In March 2019, Dr. Caroline Petit was awarded the Médaille de Chénier of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres (Paris), for her book Galien de Pergame ou la rhétorique de la Providence. Médecine, littérature et pouvoir à Rome, Brill, 2018. This quinquennal award distinguishes a book of significance in the field of Greek language and literature.

Out in September 2018: Caroline Petit’s book, Galien de Pergame ou la rhétorique de la Providence: Médecine, littérature et pouvoir à Rome is the first comprehensive study of the role of rhetoric in Galen’s œuvre. Physician to several Roman emperors and author of the most impressive body of works in antiquity up to AD 350, Galen created a compelling figure of authority through his medical and philosophical works. The book analyses the range of Galen’s rhetorical mastery through five chapters, studying in turn Galen and the Hellenic tradition, Galen’s demonstrative and refutative tactics, the role of enargeia in Galen’s descriptions and narratives, his ‘hymn’ to Nature in his main anatomical work, De usu partium, and finally autobiography and self-portrait in his œuvre.

Martina Russo, PhD candidate in the Department of Classics and Ancient History at Warwick, has published on the concept of simplicitas in Latin Literature. Read it here.

Read Matthew Smith's Classical Texting blogpost on Machiavelli, Homer, and Virgil's multi-talented leaders here.