Some Reflections on Orality and Epic Poetry in Ancient Literary Criticism

The paper examines some relevant cases of the views of the orality which appear in ancient literary criticism. Starting from a reconsideration of the oral system in the broader communication context of the Hellenistic and Im- perial period, the analysis will underline the specific functions attributed to or- ality in extant works of literary criticism, with a special focus on the perspective followed by the author of the treatise On the Sublime. Indeed, from the survey it appears clear that the exploration of oral dimension becomes, on one hand, a lens for the study of the previous literary tradition, in particular of the Homeric poetry, and, on the other, a crucial experience in the rhetorical paideia of the fu- ture ruling classes.