Journal of Philology and Linguistics of the University of Costa Rica ISSN Impreso: 0377-628X ISSN electrónico: 2215-2628

OAI: https://revistas.ucr.ac.cr/index.php/filyling/oai
History, typology, and functionality of ancient biographical narratives: an examination in light of the Euripidean case and the Socratic exemplum
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Keywords

biography
antiquity
Euripides
Socrates
death
Biografía
antigüedad
Eurípides
Sócrates
muerte

How to Cite

Alfonzo, B. D. (2025). History, typology, and functionality of ancient biographical narratives: an examination in light of the Euripidean case and the Socratic exemplum. Journal of Philology and Linguistics of the University of Costa Rica, 51(1), e63521. https://doi.org/10.15517/rfl.v51i1.63521

Abstract

The study of ancient biography has experienced growing interest in recent decades, establishing itself as an autonomous
research area. This article examines its methodologies, highlighting works that since the 20th century have explored
biographical literature from a historical-chronological perspective before shifting their approach towards a typological
inquiry. The article proposes a study applied to a particular case —that of the Greek playwright Euripides— aiming to
discuss the limits of the usual typological conception of biographical literature by pointing out a third avenue of analysis (the
functional), considered here as a superior synthesis of the previous ones whose hermeneutic benefits are demonstrated in the
proposed examination. In this sense, an interpretation of the story about the death of Euripides is postulated based on its
relationship with the process that led to the death of Socrates.

https://doi.org/10.15517/rfl.v51i1.63521
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