Imperial and Rhetorical Hunting in Pliny'sPanegyricus
Eleni Manolaraki
Abstract In Near Eastern, Egyptian, and Hellenistic cultures, hunting is the royal sport par excellence. To Romans, however, it a potentially self-indulgent distraction for any uir militaris. Pliny addresses topic in his Panegyricus to infuse positive biographical, political, cultural meaning into Trajan’s favorite pastime. By redefining hunting, neutralizes potential criticism of emperor’s sport, alchemizes personal anecdote political metaphor, adds volume biographical originality portrait optimus princeps.
Illinois classical studies