Oralidade e performance na oratória clássica ateniense: reflexões a partir da tradução de Contra Andrócio e Sobre o amor, de Demóstenes

Abstract

The present dissertation aims to investigate the process of composition, transmission, and reception of Athenian oratory in the classical period (5th and 4th centuries BCE), with special attention to two of its inherent and commonly overlooked characteristics in the research in this field: orality and performance. Simultaneously, this research is driven by the desire to translate two speeches attributed to the Athenian orator Demosthenes—Against Androtion (Dem. 22) and the Erotic Essay (Dem. 61)—into Brazilian Portuguese, which, in turn, serves the purpose of providing a scientific foundation for the envisioned translation project. As the translations for both speeches seek to explore the possibilities of optimizing the presence of the oral and performative characteristics of these texts in Brazilian Portuguese, this research on orality and performance in classical Athenian oratory has pursued the following methodological route: 1) an overview of the reintroduction of writing in ancient Greece and the development of the Greek alphabet; 2) an explanation of the uses and functions of writing in a predominantly oral society during the archaic and classical periods—from its relationship with various poetic genres then, through its role in formal education (paideia), to its influence on the development of prose writing—; 3) an introduction to the different types of speeches in Athenian oratory and the views of ancient authors (particularly Alcidamas and Aristotle) regarding appropriate writing styles and means of reception for each type; and 4) a study on the involvement of reading and writing in the process of composition, transmission, and reception of Athenian oratory—with an emphasis on speechwriting (i.e., logography)—in contrast to and convergence with the presence of orality and performance in such texts. The results achieved through further exploration of the socio-historical and cultural contexts behind classical Athenian oratory—and especially the two aforementioned speeches—have greatly contributed to perfecting the translation project, thus stimulating a reflection on incorporating orality and performance into a translation process whose final products, unlike the original texts in their primary contexts of reception in the past, are intended to be read above all individually and silently. Ultimately, we hope that this dissertation will foster more interest and research on this still underexplored aspect of classical Athenian oratory and further expand the range of possibilities regarding the translation of ancient texts into modern languages.