Third Person in Ancient Texts

[Dave G]

Hey to anyone who is interested or curious. I was flipping through a copy of Caesar's The Civil War and realized it was written in third person.

Is this the way ancient writers referred to themselves (Caesar then advanced on the column), or was this a sign the document was written by a scribe, or what?

[bandecoot]

Hey to anyone who is interested or curious. I was flipping through a copy of Caesar's The Civil War and realized it was written in third person.

Is this the way ancient writers referred to themselves (Caesar then advanced on the column), or was this a sign the document was written by a scribe, or what?


A peculiarity of the man himself, bearing in mind that they were written as dispatches from the front and meant to be disseminated among the populace as a political tool to enhance his reputation.

[Dave G]

A peculiarity of the man himself, bearing in mind that they were written as dispatches from the front and meant to be disseminated among the populace as a political tool to enhance his reputation.

Thanks Bande, I was hoping you'd turn up.
:bravo:

[bandecoot]

Thanks Bande, I was hoping you'd turn up.
:bravo:


Oh and quirky factoid they were published in a new format, the Codex. pages with a spine rather than a scroll. Quite the innovator, our Gaius Julius.

[wfaber]

A lot of ancient historians refer to themselves in the third peson. Even Josephus does it.

[Dave G]

A lot of ancient historians refer to themselves in the third peson. Even Josephus does it.

What do you think, wfaber? Is it done during a certain time period, or locale, or what? (I realize that it isn't something you've committed a lot of time exploring, probably.)

[wfaber]

What do you think, wfaber? Is it done during a certain time period, or locale, or what? (I realize that it isn't something you've committed a lot of time exploring, probably.)
It's been done by ancient historians like Thucydides, Polybius, Hippolytus, Caesar and Josephus in situations where they took an active part in the histories of which they write. I'm not familiar with middle ages or later, so I can't comment on that.

One other area I have seen it done is in scientific journals. If a report is written by one member of a team, he or she might refer to his involvement in the third person.