Homeric interpretations in Antisthenes’ discourses Ajax and Odysseus

Abstract

The speeches by Ajax and Odysseus, whose authorship is ascribed to the Socratic philosopher Antisthenes, give us the chance to trace some pos-sible connections between philosophy, sophistic and poetry. In the bases of these connections we can find an important element present in Antisthenes’ conception of language: the notion of χρῆσις τῶν ὀνομάτων (use of names). We are going to examine how some scenes from the epic tradition, together with some rhetorical strategies, are seen through a conception of language in which the meaning of a word depends on the social and historical conditions in which that term is used.