Procopius Gaza: Scripta Rhetorica Et Oratoria Quae Exstant Omnia

Situated at the point where the caravan roads from Nabatene and the Negev reach the sea, Gaza was an important and prosperous city throughout Antiquity. Particularly in the late antique period (4th-6th centuries), the city, home of a famous and much frequented school of rhetoric, together with the surrounding area with its numerous monasteries, achieved a high level in culture, spirituality, philosophy and religion and attracted more than just the local population.

New archaeological discoveries have considerably enriched our understanding of the material and artistic culture of Gaza in Late Antiquity. However, new light also needs to be thrown on literary sources illustrating the history and culture of Gaza, especially the works of the Christian sophist and rhetor Procopius, active in the fifth and sixth centuries. These works, comprising a panegyric, seven declamations, two books describing works of art, and a number of fragments, have never been as underrated as they are at the present time. Yet they constitute a document of fundamental importance for the history of civilization in Gaza during a thousand years, for its topography, monuments, schools and religious cults. They are rich in valuable information about the social and cultural life of Gaza and the city's development in the later centuries.

This project aims to produce and publish a complete critical edition of all extant rhetorical and oratorical writings by Procopius of Gaza. It will be the first time all the speeches have appeared together, and some of the texts have never been published before.