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DE RISU – Representations and Evaluations of laughter in Greek and Latin Literature Papers presented at Colloquium Balticum XVI (Lund, November 6–9, 2018) Akujärvi, Johanna; Blomqvist, Jerker; Blomqvist, Karin 2021 Document Version: Publisher's PDF, also known as Version of record Link to publication Citation for published version (APA): Akujärvi, J., Blomqvist, J., & Blomqvist, K. (Eds.) (2021). DE RISU – Representations and Evaluations of laughter in Greek and Latin Literature: Papers presented at Colloquium Balticum XVI (Lund, November 6–9, 2018). (Studia Graeca et Latina Lundensia; Vol. 27). Centre for Languages and Literature, Lund University. 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LUND UNIVERSITY PO Box 117 221 00 Lund +46 46-222 00 00 Download date: 04. Oct. 2021 DE RISU – Representations and evaluations of laughter in Greek and Latin literature EDITED BY JOHANNA AKUJÄRVI, JERKER BLOMQVIST & KARIN BLOMQVIST FACULTY OF HUMANITIES AND THEOLOGY | LUND UNIVERSITY Studia Graeca et Latina Lundensia 27 Centre for Languages and Literature Faculty of Humanities and Theology ISBN 978-91-7267-438-7 ISSN 1100-7931 Printed by Media-Tryck, Lund 2021 NORDIC SWAN ECOLABEL 3041 0903 9 789172 674387 STUDIA GRAECA ET LATINA LUNDENSIA 27 EDENDA CURAVERUNT KARIN BLOMQVIST ET CAJSA SJÖBERG DE RISU Representations and evaluations of laughter in Greek and Latin literature Papers presented at Colloquium Balticum XVI (Lund, November 6–9, 2018) Edited by Johanna Akujärvi Jerker Blomqvist Karin Blomqvist A grant from Kungl. Vitterhetsakademien (Royal Academy of Letters, Stockholm) made the publication of this volume in print and in digital media possible. Cover photo by Museum of the Ancient Agora, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons. © Authors and editors 2021 This volume is accessible for downloading or for print-on-demand at https://www.ht.lu.se/serie/sgll Printed by Media-Tryck, Lund 2021 ISBN 978-91-7267-438-7 (print) ISBN 978-91-7267-439-4 (pdf) ISSN 1100-7931. Contents Preface 5 Vita Paparinska Humour: Perspective of ancient theoretical writings 7 Nijolė Juchnevičienė Themistocles the Saviour: The leader as a trickster in Herodotus 25 Johanna Akujärvi Aristophanes in Swedish: Shocking to the modern reader 45 Gita Bērziņa Σπουδαιογέλοιον in Xenophon’s Symposium 81 Claudia Zichi The moral problem of vile and laughter-provoking dancing in Plato’s Laws 99 Jerker Blomqvist Γραμματικῶν περίεργα γένη: Making fun of grammarians 115 Maria-Kristiina Lotman & Anna Shkuratova How to translate Plautus’ humour 133 Dovilė Čitavičiūtė & Audronė Kučinskienė Substitution of a person’s name as ironic offense in Cicero’s Verrine speeches 153 Astrid M.H. Nilsson Laughter in Johannes Magnus’ Historia de regibus (1554) 173 Contributors 189 Preface Some twenty years ago the classics departments of five universities around the Baltic decided to create a network for mutual contacts and cooperation within teaching and research. The original participants were the universities of Greifswald, Lund, Riga, Tartu, and Vilnius. After some years, Marburg replaced Greifswald and, occasionally, other universities have also been involved (Hel- sinki, Poznań, Saint Petersburg, etc.). The annually recurring Colloquia Baltica have become an important part of our activities. These are meetings where teachers and advanced students of the five universities present their ongoing research and its results. A great variety of themes have been discussed on these occasions, but many contributions have fo- cussed on the adoption and impact of classical studies in north-eastern Europe. A volume with studies in that field of research was published in 2017: A. Jönsson & G. Vogt-Spira (eds.), The Classical Tradition in the Baltic Region. Perceptions and Ad- aptations of Greece and Rome. Hildesheim 2017 (Spoudasmata 171). The individual colloquia have not generally resulted in the subsequent publication of conference volumes. However, when the sixteenth Colloquium Balticum was ar- ranged by Lund University in November 2018, the organizers decided to publish this volume, which contains a fair selection of the papers presented at the collo- quium. The theme of the colloquium had been defined as “Representations and evalua- tions of laughter in Greek and Latin literature”. The