John Dillery
Biographic Data
| ID | 5628235 |
|---|---|
| NAME | John Dillery |
| GIVEN NAMES | John |
| FAMILY NAME | Dillery |
| SIGNATURE | DILLERY J |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Virginia |
| VERIFIED | No |
| TOTAL WORKS | 29 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 74 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 29 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1992 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
Looking, Seeing, and Showing in Xenophon (on R. Harman, The Politics of Viewing in Xenophon’s Historical Narratives)
t is difficult to imagine a Greek author for whom 'seeing', indeed the entire world of visual experience, is not important, and in particular the historians: one has only to think of the centrality of 'viewing', say, in Herodotus' story of Candaules, his wife, and Gyges, if not already in the proem and its reference to the 'showing forth' () of his histori, to say nothing of vital Herodotean concepts such as autopsy.Or, if one prefers, consider T…
Starting and Restarting the Anabasis
The paper starts with a quick and selective survey of beginnings in historical works. Then follows the argument relating to the start of the Anabasis. Beyond the obvious point that the work opens in some fashion, the start of the Anabasis is clearly composed in a manner that relates it to genealogical accounts and stories of dynastic in-fighting. This connection is achieved largely through the use of the praesens tabulare γίγνονται at Anab. 1.1.1…
Making Logoi
This paper argues that the several allusions to Hecataeus of Miletus, especially to his F 1, in Book 2 of Herodotus’ History constitute a carefully articulated polemic by the younger historian against the elder. Picking up the phrase ‘the logoi of the Greeks’ from Hecataeus F 1, Herodotus deploys the term logos [a ‘story’ or ‘account’] and logopoios [a maker of logoi ] artfully throughout Book 2 to show that Hecataeus was just as guilty of the fa…
Literary Interaction between Greece and Egypt
Xenophon
Clio's Other Sons
Soon after the death of Alexander the Great, the priest Berossus wrote the first known narrative and comprehensive history of his native Babylon, and the priest Manetho likewise wrote the first such history of his native Egyptian civilization. Nothing like these histories had been produced before in these cultures. Clio's Other Sons considers why that is: why were these histories written at this point, and for what purposes? Berossus and Manetho …
IAN S. Moyer. Egypt and the Limits of Hellenism
Hellenistic Historiography
Roman historians and the Greeks
Almost all our earliest documentary evidence demonstrating with certainty an awareness of the myths for the foundation of Rome, and easily our most informative, comes from the Greek world. Despite Momigliano's famous claim that the Greeks did not really pay attention to what non-Greeks said, the Romans were producing stories about the foundation of their city, and these stories were reaching Greek ears, at least by the early second century BCE. T…
Greek Historians of the Near East
I begin with two commonplace, but nonetheless important, observations. First, that with the conquests of Alexander the Great went also a rapid and massive diffusion of Hellenic culture to non-Greek lands. And secondly, that the writing of history was deeply implicated in Alexander's empire building: historians accompanied him on his march; a number of his lieutenants later in life turned to the writing of history; and, perhaps most importantly, e…
Chapter 3. Exile
Many observers, both ancient and modern, have noted beneficial effects of exile. One can argue that if exile is the making of historian, it would appear that a person could not be one without it in ancient Greek world, at least one worth talking about. Exile must have profoundly affected lives and output of historians who experienced it. This chapter shows that we must be on guard not to be careless in our use of word 'exile', a term that can cov…
Cambyses and the Egyptian Chaosbeschreibung Tradition
An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content
Greek Sacred History
This paper contends that there was a distinct branch of Greek local historiography that focused on the past viewed through regional cult: sacred history. After an introductory look at Atthidography, a number of cases of local cult history referred to in inscriptions from the Hellenistic period are examined; additionally, an instance where historia sacra is itself preserved on an inscription is also discussed, namely, the Chronicle of the temple o…
