Doublespeak in Ancient Greek and Modern Ethiopian Satire

Abstract

summary:

This paper explores the ways that intricate wordplay informs the satires of two writers: Hama Tuma from Ethiopia and Lucian from Syria. In Tuma's "The Case of the Traitorous Alphabet" and Lucian's Trial of the Consonants, characters enact instances of doublespeak (expressing a literal and hidden statement simultaneously) that reverberate within and outside of the satirical realm. Writ large, the horizontal reading practice in this article promotes an anti-hierarchical approach to Classics that includes African Studies.