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The Values of Nighttime in Classical Antiquity
Between Dusk and Dawn
Series: - Mnemosyne, Supplements, Volume: 434
In ancient Greece and Rome, nighttime encompassed a distinctive array of cultural values that went far beyond the inversion of daytime. Night was a mythological figure, a locus of specialized knowledge, a socially significant semantic space in various literary genres, and a setting for unique experiences. These facets of night are explored here through fifteen case-studies, that range from Hesiod to imperial Roman painting and cultural history. The contributors took part in a conference on this theme at the University of Pennsylvania in 2018, where they pursued a common goal: to consider how nighttime was employed in the ascription of specific valuesâin determining what values a thing or a person might have, or lack, in a nocturnal context.
James Ker, Ph.D. (2002), University of California, Berkeley, is Associate Professor of Classical Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. He has published books and articles on Seneca and on Roman conceptions of time.
Antje Wessels, Dr. phil. (2001), University of Heidelberg, Habilitation (2011), Free University Berlin, is Full Professor of Latin Language and Literature at Leiden University. She has published books on aesthetic theory, history of scholarship and reception of antiquity.
Contributors are: Adrienne Atkins, Amelia Bensch-Schaus, Kim Beerden, Cynthia Damon, Radcliffe G. Edmonds III, Jennifer Ferriss-Hill, Albert Joosse, Barbara Kellum, Marie-Charlotte von Lehsten, Christoph Pieper, Isabella Reinhardt, Ralph M. Rosen, Jane Sancinito, Selina Weissmantel, Kathryn Wilson
Antje Wessels, Dr. phil. (2001), University of Heidelberg, Habilitation (2011), Free University Berlin, is Full Professor of Latin Language and Literature at Leiden University. She has published books on aesthetic theory, history of scholarship and reception of antiquity.
Contributors are: Adrienne Atkins, Amelia Bensch-Schaus, Kim Beerden, Cynthia Damon, Radcliffe G. Edmonds III, Jennifer Ferriss-Hill, Albert Joosse, Barbara Kellum, Marie-Charlotte von Lehsten, Christoph Pieper, Isabella Reinhardt, Ralph M. Rosen, Jane Sancinito, Selina Weissmantel, Kathryn Wilson
Introduction: The Values of Nighttime in Classical Antiquity
âAntje Wessels and James Ker
1 Night as Measure, Mother, and Metaphor in the Hesiodic Cosmos
âAdrienne Atkins
2 First-Born of Night or Oozing from the Slime? Deviant Origins in Orphic Cosmogonies
âRadcliffe G. Edmonds III
3 Night as Diagnostic Marker in Hippocratic Medicine
âRalph M. Rosen
4 Nights of Insight: Plato on the Philosophical Qualities of the Night
âAlbert Joosse
5 Nightâs Fictions: The Religious Institutions of Numa in Lucilius fr. 484â489 (Marx)
âCynthia Damon
6 The Astronomer-Poet at Night: The Evolution of a Motif
âKathryn Wilson
7 A Night Attack in the Seven Against Thebes
âIsabella Reinhardt
8 Tragedy of Darkness: The Role of Night in Euripidesâ Rhesus
âMarie-Charlotte von Lehsten
9 The Witching Hour: Wakeful Women at Work in Homer, Apollonius, and Theocritus
âAmelia Bensch-Schaus
10 Nox rei publicae? Catilineâs and Ciceroâs Nocturnal Activities in the Catilinarians
âChristoph Pieper
11 Inn-Dependent: Spending the Night in a Hostel in the Roman World
âJane Sancinito
12 Better Safe Than Sorry: Nocturnal Divinatory Signs from a First-Century BCE Roman Perspective
âKim Beerden
13 Through the Eyes of the Night: Ecphrasis of Nocturnal Ambush Scenes in Roman Epic and Historiography
âSelina Weissmantel
14 Nocturnal Negotiations: Experiencing the Night Scenes from the Iliad at the House of Octavius Quartio, Pompeii II 2.2
âBarbara Kellum
15 Persiusâ Nocturnal Inspiration in the Light of Day
âJennifer Ferriss-Hill
Index
âAntje Wessels and James Ker
Part 1 Who or What Is the Night?
1 Night as Measure, Mother, and Metaphor in the Hesiodic Cosmos
âAdrienne Atkins
2 First-Born of Night or Oozing from the Slime? Deviant Origins in Orphic Cosmogonies
âRadcliffe G. Edmonds III
Part 2 Nocturnal Knowledge: Medicine, Philosophy, Religion, Astronomy
3 Night as Diagnostic Marker in Hippocratic Medicine
âRalph M. Rosen
4 Nights of Insight: Plato on the Philosophical Qualities of the Night
âAlbert Joosse
5 Nightâs Fictions: The Religious Institutions of Numa in Lucilius fr. 484â489 (Marx)
âCynthia Damon
6 The Astronomer-Poet at Night: The Evolution of a Motif
âKathryn Wilson
Part 3 Society and Gender: Men and Women at Work, by Night
7 A Night Attack in the Seven Against Thebes
âIsabella Reinhardt
8 Tragedy of Darkness: The Role of Night in Euripidesâ Rhesus
âMarie-Charlotte von Lehsten
9 The Witching Hour: Wakeful Women at Work in Homer, Apollonius, and Theocritus
âAmelia Bensch-Schaus
10 Nox rei publicae? Catilineâs and Ciceroâs Nocturnal Activities in the Catilinarians
âChristoph Pieper
11 Inn-Dependent: Spending the Night in a Hostel in the Roman World
âJane Sancinito
Part 4 Experiencing by Night
12 Better Safe Than Sorry: Nocturnal Divinatory Signs from a First-Century BCE Roman Perspective
âKim Beerden
13 Through the Eyes of the Night: Ecphrasis of Nocturnal Ambush Scenes in Roman Epic and Historiography
âSelina Weissmantel
14 Nocturnal Negotiations: Experiencing the Night Scenes from the Iliad at the House of Octavius Quartio, Pompeii II 2.2
âBarbara Kellum
15 Persiusâ Nocturnal Inspiration in the Light of Day
âJennifer Ferriss-Hill
Index
All interested in Greek and Roman literature, history, and intellectual culture, and specifically those curious about ancient time-concepts.