Unter Freunden. Nähe und Distanz in sozialen Netzwerken der Spätantike by Seraina Ruprecht (review)

A friend in need is a friend indeed. From philosophical treatises to Euripedian tragedies, friendship is arguably one of the most prevalent themes in ancient Greek writings. Thus, it is unsurprising that friendship in Classical and Late Antiquity has long been at the center of scholarly debate. Whereas earlier studies have regarded terms such as philia and amicitia as "weapons of politics" (Ronald Syme, The Roman Revolution [Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1939], 157), recent work has tended to adopt a slightly broader view, highlighting the relationship with patronage as well as taking into account the emotional dimensions of ancient "friendship." Unter Freunden aligns with these contemporary tendencies but focuses more specifically on friendship in Late Antiquity, and relationships among Christians and non-Christians particularly, topics which have often been overlooked, as Ruprecht rightly remarks. Moreover, with her analysis of the letters written by Libanius as well as Christian authors such as John Chrysostom and the Cappadocian Fathers, she attempts to counterbalance the scholarly emphasis on western authors.

Overall, three main research questions are formulated. First and foremost, this book attempts to grasp the social concept of philia in the fourth century. Secondly, specific forms of communication among friends are analyzed, with particular attention paid to expressions of proximity and distance. Finally, the question arises how the concept of philia changed through the increasing Christianization of the Roman empire and its relation to the Christian agape.

In Chapter 1, Ruprecht defines friendship as "a cluster of social practices" (15) and she stresses the voluntary and interpersonal nature of this relationship between (near-)peers. Furthermore, she explains her preference to denote friendships in terms of "proximity" and "distance" as opposed to "inclusion" and "exclusion" in order to properly present the various gradations of friendship rather than to think of friendship in terms of absolutes. In this chapter, the problematic interpretation of the term philia as denoting friendship already becomes apparent. As she demonstrates throughout the book, philia does not necessarily correspond to present-day notions of friendship. On the contrary, some examples she provides could be described today as communication among acquaintances at best, frenemies at worst. The epistolary exchanges between Libanius and Anatolius of Berytus, praetorian prefect of Illyricum, could be seen as examples of the latter (74–83).

Chapter 2 concerns the extensive corpus of letters written by Libanius, who is described as a representative of the pagan elite. Following Hans-Ulrich Wiemer, Ruprecht argues that Libanius never rose to the rank of honoratus, for which she convincingly cites fragments from Libanius's corpus. His social prominence therefore ought to be explained through his status as a sophist. Indeed, sophists are known to have had considerable influence within the interactions between the cities of the Greek East and Roman authorities. Libanius's letters reveal his sizeable network of relationships among the social and political elites, ranging from Rome to Milan. A strength of this book is its critical analysis of the epistolary corpus that has survived. That is, most of the sources under analysis are Libanius's letters. Although they most likely were published posthumously, some aspects suggest that Libanius already intended a later publication. Particularly convincing is Ruprecht's theory about Libanius's editorial intervention and that he manipulated the evidence handed down to us. Thus, these letters ought to be understood as a conscious representation of Libanius and his contacts. Still, regardless of their reliability, the letters reveal contemporary norms and expectations of philia. More specifically, they reveal a continuing obligation to exchange favors. As a result, philia relationships contributed significantly to the cohesion of the upper classes. Particularly interesting are Libanius's descriptions of close interactions between friends in everyday life, such as private invitations, dinners and baths. Ruprecht reminds us that these details too were deliberately used for the portrayal of a stable philia in letters. In fact, the letters themselves are exemplificatory of the...