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FRAMING THE DELPHIC ORACLE, INSTITUTIONALIZING THE OLYMPIC GAMES: PHLEGON OF TRALLES' OLYMPIADS.

  • Published In: Classical Quarterly, 2024, v. 74, n. 1. P. 1 1 of 2

  • Database: Academic Search Ultimate 2 of 2

Abstract

This article re-examines the account of the Delphic oracle in Phlegon of Tralles' Olympiads (FGrHist 257 F 1). It argues that the oracular utterance is framed in an attempt to bolster the Lycurgan institution of the Olympic Games in 776 b.c. More specifically, according to Goffman's theory, the divine anger of Zeus (mênis) is keyed to the modulation of the frame, or the cognitive perspective, that has been radically changed by warfare and plague in the Peloponnese, thus serving a heuristic function in achieving political rationality. By showing the Delphic oracle to be even more dynamic than previous scholarship has suggested, frame analysis increases knowledge and understanding of the literary, social and political progresses reported in ancient sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Additional Information

  • Source:Classical Quarterly. 2024/05, Vol. 74, Issue 1, p1
  • Document Type:Article
  • Subject Area:History
  • Publication Date:2024
  • ISSN:0009-8388
  • DOI:10.1017/S0009838824000454
  • Accession Number:181652436
  • Copyright Statement:Copyright of Classical Quarterly is the property of Cambridge University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

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