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chapter
Hearing Voices: φωνή and Intertextual Orality in
Plutarch
Alexei V. Zadorojnyi
Abstract
The chapter explores Plutarch’s intertextual policy by tracing references he tags as
‘voice’ (φωνή) or ‘voices.’ The range of such references comprises apophthegms and
literary and philosophical texts. Yet the use of φωνή does not simply mean Plutarch’s
predilection for orality as the counterpart of ‘writtenness.’ By framing intertextual
material in terms of vocality, Plutarch attempts to create the effect of a live paideutic
environment, where intertextually sourced values are effectively treated as performa-
tive acts. Especially dear to Plutarch is the idea of philosophical (notably, Plato’s) ‘voice,’
which is highly transferable into descriptions of and commentary on the discursive
practices within Plutarch’s sociocultural milieu.
The notion of voice has become pivotal in recent readings of ancient litera-
ture from the intertextual and narratological perspectives. ‘Voice’ proves to be
a wonderfully versatile interpretative tool for dealing with a) traceable inter-
texts, b) the stance adopted by the narrator or internal focalizers, as well as c)
oral and aural functions of speech and sound in the narrative itself. The aim of
this chapter is to explore the role of voice as a factor of Plutarch’s intertextual
practice—putting it bluntly, I propose to look at the idea of voice when it is
literally (the oxymoron seems unavoidable here) mobilized in order to frame
explicit references to an author or text that Plutarch is pointing towards.
1 See stimulating contributions e.g. in V. Rimell (ed.), Seeing Tongues, Hearing Scripts: Oral-
ity and Representation in the Ancient Novel (Groningen: Barkhuis, 2007); D. Van Mal-Maeder,
A. Burnier & L. Núñez (eds.), Jeux de voix. Enonciation, intertextualité et intentionnalité dans
la littérature antique (Bern: Lang, 2009); E. Raymond (ed.), Vox poetae: manifestations aucto-
riales dans l’ épopée gréco-latine (Lyon-Paris: de Boccard, 2011); A. Marmodoro & J. Hill (eds.),
The Author’s Voice in Classical and Late Antiquity (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013);
N.W. Slater (ed.), Voice and Voices in Antiquity (Leiden-Boston: Brill, 2017). The thesis about
the pervasive ‘textual vocality’ of Greco-Roman texts is pursued elegantly and provocatively
by S. Butler, The Ancient Phonograph (New York: Zone Books, 2015).
2 On the explicit flagging of intertextual elements, see J. Helbig, Intertextualität und Markie-