Euboean and Rhodian Discourses of Dio Chrysostom

Abstract

In this paper, I examine the Euboean and Rhodian Discourses of Dio Chrysostom in light of Hesiod's identification of positive and negative strife. I argue that Dio suggests that Roman rule enables the Greek polis to exist and thrive. The success of the polis is dependent on its citizens using the opportunity provided by Roman rule to cultivate strife in an appropriate and Greek manner. Failure to do so threatens to render the polis merely a city. At the same time, Dio also suggests that the diminished condition of the Greek cities under the Roman Empire (real or imagined) is as much a product of the conduct of their inhabitants as of Roman rule.