Roots and Legacy Greek epistolography event to take place at John Rylands Library

The John Rylands Library, Manchester, is holding a special event ‘The Aldine Edition of the Ancient Greek Epistolographers: Roots and Legacy’, shining a spotlight on the collections of ancient Greek epistolographers included in the Aldine.

Organised by the Department of Classics, Ancient History and Archaeology’s AHRC project Ancient Letter Collections, and accompanied by an exhibition ‘Old and Rare Editions of Ancient Greek Epistolographers’, the event will take place on 17 June 2019 at the Christie Room, John Rylands Library.

The Aldine edition of Greek epistolographers, published in 1499 in Venice, is the first printed edition of most of the 36-letter collections that it contains.

Its text was based on earlier medieval epistolaria, and formed the basis of most of the subsequent printed editions of the collections it contained.

Despite its principal position and importance, the current value of this edition for the study of Greek epistolography is not widely understood. The Rylands event aims to examine this collection and explore its roots, its relationship to the medieval Byzantine manuscript epistolary collections, its legacy and relationship to modern critical editions of the Greek epistolographers, and its value to a modern editor and student of Greek epistolography.

Programme:

10.00-10.45 Registration and Coffee

10.45-11.00 Opening Remarks: Professor Roy Gibson (Durham University)

11.00-12.30 Session 1: Aldine edition volume 1 (Chair: Professor Andrew Morrison, University of Manchester)

11.00-11.30 Professor Anna Tiziana Drago (University of Bari): “Alciphron and Theophylact Simocatta”

11.30-12.00 Professor Raphael Gallé Cejudo (University of Cadiz): “Philostratus”

12.00-12.30 Dr Owen Hodkinson (University of Leeds): “Aelian”

12.30-1.30 Lunch/Coffee

1.30-2.00 Collections Encounter: “Old and Rare Editions of Ancient Greek Epistolographers”

2.00-3.30 Session 2: Aldine edition volume 2 (Chair: Dr Vinko Hinz, Goettingen University)

2.00-2.30 Dr Antonia Sarri (University of Manchester): “Basil the Great”

2.30-3.00 Professor Francesca Mestre (University of Barcelona): “Apollonius of Tyana”

3.00-3.30 Dr Émeline Marquis (C.N.R.S., Paris): “Phalaris”

3.30-4.00 Round Table Discussion and Closing Remarks (Chair: Professor Andrew Morrison)

Thanks to generous support from the John Rylands Research Institute and the University of Manchester, a buffet lunch and refreshments will be offered to all attendants free of charge. To aid the estimate of numbers, please contact Antonia Sarri by 1 June 2019 if you wish to attend.

Monday 17 June 2019, 10.00 am – 4.00 pm, Christie Room, John Rylands Library, 150 Deansgate, Manchester M3 3EH

For any questions, please contact Antonia Sarri (antonia.sarri@manchester.ac.uk).