Abstract:

This dissertation surveys the phenomenon of speech acts of common soldiers in Greek and Roman literature and society from Archaic Greece to Late Antiquity. Examples of soldier speech are found in all periods and genres of Greek and Roman literature. Historical evidence from Classical Athens and all periods of Roman history suggests that soldier speech was not only a literary device, but a historical category of speech as well. Thus the main questions I set out to answer are the following: (1) What was the function of soldier speech in ancient literature and society? Also, what was the relationship of literary and historical soldier speech in Greece and Rome? (2) Why do some soldier speeches in literature succeed in their aim, while others fail? A related question is: why are some soldier speeches presented as problematic in the literary tradition?

Based on the evidence of Greek and Roman literature, law, epigraphy, and speech-act theory, I argue that the strong presence of soldier speech in literary and historical evidence suggests that contrary to communis opinio , soldiers in antiquity did not live silently on the fringes of society. Rather, both in literature and in reality, they were vocal and active participants of both everyday life and crucial historical events.

In chapter I, I consider the problem of revolutionary soldier speech--the one category of soldier speech that is uniformly presented in a negative light in ancient literature. The subsequent chapters propose solutions to the problem of revolutionary soldier speech. These solutions are the different ways of integrating soldier speech into the military and social framework of the society, whether in literature or in reality.

Chapter II is a case study of soldier speech in Classical Athens. I argue that soldier speech was a historical category of speech in Classical Athens, and that the foundation for this category of speech was the Ephebic Oath. The main forum for soldier speech in Classical Athens was not a military setting, however, but a purely civic on--the courtroom. When appearing as accusers or defendants in court, Athenians preferred to speak as soldiers, rather than as civilians, referring to and sometimes even quoting the Ephebic Oath. This specific type of soldier speech--speech inspired by the Ephebic oath--was, therefore, an integral part of Athenian everyday life, and an invaluable tactic for success in the lawcourts.

Chapter III is a case study of soldier speech in the Roman Republic. I consider both the historical types of soldier speech (i.e., the military sacramentum , the acclamatio imperatoris , and the carmina triumphalia ), and the historiographic portrayal of soldier speech in the period. I argue that Cato, Sallust, and Livy all use soldier speeches as exempla in their works. Their exempla , however, are not only meant to teach Roman soldiers how to speak or how not to speak, but are primarily intended to serve as models of how to write soldier speech for subsequent authors.

Finally, chapter IV considers the effectiveness of soldier-commander dialogues in neutralizing dangerous soldier speech in literature. The attribution of this approach in historiography to major historical commanders of the ancient world--most notably, Alexander the Great and Caesar--suggests that ancient authors considered this literary technique to be a plausible solution for actual commanders, who were facing seditious or revolutionary soldier speech.