Funerals, Faces and Hellenistic Philosophy: On the Origins of the Concept of Persons in Rome

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Abstract

In this chapter two phases of the origins and development of the concept of person in ancient Rome are discussed. In a prephilosophical phase, the origins of the word can be traced back to the Etruscans and the Greeks, respectively. The Latin word persona is most likely of Etruscan origin. At first the Romans used this word as a religious term. At the end of the second century BCE it came to be applied in the context of the Greek theatre, too. Panaetius, in his “Romanized” version of Stoicism, as preserved and developed by Cicero, reinterpreted the Greek and Etruscan understanding of person in the sense of the general and particular roles that human beings take on in life. Seneca, but more especially Epictetus and Boethius, developed these interpretations further, each with a different emphasis: Epictetus discussed person from an internal point of view, whereas Boethius formulated his influential definition of person in the debate on the nature of Christ.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationPersons
Subtitle of host publicationA History
EditorsAntonia Lolordo
Place of PublicationNew York
PublisherOxford University Press
Chapter1
Pages19-45
Number of pages27
ISBN (Electronic)9780190634421
ISBN (Print)9780190634391, 9780190634384
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2019

Publication series

NameOxford Philosophical Concepts

Keywords

  • person
  • Epictetus
  • Boethius
  • mask
  • funeral
  • theatre
  • Panaetius
  • Cicero
  • science
  • Seneca

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