Isocrate ou l’utopie du centre
Many Greek classical authors have tried to present the fourth-century B. C. city of Athens as a capital. Isocrates, with a perseverance and a will of propaganda which made him famous among all, raises the matter of Athens’ centrality, by drawing a map of the oikoumene...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | fra |
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Presses universitaires de Caen
2010-12-01
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| Series: | Kentron |
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| Online Access: | http://journals.openedition.org/kentron/1351 |
| Summary: | Many Greek classical authors have tried to present the fourth-century B. C. city of Athens as a capital. Isocrates, with a perseverance and a will of propaganda which made him famous among all, raises the matter of Athens’ centrality, by drawing a map of the oikoumene in his speeches. It reveals a utopian vision, insofar as the definition of a geographical centre has nothing to do with any reality. Not only can it be situated everywhere, thus nowhere, but its periphery is also mainly fluctuating: a barbarian country can join Athens’ centre or its internal periphery if it subscribes to the cultural type (and not only this one) of the city. In his search for the ideal centre, Isocrates resorts to more moral considerations, with an analogical way of thinking: the essential value of the happy medium in the management of the city is connected to the perfection of the geographical centre. Once again, the speech which emphasizes and enhances the equidistance between any kind of excess, is a matter of utopia and propaganda rather than of a mere statement of facts. |
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| ISSN: | 0765-0590 2264-1459 |