Both a textual edition and an English translation of Philodemus' treatises is long overdue, especially in light of Philodemus' unique and difficult Greek style. These could never be achieved without the kind of teamwork offered by such a project (the collaboration includes the Italian classical scholars and papyrologists of the International Center for the Study of the Herculaneum Papyri in Naples where the papyri are kept, plus scholars from France, Germany, Denmark and England, besides ourselves). An exciting new method of textual reconstruction has already enabled us to establish the correct order of many sets of fragments, restoring coherence to large parts of the texts, which have long seemed a confused jumble. Many new fragments of Greek poetry and philosophy have been found during the reconstruction of these book rolls (which will themselves be of interest to papyrologists and others interested in the history of the book as an object). The facing English translation is also vital, since Philodemus' Greek has been found difficult to comprehend even by scholars--it is the sole surviving extended example of literary Greek prose of the first century bc. The final product will be the publication (in a series of seven volumes) of Philodemus' On Poems, On Music and On Rhetoric, amounting to some 80,000 words of Greek, plus introduction, textual apparatus, translation and notes. We will share our improved texts with the Thesaurus Linguae Graecae data-bank of ancient Greek literature, for computerized text-searching via CD-ROM.
Philodemus' writings comprise the largest corpus of ancient Greek philosophical works never translated into English. We anticipate that the project will open a lost chapter in the history of Western thought, revealing the diversity and sophistication of Hellenistic aesthetics to scholars involved in such varied fields as classics, literary theory, music and philosophy
Philodemus of Gadara
Philodemus (ca. 110 to ca. 35 B.C.) was an Epicurean philosopher and
poet. Born in Judea, he ultimately migrated to Italy after studying
and teaching in Athens. He settled at Herculaneum on the Bay of
Naples, living and teaching in the mansion of his Roman patron L.
Calpurnius Piso Caesoninius, consul in 58 B.C. and father-in-law of
Caesar (Piso's daughter, an Epicurean like himself, as our studies
have discovered, was the Calpurnia familiar from Shakespeare's Julius
Caesar ). According to Cicero he was 'a person of talent and
erudition', 'thoroughly versed not only in philosophy but also in the
other studies which Epicureans are generally said to neglect'. Cicero
praised his poems and called him 'my friend, an excellent man and
most learned human being'. Philodemus' circle was a major channel to
the Romans for the ideas of Epicurus and other Hellenistic
philosophers. His many pupils among the Roman intelligence and
literati included several of Rome's greatest poets, notably Vergil,
possibly Horace and perhaps even Lucretius. His unorthodox literary
theory probably influenced their practice. Philodemus dedicated his
On Virtues and Vices to Vergil and three other avant-garde
poets prominent in Augustan Rome: Plotius Tucca, Varius Rufus and
Quintilius Varius. All four were close friends of Horace, and are
mentioned frequently in his works.
The Papyri
In 1752-4, Philodemus' extensive private library of 1,000
papyrus-rolls was discovered at Herculaneum. The papyri, the only
library of texts recovered from the classical world, had survived
because they were buried during the eruption of Vesuvius in A.D. 79,
when the town itself was covered by lava. The papyri are nearly as
fragile as burnt newspaper; the ink is matte black against a shiny
black, grey or bronze background. At first the rolls were simply cut
open and their contents transcribed, but this process often destroyed
the originals. Eventually a method was devised for unrolling the
centers of some of the rolls; the rolls opened in this way still
survive. Both transcripts and extant originals are conserved in the
Officina dei Papiri in the Biblioteca Nazionale, Naples. Another very
important set of early transcripts (made between 1802 and 18081) is
in the Bodleian Library, Oxford. Fortunately, in 1969 Marcello
Gigante inaugurated the Centro Internazionale per lo Studio dei
Papiri ercolanesi; this has produced a widely circulated and
well-respected journal, Cronache Ercolanesi, a set of
invaluable research tools and a series of excellent texts,
commentaries and Italian translations (La Scuola di Epicuro,
published by Bibliopolis in Naples).
This conference will largely consist of working sessions on the translation of Philodemus' Rhetoric. Meetings from Tuesday evening to Thursday evening will be at Festival Hill, Round Top (near the UT Winedale campus); the Friday and Saturday meetings will be held on the campus at UT Austin.
Tuesday 18th evening:
Registration, drinks and discussion (following dinner).
Wednesday 19th
8:30 breakfast
9:30-10:45 and 11:00-12:15 text sessions on Philodemus Rhetoric
1,2,4
Texts to be prepared by D. Blank, D. Obbink and R. Gaines and
distributed in advance by March 1. Sessions will be in two parallel
groups in two conference rooms.
12:30-1:30 lunch
2:00-3:15 and 3:30-4:45 text sessions
6:30 dinner and drinks
Thursday
8:30 breakfast
9:30-10:45 and 11:00-12:15 text sessions
12:30-1:30 lunch
2:00-3:15 and 3:30-4:45 text sessions
8:00 buffet dinner
Friday
8:30 breakfast
10:00 Introduction to the conference by David Armstrong
Robert Gaines "Philodemus, Cicero and the development of Rhetorical
Theory in the first century BC"
11:00 Marcello Gigante "Siegfried Sudhaus e lo Studio della Retorica
di Filodemo."
12:00 lunch
2:00 Elizabeth Asmis "Lucretius, Philodemus and the Epicurean Theory
of Rhetoric."
3:30 Simon Laursen "Epicurus, On Nature XXVIII and the Rhetoric of
Philodemus."
Reception planned after lectures
Saturday
8:30 breakfast
10:00-11:15 final text sessions
11:30-12:30 final plenary session summarizing results
1:00 lunch
afternoon and evening departures
Conference fee is $100 payable at registration