The sound of Attic: The fabric of linguistic imitation in Greek imperial texts

Despite the substantial volume of literature on the Second Sophistic, only rarely do current approaches focus on a formal analysis of its language and the ways in which it correlates to the contemporary debate on language correctness. The present paper suggests that such an analysis could be a fruitful field of enquiry and offers several suggestions as to how it might be executed to enhance our literary appreciation of these texts. It focuses on the use of Attic phonology and morphology in two literary texts (Achilles Tatius’ Leucippe and Clitophon and Aristides’ Panathenaic Oration) and a second-century CE Eleusinian inscription. By exploring the roles played by language and sound, the paper highlights how imperial high-register prose interweaves nostalgic motifs and innovative practices in a programmatic mixture of archaising elements and contemporary koine features that engenders a novel style.