The CCI Program would like to invite you to a job talk by Matthieu R\u00e9al:<\/p>\n
When: Monday, Feb. 9, 16:30
\nWhere: H-232<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Critic and the Poet: Zoilus\u2019 attacks of Homer\u201d<\/p>\n
Abstract: Long cast as the arch-villain of ancient Greek literary criticism, Zoilus of Amphipolis, the 4th century BCE critic of Homer, is frequently dismissed as a resentful and pedantic detractor. This talk challenges that caricature, repositioning Zoilus as one of Homer\u2019s most perceptive early readers. I argue that his criticisms were not hostile attacks, but rather a deliberate rhetorical strategy designed to lure readers into a deeper examination of his poetry. Moving beyond the ethical concerns of Plato toward a formalist appreciation of poetry, Zoilus\u2019 approach anticipates Aristotelian concerns for character consistency, narrative coherence, and artistic technique. This reassessment stems from a broader project on the ancient reception of Greek poetry in which I contend that literary criticism was a sophisticated, public, and competitive cultural practice long before the rise of the Hellenistic libraries. Ultimately, rehabilitating Zoilus encourages us to rethink philology not as a detached science of meaning, but as a playful, performative, and collaborative social practice.<\/p>\n
Bio: Matthieu R\u00e9al is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Universit\u00e0 degli Studi di Padova and a member of the ERC-funded project FragArist, which investigates the lost works of Aristotle. He earned his BA (2014) and MA
\n(2016) in Classics from Padova, followed by a PhD in Classics from Cornell University (2023), where he also served as a Visiting Lecturer in 2023\u20132024. His research centers on early Greek literary criticism, Homeric poetry, and Aristotle, with additional interests in the reception of classical antiquity in film. His current book project, Critics and Poets: Literary Interpretation in Classical Greece, re-imagines the \u201cinvention\u201d of criticism by uncovering the rich landscape of sophisticated interpretive practices that predate Aristotle\u2019s Poetics.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The CCI Program would like to invite you to a job talk by Matthieu R\u00e9al: When: Monday, Feb. 9, 16:30 Where: H-232 \u201cThe Critic and the Poet: Zoilus\u2019 attacks of Homer\u201d Abstract: Long cast as the arch-villain of ancient Greek literary criticism, Zoilus of Amphipolis, the 4th century BCE critic [\u2026] <\/p>\n