Ancient Greek Letter Writing: A Cultural History (600 BC–150 BC) by Paola Ceccarelli (review)

This book is an erudite and wide-ranging study not only of letters, but also of writing in general in Greek antiquity. Stressing sociocultural contexts as well as geographic distinctions and exploring both literary and documentary evidence, it is a very valuable addition to the ongoing scholarly debates on ancient epistolography.

The book consists of an introductory chapter (1–19), three chapters each in part I (23–179) and part II (183–330), an epilogue (331–33), and appendices (App. 1: “Archaic and Classical Documentary Letters,” 335–56; App. 2: “Ancient Traditions on the Invention of Writing,” 357–64; App. 3: “Official Letters Sent by Greek Poleis,” 365–83). Chapter 1 opens with a letter from Egypt (ca. 250 b.c.e.) that models basic epistolary format, which remained fairly constant through Late Antiquity. Ceccarelli argues that the habit of writing and reading letters was a central part of daily life in the ancient world. She then offers a definition of letter writing, an analysis of terminology (epistole, grammata, deltos, etc.), and an overview of practical matters such as methods of conveyance.

Chapter 2 begins by debating Near Eastern versus Greek origins for letter writing but quickly broadens the scope to the origins of alphabetic writing in general. Ceccarelli’s focus on regional differentiations makes for a nuanced and fascinating discussion. While I was not completely convinced by her arguments for meaningful connections between letters and curses, she marshals strong evidence, including recently published Orphic lamellae. Chapter 3 explores representations of writing as a craft, whether imported from outside the Greek world or invented by indigenous culture heroes. Two highlights in this section were (1) an investigation of the Palamedes story, including iconographic evidence; and (2) an analysis of Lucian’s A Slip of the Tongue in Greeting, which humorously debates the etiquette of epistolary address. Chapter 4 turns to the use of letters in historians from Herodotus to Polybius. Some of the material is rather technical (e.g., 106–18 on enunciative shifts); but Ceccarelli shines when she explains why Polycrates’ friendship is rejected differently in Herodotus (via oral message) and Diodorus Siculus (via letter), or when she juxtaposes Alcidamas’ On the Sophists and Thucydides to clarify Nicias’ letter. The later material (Xenophon, Ctesias, Polybius) is equally rich—who knew that the Persica included a love letter/suicide note?

The second half of the book examines letter writing within the polis: two chapters on Athenian drama and oratory and one on epigraphical material from the wider Greek world. Chapter 5 studies references to writing in drama, setting them in their specific socio-cultural contexts. Ceccarelli works through familiar (Aeschylus’ Septem; Sophocles’ Antigone) and not so familiar material (Aeschylus’ Theoroi; Sophocles’ Triptolemos). She looks at written letters on stage (for example, Euripides’ Iphigenia in Aulis and Iphigenia in Tauris), and references to written laws (nomoi) and funerary epigrams; dancing alphabets and lettered cups also make an appearance. Ceccarelli ends with a convincing new interpretation of Antiphanes’ Sappho. Chapter 6 turns to letters on the legal and political “stage” in fifth-century Athens. Ceccarelli does not discuss letters attributed to the orators themselves, but has much of interest to say about why an orator might read a letter out loud, for example, rather than simply present the information in direct speech, or how quoting a letter in full differs in impact from just referring to its contents in passing. Chapter 7 turns to epigraphic sources, including decrees and public letters preserved on stone. The author considers conventions of address and the physical connection an inscribed letter has to the city’s landscape. She explores how a polis integrates an inherently “foreign” document from a king (for example, a letter from Ptolemy II to Miletus in 262 b.c.e.) into the polis context, and how Greek poleis wrote “interstate” letters amongst themselves, some of which were then inscribed...