Description
Book SynopsisAs the first extensive survey of the ancient Greek painters’ practice of writing nonsense on vases, The So-called Nonsense Inscriptions on Ancient Greek Vases by Sara Chiarini provides a systematic overview of the linguistic features of the phenomenon and discusses its forms and contexts of reception. While the origins of the practice lie in the impaired literacy of the painters involved in it, the extent of the phenomenon suggests that, at some point, it became a true fashion within Attic vase painting. This raises the question of the forms of interaction with this epigraphic material. An open approach is adopted: “reading” attempts, riddles and puns inspired by nonsense inscriptions could happen in a variety of circumstances, including the symposium but not limited to it. This book is the winner of the 2018 Géza Alföldy Publication Prize awarded by the AIEGL (Association Internationale d’Épigraphie Grecque et Latine).
Trade ReviewThis book is the winner of the 2018 Géza Alföldy Publication Prize awarded by the AIEGL (Association Internationale d’Épigraphie Grecque et Latine).
Table of ContentsPreface and Acknowledgements List of Illustrations List of Abbreviations 1 Introducing Nonsense 1 What are Nonsense Inscriptions? 2 What has been Said about Nonsense Inscriptions? 2 Rethinking Prior Approaches 1 Just for the ‘Beauty’ of grammata? 2 Just for the Prestige of Writing? 3 Περὶ παιδείας or Nonsense Inscriptions and Literacy 1 A Taxonomy of (Il)literacies 2 Learning to Write and to Read in Ancient Greece 3 Assessing the Nonsense Inscriptions Against the Scale of Literacy Competence 4 Περὶ παιδιᾶς or Nonsense Inscriptions and Intellectual Teasing 1 Literate Nonsense 2 The Symposion as καιρός for (Literate) Nonsense? 3 A Life Beyond the Symposion 5 What if Nonsense Did Make Sense? 1 Melodies and Musical Notes 2 Barbarika 3 Voices from Beyond 4 Summative Remarks Conclusion 1 Summary 2 Is it Nonsense? Appendix: Catalogue of Vases and Fragments Carrying Nonsense Inscriptions Bibliography Index