following pages demonstrate that this theme can be approached from widely different angles. In the first paper of the volume, Vita Paparinska discusses the opinions of an- cient theorists, primarily Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, and Quintilian, on the effects of humour and laughter-evoking elements in literature and oratory. The workings of irony and feigned seriousness in the philosophical context of Xenophon’s Symposium are analysed by Gita Bērziņa. Claudia Zichi demonstrates how Plato, when laying out the model of his ideal state, handled the problem of 5 the laughter-provoking elements that normally occurred in public performances of his time. In the ancient societies, irony and ridicule were frequently used for disparaging or stigmatizing adversaries and enemies, such as political rivals (Nijolė Juch- nevičienė on Themistocles), an opponent in court of law (Dovilė Čitavičiūtė & Audronė Kučinskienė on Cicero against Verres), or grammarians of a different school (Jerker Blomqvist). When characterizing a person, historical or fictional, a writer could adduce inappropriate laughing and scornful mockery as signs of his moral depravity (Astrid Nilsson on Johannes Magnus’ Historia de regibus). The problems that present-day translators are met with when transferring the gelastic elements of ancient comedy into modern languages are studied by Jo- hanna Akujärvi (Aristophanes) and Maria-Kristiina Lotman & Anna Shkuratova (Plautus). For the arranging of the colloquium the organizers received generous financial support from Kungl. Vitterhetsakademien (Royal Academy of Letters, Stock- holm), Kungl. Humanistiska Vetenskapssamfundet i Lund (Regia societas hu- maniorum litterarum Lundensis), Thora Ohlssons Stiftelse (The Thora Ohlsson Foundation, Lund), and Harald och Tonny Hagendahls Minnesfond (Harald and Tonny Hagendahl’s Memorial Foundation). The publication of this volume – in print and in digital media – was paid for by the Royal Academy of Letters. We gratefully acknowledge our indebtedness to these agencies and organizations. Thanks are also due to Morfia Stamatopoulou, who was one of the organizers of the colloquium, and to Lauryn Rilla Blomqvist, who helped to improve our English. Johanna Aujärvi Jerker Blomqvist Karin Blomqvist 6 Humour: Perspective of ancient theoretical writings VITA PAPARINSKA In the second book of Cicero’s treatise De oratore, one of the speakers, Gaius Iulius Caesar, makes a noteworthy statement. He says that he has done studious research on humour but has found no proper Greek study of the subject, only collections of witticisms. Those authors who had tried to formulate rules and principles of humour, had been unsuccessful in their attempts.1 The comment on the non-existence of Greek humour scholarship is an over- statement. Plato speaks about the causes and effects of laughter. Aristotle ex- presses his opinion on laughter and laughter-evoking pronouncements in several of his surviving works, though the discussion generally amounts to a few para- graphs within a discussion of another area. Besides, antiquity has preserved some testimony on the Greek humour scholarship. Diogenes Laertius mentions The- ophrastus’ treatise Περὶ γελοίου.2 Quintilian refers to a Greek study on humour that had been entitled Περὶ γελοίου,3 and he notes that precepts for the employ- ment of humour have been established by Greeks and Romans.4 By “Romans” Quintilian primarily means Cicero, whom he calls “the peak of eloquence” (vir praecipuus in eloquentia)5 and who was the first theorist of antiquity to discuss hu- mour and its various aspects from a systematic perspective6. Cicero’s comprehen- sive treatment of humour was re-established by Quintilian himself.7 1 Cic. De or. 2.216. 2 Diog. Laert. 5.46. 3 Quint. Inst. 6.3.22. 4 Quint. Inst. 6.3.11. 5 Quint. Inst. 6.3.3. 6 Cic. De or. 2.216-290, Cic. Orat. 26. 87-89. 7 Quint. Inst. 6.3 7 A caveat about terminology 1. The general, most often used terms of the four ancient theorists (Plato, Aristo- tle, Cicero, Quintilian), whose opinions and pronouncements are considered in the paper, are the Greek γέλως and the Latin risus. The problem is that both lexemes denote, first, laughter as a physical act and, secondly, a laughter-evok- ing object. In most cases, however, it is not difficult to differentiate the meaning from