Choricius of Gaza, Speeches 3.43
https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/434
Context
Following his teacher Procopius, Choricius was the leading figure of
the rhetorical flowering at Late Antique Gaza. Although we know nothing of his career,
his evident professional success, references within his writings, and his reputation for
stylistic sophistication among Byzantine scholars all point to the status and influence
of Choricius among classicizing intellectuals of the Near East during roughly the second
quarter of the 6th century. He apparently had personal experience with Alexandria and
Caesarea, but his teaching and lecturing was chiefly based in Gaza. Among his surviving
works are declamations, laudatory and apologetic speeches, funeral oratory, and
treatises. This passage comes from his encomium to Aratius, dux of
Palaestina Prima, and Stephanus, ἄρχων, possibly delivered at Caesarea on the occasion
of Stephanus’s accession to the proconsulship in 534/5 C.E. Choricius here praises
Stephanus's response to a famine at Caesarea, referring to the city's abundance of
wheat, perhaps due to its role in the Imperial annona.
Text
Ἔχει σου καὶ τρίτην λέγειν φιλανθρωπίαν ὁ δῆμος ὁ
Καισαρέων. σιτοδείας γὰρ ἔναγχος ἐκείνοις ἀπειλουμένης καὶ
τοσούτου δέους ἐπικρεμασθέντος ὡς ἐν μεγάλῃ πόλει καὶ ἀρχὴν ἐχούσῃ καὶ ζῆν ἐν εὐπαθείαις
εἰθισμένῃ σίτῳ πλουσίαν ἔδειξας τὴν μητρόπολιν, καὶ πρὸς τὴν ἐναντίαν δόξαν περιέστησαν
οἱ καιροί, ὥστε τοὺς πάλαι τῆς εὐπαθείας ἐνδείας γενέσθαι δοκεῖν παραβαλλομένους τοῦ
σίτου τῇ περιουσίᾳ.1
Textual Note
Ed. Foerster and Richsteig 1929Translation
The people of Caesarea can tell of a third
act of your (sc. Stephanos’s) philanthropy. When a famine was recently threatening them,
a great fear hung over them because the city was so big, it held the government, and it
was accustomed to prosperous living. You proved that the capital city was wealthy in
wheat, and the conditions came round to an opposite estimation, so that the formerly
prosperous appeared to become poor in comparison to the abundance of wheat.2
Translation Note
Rev. Litsas 1980Works Cited
- 1 Choricius of Gaza, Choricii Gazaei opera, ed. Eberhard Richtsteig and Richard Foerster, Bibliotheca scriptorum graecorum et latinorum Teubneriana (Leipzig: B. G. Teubner, 1929), section: 3.43, p: 60.14-60.21.
- 2 Choricius of Gaza and Fotios K. Litsas, Choricius of Gaza: An Approach to His Work. Introduction, Translation, Commentary (Ph.D., Chicago, University of Chicago, 1980), p: 166.
Additional Bibliography
- Robert J. Penella, Introduction, in Rhetorical Exercises from Late Antiquity: A Translation of Choricius of Gaza’s Preliminary Talks and Declamations (Cambridge: Cambridge University Pres, 2009), xii + 323 pp
How to Cite This Entry
Joseph L. Rife, “Choricius of Gaza, Speeches 3.43,” in Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia, entry published January 20, 2023, https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/434.
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Bibliography:
Joseph L. Rife, “Choricius of Gaza, Speeches 3.43.” In Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia, edited by Joseph L. Rife., edited by Joseph L. Rife. Caesarea City and Port Exploration Project, 2023. Entry published January 20, 2023. https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/434.About this Entry
Entry Title: Choricius of Gaza, Speeches 3.43
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- Joseph L. Rife, general editor, Vanderbilt University
- Joseph L. Rife, editor, Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia
- David A. Michelson, Daniel L. Schwartz, and William L. Potter, technical editor, “Choricius of Gaza, Speeches 3.43”
- Joseph L. Rife, entry contributor, “Choricius of Gaza, Speeches 3.43”
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