| Document Type
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BL
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| Record Number
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630973
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| Doc. No
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dltt
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| Main Entry
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Marincola, John.
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| Title & Author
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Authority and tradition in ancient historiography /\ John Marincola.
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| Publication Statement
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Cambridge ;New York, NY, USA :: Cambridge University Press,, 1997.
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| Page. NO
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xvi, 361 p. :: ill. ;; 24 cm.
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| ISBN
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0521480191 (hbk.)
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: 9780521480192 (hbk.)
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| Bibliographies/Indexes
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Includes bibliographical references (p. 293-315) and indexes.
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| Contents
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The scope and subject of the book -- Authority -- Tradition -- History's place and audience -- The greatness of the subject -- Decisions and dreams -- Dedications and the desires of friends -- Glory and renown -- Eyes, ears and contemporary history -- Closed societies and privileged access -- Improving the past -- Myth and history -- The importance of character -- Experience -- Effort -- Impartiality -- Praise and self-praise -- Person and perspective -- Strategies of self-presentation -- The uses of polemic -- Polemic and self-definition -- Continuity and culmination -- App. I. Table of historians -- App. II. Name and nationality -- App. III. Isocrates on autopsy and inquiry? -- App. IV. Variant versions
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| Abstract
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This book is a study of the various claims to authority made by the ancient Greek and Roman historians throughout their histories and is the first to examine all aspects of the historian's self-presentation. It shows how each historian claimed veracity by imitating, modifying, and manipulating the traditions established by his predecessors. Beginning with a discussion of the tension between individuality and imitation, it then categorises and analyses the recurring topoi used to establish the historian's authority: how he came to write history; the qualifications he brought to the task; the inquiries and efforts he made in his research; and his claims to possess a reliable character.
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By detailing how each historian used the tradition to claim and maintain his own authority, the book contributes to a better understanding of the complex nature of ancient historiography.
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| Subject
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History, Ancient-- Historiography.
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| LC Classification
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D56.M37 1997
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