The Trouble with Calasiris
Duplicity and Autobiographical Narrative in Heliodorus and Galen
In: MnemosyneSearch for other papers by Lawrence Kim in
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Abstract
In this article, I take a new look at the problem of Calasiris’ ‘duplicity’ as depicted in the long autobiographical narrative he delivers to Cnemon in Books 2-5 of Heliodorus’ Aethiopica. A close parallel for Calasiris’ self-presentation can be found in an unlikely source: the medical case histories of the doctor Galen. Through a comparison of Calasiris’ narrative with those of Galen, I demonstrate that both narrators employ similar ‘deceptive’ strategies to showcase their observational and deductive skills to their audience. Calasiris’ foregrounding of such ‘rational’ methods and his downplaying of the prophetic power that others attribute to him suggest that, despite the Aethiopica’s religious trappings, its ideal reader is a secular one.
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The Trouble with Calasiris
Duplicity and Autobiographical Narrative in Heliodorus and Galen
In: MnemosyneSearch for other papers by Lawrence Kim in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Abstract
In this article, I take a new look at the problem of Calasiris’ ‘duplicity’ as depicted in the long autobiographical narrative he delivers to Cnemon in Books 2-5 of Heliodorus’ Aethiopica. A close parallel for Calasiris’ self-presentation can be found in an unlikely source: the medical case histories of the doctor Galen. Through a comparison of Calasiris’ narrative with those of Galen, I demonstrate that both narrators employ similar ‘deceptive’ strategies to showcase their observational and deductive skills to their audience. Calasiris’ foregrounding of such ‘rational’ methods and his downplaying of the prophetic power that others attribute to him suggest that, despite the Aethiopica’s religious trappings, its ideal reader is a secular one.
| All Time | Past Year | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 294 | 39 | 7 |
| Full Text Views | 82 | 23 | 0 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 133 | 54 | 0 |