| Popis: |
The Greek sophist Aelius Aristides (2nd century CE) was active in several centres of Asia Minor. Pergamum and Smyrna were however the cities where he pronounced most of his speeches. At Pergamum he often performed at the local Asclepieion before groups of pilgrims who shared with him the same devotion to Asclepius. Several studies have analysed the pilgrimage context of this sanctuary of Pergamum, while less explored is perhaps the context of Smyrna, where Aristides’ audience was probably more heterogeneous. By analysing passages from the Sacred tales (orr. 47-52 Keil), the prose hymns (37-46 Keil), and some ‘polemic’ speeches (28, 33, 34 Keil), this paper will explore the contexts of Aristides’ performances at Pergamum and Smyrna as moments of social, religious and cultural interaction. When he explicitly refers to his audience, Aristides tends to highlight the socially most prestigious part of it, often representing spiritual and cultural oppositions inside this élite (e.g. Platonists vs non-Platonists). Sometimes he reveals the presence of a wider and less homogeneous audience, while he makes no clear reference to the ethnic and religious varieties which cohabitated in these centres. Such a removal is functional to Aristides’ conception of his ideal citizenship, which coincides with the one promoted by the Greek Asia Minor élites in order to strengthen the Hellenic identity of their cities. |
