Published: 2023-01-06

Chrysostom’s Adaptation of Ethopoeia in Selected Texts of the Homily on the Gospel of St Matthew

Zygmunt Jan Nagel
Studia Teologiczno-Historyczne Śląska Opolskiego
Section: Articles
DOI https://doi.org/10.25167/sth.4534

Abstract

Ethopoeia is one of the “introductory exercises” (progymnasmata) practiced mainly in rhetorical schools in the period of antiquity and late antiquity. At that time, in the strict sense, it was understood as a fictional speech, put into the mouths of mythical or historical people, with an emphasis on their character. This figure was also used by St John Chrysostom, who assimilated it in the pagan rhetorician Libanios’ school. This article deals with the issue of ethopoeia in the historical and contemporary context and
takes into account the exemplificative texts of the Homily on the Gospel of St Matthew, the aforementioned Doctor of the Church. The article shows the wealth of ethopoeias he uses,
by taking into account their formal and material aspects.

Keywords:

St John Chryzostom, ethopoeia, rhetoric

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Citation rules

Nagel, Z. J. (2023). Chrysostom’s Adaptation of Ethopoeia in Selected Texts of the Homily on the Gospel of St Matthew. Studia Teologiczno-Historyczne Śląska Opolskiego, 42(2), 15–34. https://doi.org/10.25167/sth.4534

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