Putting Him Back Together Again
The Paradigmatic Individual
Much attention has been given to Xenophon’s interest in the ideal field commander, especially since the important work of Breitenbach. Iphicrates, the Athenian admiral, stands in direct contrast with Mnasippus; since his mission is to defend Corcyra and defeat Mnasippus, since furthermore the Corcyraeans are able on their own to accomplish these goals, and since nonetheless Iphicrates’ mission to Corcyra is described in careful detail, this concl…
Xenophon’s Anabasis
Xenophon’s Anabasis shows the influence of panhellenic thought and utopian thinking in all its varieties; it also contains elements of exotic ethnography as well as early intimations of biography. This chapter explores first the panhellenism of the Anabasis and then turn to a consideration of the Ten Thousand as an ideal community. Xenophon tries to instill courage in the troops by pointing to the situation of the Mysians, a powerful and autonomo…
Xenophon and the Divine
Xenophon wrote the Hellenica in accordance with how he made sense of the events of his age; if he believed that the gods had a role in shaping history, this belief ought not to invalidate his account. Historical writing and belief in a powerful divine apparatus capable of ‘changing’ the course of human events do not seem to be compatible concepts. Diogenes Laertius ends his brief biography of Xenophon as follows: ‘he was pious, fond of sacrificin…
Xenophon, History and Order
Between the so-called King’s Peace of 387/6 and the peace of 362/1, no fewer than three and possibly four general peaces were arranged among the Greek states, in addition to numerous bilateral and multilateral treaties. This profusion of settlements eloquently underscores the fact that in the first half of the fourth century the Greeks were almost continually at war with one another. Xenophon realized that 362/1 was not a watershed in the history…
The Legacy of the Ten Thousand?
Xenophon’s involvement in military adventure in Asia Minor did not come to an end with the final dissolution of the Ten Thousand. Along with many others from the army, he became part of a Spartan effort there that lasted five years. Xenophon’s account of Agesilaus’ expedition to Asia Minor is at first full of hope and promise. The reaction of the Persians and Agesilaus’ own statements of his plans suggest that the Spartan king contemplated a marc…
Hellenica Book 5 and The Crimes of Sparta
Despite the ease, clarity and sometimes superficiality of his prose, Xenophon can be a subtle, even devious manipulator of his narrative. Consequently, there is an ever-present danger to over-interpret him, finding especially in his silences ironic commentary on matters he does present: but it is difficult to see how omissions can be ironic. Directly following the report of Teleutias’ raid on the Piraeus, it was heard hear that Antalcidas had ret…
Conclusion
This conclusion presents some closing thoughts of the concepts covered in the preceding chapters of the book. The book states that Xenophon’s history attempts to prove the truth of what Sophocles has Agamemnon say with bitter irony in the Ajax: ‘it is not an easy thing for a tyrant to be pious’. It has been remarked that the existence of two complementary sets of speeches is without parallel in the Hellenica. It might further be added that this s…
Xenophon, Utopia and Panhellenism
During the part of their journey which took them along the southern shore of the Black Sea, the ten thousand Greek mercenaries, or ‘Cyreans’ as Xenophon calls them, halted for a while near the city of Cotyora, roughly halfway between Trapezus and Sinope. The terms ‘panhellenism’ and ‘utopia’ are notoriously slippery, and using them to describe trends in Greek intellectual history is a perilous business requiring considerable caution. A lack of ‘c…
Introduction to the Paradigm
The principle that Xenophon is challenging here is that greatness as a power ought to determine the historical importance of a place; further, people can tell that he is straining to make this point because Phlius, as he tells us himself elsewhere, was not a small polis but actually a fairly large one with a citizen body of 5,000. Closer to Xenophon’s way of thinking, but still fundamentally in line with Herodotus, is Thucydides’ famous discussio…
Quintus Fabius Pictor and Greco-Roman Historiography at Rome
