Der Gebrauch von Gnomen in den griechischen privaten Papyrusbriefen der römischen Kaiserzeit bis zum Ende des 4. Jh. n. Chr.

Abstract

The present study focuses on locating and analyzing the use of gnomes occurring in private Greek papyrus letters of the Roman Imperial period from 31 BC to the end of the fourth century AD. Gnomes are very frequent in consolatory letters of the period in question, while also being used in various other private letters. Gnomes prove an important source of information on the views of the people of the Roman period on issues of religious, philosophical and social interest. The paper offers observations on the motifs encountered in the gnomes, the formalistic character of the latter, their positioning within the letters, their part in the rhetorical construction of the letters, and their temporal distribution.