Framing Rhetoric: The Role of Protheoria in Libanius’ Declamationes

The declamationes (meletae in Greek) were model rhetorical texts, usually based on fictional themes, serving educational purposes in rhetorical practice. In the corpus of the rhetor Libanius (4th AD), there are 51 declamationes, most of which are considered authentic. The aim of my presentation is to examine the protheoria that accompany some of Libanius' declamationes. A protheoria is a “comment on technical features of the oration, such as the theme and its treatment, the oration’s structure, the declamatory characters, style, audience, and occasion.” More specifically, twelve of Libanius’ declamationes are accompanied by a protheoria. My focus will be on the question of the authenticity of the protheoriae —whether they were written by the rhetor himself — their functional role, and their stylistic features. In particular, I am interested in analyzing he type of information conveyed to the reader in the protheoria, aiming to guide interpretation and establish expectations. I will explore how protheoria prepares the reader for what follows, how the communicative function of mediation is fulfilled, and what stylistic and rhetorical features are highlighted. Since the protheoria is addressed to the actual reader, the information it contains regarding the recipients’ horizon of expectations is significant, as is the relationship between this information and the full rhetorical text that follows, the literary expectations, and the rhetorical strategies of Late Antiquity.