Ephebes in the Stadium (Not the Theatre)
An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content
Xenophon and the History of His Times
Xenophon and the History of his Times examines Xenophon's longer historical works, the Hellenica and the Anabasis. Dillery considers how far these texts reflect the Greek intellectual world of the fourth and fifth centuries B.C., rather than focusing on the traditional question of how accurate they are as histories. Through analysis of the complete corpus of Xenophon's work, and the writings of his contemporaries, Xenophon is shown to be very muc…
Reconfiguring the Past
Reconfiguring the Past:Thyrea, Thermopylae and Narrative Patterns in Herodotus John Dillery The recurrence of the wise–advisor, the endless parade of dynasts who destroy themselves through their self–delusion and excess, the inevitability of vengeance are all familiar motifs and story–patterns to those who read Herodotus; and indeed, scholars have long recognized the repetition of character types and story–lines in his History.1 To this ever incr…
Greek Sacred History
This paper contends that there was a distinct branch of Greek local historiography that focused on the past viewed through regional cult: sacred history. After an introductory look at Atthidography, a number of cases of local cult history referred to in inscriptions from the Hellenistic period are examined; additionally, an instance where historia sacra is itself preserved on an inscription is also discussed, namely, the Chronicle of the temple o…
Aesop, Isis, and the Heliconian Muses
Cambyses and the Egyptian Chaosbeschreibung Tradition
An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content
Putting Him Back Together Again
Ephebes in the Stadium (Not the Theatre)
An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content
Herodotus' Proem and Aristotle, Rhetorica 1409a
At Aristotle's Rhetorica III 9.2 (1409a), in a discussion of λ⋯ξις εἰρομ⋯νη and κατεστραμμ⋯νη, occurs the following misquotation of Herodotus' proem
Reconfiguring the Past
Reconfiguring the Past:Thyrea, Thermopylae and Narrative Patterns in Herodotus John Dillery The recurrence of the wise–advisor, the endless parade of dynasts who destroy themselves through their self–delusion and excess, the inevitability of vengeance are all familiar motifs and story–patterns to those who read Herodotus; and indeed, scholars have long recognized the repetition of character types and story–lines in his History.1 To this ever incr…
Aesop, Isis, and the Heliconian Muses
The Paradigmatic Individual
Much attention has been given to Xenophon’s interest in the ideal field commander, especially since the important work of Breitenbach. Iphicrates, the Athenian admiral, stands in direct contrast with Mnasippus; since his mission is to defend Corcyra and defeat Mnasippus, since furthermore the Corcyraeans are able on their own to accomplish these goals, and since nonetheless Iphicrates’ mission to Corcyra is described in careful detail, this concl…
Xenophon’s Anabasis
Xenophon’s Anabasis shows the influence of panhellenic thought and utopian thinking in all its varieties; it also contains elements of exotic ethnography as well as early intimations of biography. This chapter explores first the panhellenism of the Anabasis and then turn to a consideration of the Ten Thousand as an ideal community. Xenophon tries to instill courage in the troops by pointing to the situation of the Mysians, a powerful and autonomo…
Xenophon and the Divine
Xenophon wrote the Hellenica in accordance with how he made sense of the events of his age; if he believed that the gods had a role in shaping history, this belief ought not to invalidate his account. Historical writing and belief in a powerful divine apparatus capable of ‘changing’ the course of human events do not seem to be compatible concepts. Diogenes Laertius ends his brief biography of Xenophon as follows: ‘he was pious, fond of sacrificin…
Xenophon, History and Order
Between the so-called King’s Peace of 387/6 and the peace of 362/1, no fewer than three and possibly four general peaces were arranged among the Greek states, in addition to numerous bilateral and multilateral treaties. This profusion of settlements eloquently underscores the fact that in the first half of the fourth century the Greeks were almost continually at war with one another. Xenophon realized that 362/1 was not a watershed in the history…
The Legacy of the Ten Thousand?
