Atticism and Antagonism: How Remarkable Was It to Study the Sophists in Renaissance Venice?

Abstract

This article briefly investigates the reasons for Aldus Manutius’ inclusion of Alcidamas in his printed edition of Isocratean orations in 1513. These reasons have not been properly studied by historiography, even though the importance of the collection has previously been described. By systematically exploring three different levels of book production—the epistemic, material, and social ones—it seeks to understand how the career of the sophist Alcidamas in Renaissance Venice can be used as a useful case-study to represent Greek information management and printing in terms of network analysis.