The Aesthetics of Hope in Late Greek Imperial Literature: Methodius of Olympus’ Symposium and the Crisis of the Third Century. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, 2019. Pp. [viii] + 287. 9781108657389

• Published in: The Journal of Hellenic studies 2024, Vol.144, p.314-315
• Main Authors: Fowler, Ryan C, Quiroga Puertas, Alberto J
• Format: Review
• Language: English
• Subjects: 3rd century; Biographies; Latin literature; Nonfiction
• ISSN: 0075-4269; 2041-4099
• DOI: 10.1017/S0075426924000181

The fourth chapter, on epideictic oratory, discusses the competitive nature of the Symposium, which seems at odds with assumptions about early Christianity; however, LaValle Norman considers the speeches delivered by the women to be thematically complementary, thus allowing a competitive Christian reading of the work. [...]the literary discussion (123–46) compiles information which does not seem to relate to the rest of the book (especially the somewhat confusing addition of Latin literature, which seems to have no place in her study at all), leading one to wonder whether this chapter is necessary to contextualize Methodius’ oeuvre. Relatedly, the very close reading of the final hymn in ch. 5 would make for a cohesive study unto itself, alongside the few references in that section that work to connect it with the rest of the book.