Xenophon’s involvement in military adventure in Asia Minor did not come to an end with the final dissolution of the Ten Thousand. Along with many others from the army, he became part of a Spartan effort there that lasted five years. Xenophon’s account of Agesilaus’ expedition to Asia Minor is at first full of hope and promise. The reaction of the Persians and Agesilaus’ own statements of his plans suggest that the Spartan king contemplated a marc…
Hellenica Book 5 and The Crimes of Sparta
Despite the ease, clarity and sometimes superficiality of his prose, Xenophon can be a subtle, even devious manipulator of his narrative. Consequently, there is an ever-present danger to over-interpret him, finding especially in his silences ironic commentary on matters he does present: but it is difficult to see how omissions can be ironic. Directly following the report of Teleutias’ raid on the Piraeus, it was heard hear that Antalcidas had ret…
Conclusion
This conclusion presents some closing thoughts of the concepts covered in the preceding chapters of the book. The book states that Xenophon’s history attempts to prove the truth of what Sophocles has Agamemnon say with bitter irony in the Ajax: ‘it is not an easy thing for a tyrant to be pious’. It has been remarked that the existence of two complementary sets of speeches is without parallel in the Hellenica. It might further be added that this s…
Xenophon, Utopia and Panhellenism
During the part of their journey which took them along the southern shore of the Black Sea, the ten thousand Greek mercenaries, or ‘Cyreans’ as Xenophon calls them, halted for a while near the city of Cotyora, roughly halfway between Trapezus and Sinope. The terms ‘panhellenism’ and ‘utopia’ are notoriously slippery, and using them to describe trends in Greek intellectual history is a perilous business requiring considerable caution. A lack of ‘c…
Introduction to the Paradigm
The principle that Xenophon is challenging here is that greatness as a power ought to determine the historical importance of a place; further, people can tell that he is straining to make this point because Phlius, as he tells us himself elsewhere, was not a small polis but actually a fairly large one with a citizen body of 5,000. Closer to Xenophon’s way of thinking, but still fundamentally in line with Herodotus, is Thucydides’ famous discussio…
Quintus Fabius Pictor and Greco-Roman Historiography at Rome
Ephebes in the Stadium (Not the Theatre)
An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content
Xenophon and the History of His Times
Xenophon and the History of his Times examines Xenophon's longer historical works, the Hellenica and the Anabasis. Dillery considers how far these texts reflect the Greek intellectual world of the fourth and fifth centuries B.C., rather than focusing on the traditional question of how accurate they are as histories. Through analysis of the complete corpus of Xenophon's work, and the writings of his contemporaries, Xenophon is shown to be very muc…
Putting Him Back Together Again
Cambyses and the Egyptian Chaosbeschreibung Tradition
An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content
Greek Sacred History
This paper contends that there was a distinct branch of Greek local historiography that focused on the past viewed through regional cult: sacred history. After an introductory look at Atthidography, a number of cases of local cult history referred to in inscriptions from the Hellenistic period are examined; additionally, an instance where historia sacra is itself preserved on an inscription is also discussed, namely, the Chronicle of the temple o…
Greek Historians of the Near East
I begin with two commonplace, but nonetheless important, observations. First, that with the conquests of Alexander the Great went also a rapid and massive diffusion of Hellenic culture to non-Greek lands. And secondly, that the writing of history was deeply implicated in Alexander's empire building: historians accompanied him on his march; a number of his lieutenants later in life turned to the writing of history; and, perhaps most importantly, e…
Chapter 3. Exile
Many observers, both ancient and modern, have noted beneficial effects of exile. One can argue that if exile is the making of historian, it would appear that a person could not be one without it in ancient Greek world, at least one worth talking about. Exile must have profoundly affected lives and output of historians who experienced it. This chapter shows that we must be on guard not to be careless in our use of word 'exile', a term that can cov…
Roman historians and the Greeks
Almost all our earliest documentary evidence demonstrating with certainty an awareness of the myths for the foundation of Rome, and easily our most informative, comes from the Greek world. Despite Momigliano's famous claim that the Greeks did not really pay attention to what non-Greeks said, the Romans were producing stories about the foundation of their city, and these stories were reaching Greek ears, at least by the early second century BCE. T…
Hellenistic Historiography
IAN S. Moyer. Egypt and the Limits of Hellenism
Clio's Other Sons
Soon after the death of Alexander the Great, the priest Berossus wrote the first known narrative and comprehensive history of his native Babylon, and the priest Manetho likewise wrote the first such history of his native Egyptian civilization. Nothing like these histories had been produced before in these cultures. Clio's Other Sons considers why that is: why were these histories written at this point, and for what purposes? Berossus and Manetho …
Literary Interaction between Greece and Egypt
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