“What is ‘the tradition overall’?”: Theorising Classical Reception through the Lens of Memory Studies

Abstract

Memory is the topic of many modern engagements with antiquity, and it is also the modus operandi of many modern adaptations of antiquity, driven and shaped by the ever-changing ways in which ‘the classics’ are conceptualised within different time-periods and socio-cultural contexts. Popular awareness of classical materials, their socio-economic status, how famous characters and stories are perpetuated through mnemonic adaptation – these are important factors of memory-driven reception that deserve to be investigated as part of classical reception studies. In this article, we thus propose ways in which interdisciplinary connections between memory studies and classical reception studies can be established.