Speaking Wit to Power

IF 0.9 2区 历史学 0 CLASSICS CLASSICAL ANTIQUITY Pub Date : 2022-04-01 DOI:10.1525/ca.2022.41.1.129
Johannes Wietzke
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Abstract

Archimedes’ Sand-Reckoner presents a system for naming extraordinarily large numbers, larger than the number of grains of sand that would fill the cosmos. Curiously, Archimedes addresses the treatise not to another specialist but to King Gelon II of Syracuse. While the treatise has thus been seen as evidence for the dynamics of patronage, difficulties in both Archimedes’ treatment of Gelon and his discussion of astronomical models make it fit incongruously within contemporary court and scientific contexts. This article offers a new reading of the Sand-Reckoner based on a reconsideration of the relationship between author and addressee: deferring assumptions about the historicity of that relationship, it analyzes Gelon’s role in the treatise with respect to both the stylistic features of Archimedes’ prose and a broader tradition of narratives about a variety of cultural actors who engage with kings, speaking not so much truth as wit to power. Such a reading resolves the social and scientific difficulties of the treatise, and develops the literary-experimental qualities of Hellenistic science. In turn, the article proposes a revised approach, sensitive to broader patterns of authorship, to understanding ancient scientific authors’ relationship to royal authority. It concludes, finally, that the royal patronage seemingly exemplified by the Sand-Reckoner had greater significance as a cultural trope than as a social institution.
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用智慧说话
阿基米德的沙子计算器提出了一个命名非常大的数字的系统,这个数字比填充宇宙的沙子颗粒的数量还要大。奇怪的是,阿基米德并没有把这篇论文交给另一位专家,而是交给了锡拉丘兹国王盖隆二世。尽管这篇论文因此被视为赞助动力学的证据,但阿基米德对盖隆的处理和他对天文模型的讨论都存在困难,这使得它与当代宫廷和科学背景不协调。本文在重新考虑作者和收件人之间关系的基础上,对《沙计》进行了新的解读:推迟了对这种关系的历史性的假设,它从阿基米德散文的风格特征和更广泛的叙事传统两个方面分析了盖隆在这篇论文中的作用,这些叙事传统讲述了各种与国王打交道的文化行动者,与其说是真理,不如说是智慧与权力。这样的阅读解决了论文的社会和科学困难,并发展了希腊化科学的文学实验品质。反过来,这篇文章提出了一种修正的方法,对更广泛的作者模式敏感,以理解古代科学作者与王室权威的关系。最后,它得出结论,似乎以《沙清算者》为例的王室赞助作为一种文化比喻比作为一种社会制度具有更大的意义。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
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来源期刊
CiteScore
1.10
自引率
20.00%
发文量
6
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