The Commemoration of the Battle of Geraneia in Lysias’ Epitaph for the Fallen during the war of Corinth (Lys. Epit. 48-53)

Keywords: epitaphios logos, memory, Aristophanes, oratory, 4th century BCE

Abstract

This article studies some paragraphs of the Lysianic epitaphios logos for fallen during the Corinthian War (392/91 BCE), that is the commemoration of a battle fought in the Megarid in 460/59 BCE between Corinth and Athens: its aim is to offer an innovative and straightforward historical interpretation of this commemoration, not fully studied in previous works about the epitaphios logos.

After a synopsis with Thucydides' Histories, which is the only other ancient source reporting this episode in some detail, the paper proceeds with an historical perspective and analyzes this section with a focus on the social and political context of the end of '90s of the IV century BCE. In order to fully understand the background and finalities of this lysianic commemoration, the paper also proposes an innovative comparison between this text and some verses of aristophanic Ecclesiazusae, performed in the same period.

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Published
2025-12-17
How to Cite
Castellino M. (2025). The Commemoration of the Battle of Geraneia in Lysias’ Epitaph for the Fallen during the war of Corinth (Lys. Epit. 48-53). Gerión. Revista de Historia Antigua, 43(2), 471-495. https://doi.org/10.5209/geri.103225