Acknowledgments

This book would never have come about if not for the invitation to deliver the Sather Classical Lectures at Berkeley in the spring of 1991. As an archaeologist, I sought out a topic that I hoped would attract the interest of an audience of philologists, historians, and philosophers. Though this hook builds on earlier work developed in classes and seminars in Munich, without the challenge of the Sathers, I would not have dared attempt this synthetic account of a topic so broad and complex, which has already been the subject of much specialized research. My first debt of thanks is therefore owed to all my colleagues in the Department of Classics at Berkeley. The hospitality and friendship of these colleagues, especially the then chairman, Mark Griffith, made the months in the Bay Area a truly memorable experience for me and my family—one that we often look back on with great nostalgia.

For the publication, it has seemed to me necessary to revise fully and in places to expand the lecture texts. The basic structure and style of the presentation, however, retain the essaylike character of the lectures, and I have tried to restrict most of the more technical and scholarly discussion to the notes. The completion of the manuscript in this form would not have been possible without an invitation to spend the 1993–94 academic year at the Wissenschaftskolleg in Berlin. The remarkable intellectual atmosphere there, marked by open and stimulating exchange of ideas in many areas, has, I hope, greatly benefited the manuscript, even as it has, regrettably, enlarged it considerably.

Over the years I have received much help and encouragement from students, colleagues and friends. Of those who have given a critical reading to all or parts of the manuscript or helped in other ways, I

would especially like to thank Marianne Bergmann, Glen W. Bowersock, Hans-Ulrich Cain, Anthony Grafton, Nicola Hoesch, Rolf von den Hoff, Wolfgang Kemp, Ernst Peter Wieckenberg, along with the members of the Sather Committee in Berkeley. Tatjana Catsch, Derk W. von Moock, and Simone Wolf have rendered indispensable assistance in the preparation of the final manuscript. Lastly, a special word of thanks to Alan Shapiro, who not only sacrificed his own valuable time to make the English translation but also helped me, through his pertinent questions and comments, to clarify a number of important points.