, who claims to report her speech accurately but fails to comprehend or believe it. Ultimately, in comparing the treatments of truth and falsehood in these five works, I show that the combination of poetic language, allusion, and myth can embody the methods for reconciling certainty and doubt.
Kathryn Gutzwiller, Ph.D. (Committee Chair)
Richard Hunter, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Daniel Markovic, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Susan Prince, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
254 p.

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Kidder, K. (2018). Representations of Truth and Falsehood in Hellenistic Poetry [Doctoral dissertation, University of Cincinnati]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1526315875733844

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Kidder, Kathleen. Representations of Truth and Falsehood in Hellenistic Poetry. 2018. University of Cincinnati, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1526315875733844.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Kidder, Kathleen. "Representations of Truth and Falsehood in Hellenistic Poetry." Doctoral dissertation, University of Cincinnati, 2018. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1526315875733844

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)