Libanios: Zeuge einer schwindenden Welt by Heinz-Günther Nesselrath (review)

Better late than never. This is what one may think when considering the increasing attention to and academic production on the vast work of the sophist Libanius of Antioch (314–93?), an author who has become the “front-man” of the religious and cultural landscape of late antiquity. However, unlike the scholarly tone of the recent publications on Libanius by Pierre-Louis Malosse, Raffaella Cribiore, and Lieve van Hoof, the nature of Heinz-Günther Nesselrath’s book differs from these contributions as the author’s aim is to provide us with a basic introduction to Libanius’s works and to his cultural and religious tenets.

The five chapters between the prologue and the epilogue do not offer new research avenues but are useful in that they form a solid status quaestionis on Libanius studies. After a short prologue in the first chapter that briefly outlines the reception of the sophist’s works in modern times, in the second chapter Nesselrath provides a sketch of the main events in Libanius’s life using the sophist’s Autobiography as his guidebook but without taking Libanius’s narrative at face value (pp. 35–36). In the third chapter, the author lists the different types of works preserved in the sophist’s corpus by dividing it into three main parts: orations, educational and theoretical works, and letters. Particular emphasis is placed on the close bonds between the classical paideia and the pagan religion (pp. 50–53), although here a more nuanced view would have been desirable for a better understanding of Libanius’s views on the relationship between religion and culture.

Chapter 4 is devoted to Libanius’s religious beliefs, probably the topic that has gained him a prominent place in the field of late-antique studies due to his frequent allusions to pagan gods and religious practices. Again, the introductory nature of this book prevents it from entering into a more thorough analysis of the sophist’s beliefs, although its systematic treatment of Libanius’s criticism of Christianity is practical and supported by a plethora of primary sources. In the fifth chapter, Nesselrath analyzes Libanius’s relationship with fellow pagans (most notably, with the emperor Julian) and his interaction with practitioners of other religions—especially Christians but also Manicheans, which constitutes a valuable addition to an almost uncharted topic. Chapter 6 investigates the reception of Libanius’s works from early Byzantine to modern times, a somewhat unexplored topic whose relevance lies in the importance of the sophist’s works throughout Byzantine and Renaissance times and in how the approaches to his figure over time have reflected the changing attitudes to the values that his work represented.

Nesselrath closely follows Libanius’s works as the main source for this book. In an epoch overpopulated by secondary bibliography, this kind of methodological approach is to be welcomed (although the bibliographical appendix is excessively basic and some important references are missing). However, this methodology has its own risks. In addition to neglecting those issues that did not fit in Libanius’s literary program but which did influence it, this book does not deal comprehensively with this towering figure whose presence in the arena of education, politics, religion, and culture cannot be addressed separately. Thus, a sense of an excessive compartmentalization in the treatment of Libanius’s life and of an overly simplified reading of his works is inevitable after reading the book. Overall, Nesselrath’s book constitutes a useful contribution and a propaedeutic introduction to those who wish to delve into the complex Zeitgeist of late antiquity and into the writings of one of its most representative figures.