Letters in Classic Antiquity

>>1833241
Bumping

interesting question, I would like hear this too.
bump to keep this thread alive

>>1833620
In case the question is not clear, I'll like to know if it was usual to invoke some specific god at the start of the letter, just like tombs often invoke the Dis Manibus. Or if there are expressions related to letters like sit tibi terra levis, to provide another funerary-related example.

Or in general if it was customary in a formal letter to follow some kind of paragraph structure where you first start with trivial things, then introduce the main subject, etc.

>>1833241
The one major convention that stands out (particularly in Hellenistic letters) compared to modern letters is opening by naming the author, followed by the recipient, followed by a salutation.

At the very end there may be a further salutation followed by naming whoever wrote the letter down (might be the author, might be a scribe). Sometimes the courier sent with the letter will also be named.

The Pauline epistles in the Bible follow this Hellenistic format.

For example 1 Corinthians opens:

>Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes,
>To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be his holy people, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ—their Lord and ours:
>Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

and ends

>The churches in the province of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Priscilla greet you warmly in the Lord, and so does the church that meets at their house. 20 All the brothers and sisters here send you greetings. Greet one another with a holy kiss.
>I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand.
>If anyone does not love the Lord, let that person be cursed! Come, Lord!
>The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you.
>My love to all of you in Christ Jesus. Amen.

>>1834728
Other Pauline examples:

2 Corinthians:
>Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
>To the church of God in Corinth, together with all his holy people throughout Achaia:
>Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Ephesians:
>Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,
>To God’s holy people in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus:
>Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Colossians:
>Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
>To God’s holy people in Colossae, the faithful brothers and sisters in Christ:
>Grace and peace to you from God our Father.

The "grace and peace" (χαρις υμιν kαι ειρηνη) is a notable stock phrase. My Greek teacher joked calling them Aunt Grace and Aunt Irene (the name Irene being derived from ειρηνη). Hellenistic authors mostly used the "grace" (χαρις), the "peace" seems specific to Paul though.

>>1834771
>the "peace" seems specific to Paul though.
*Or rather it's probably specific to Jews since it seems like a calque of the Hebrew "shalom" (peace) salutation.

Note (again a detail which is usually lost in translation - another reason to learn Greek!) that he doesn't actually write "grace and peace to you" like most translations seem to imply. He literally writes "grace to you and peace", appending "and peace" to a formulaic Hellenistic salutation without breaking it up.

So Paul uses both a Greek and a Jewish salutation, with the latter in Greek translation.

>>1833241
>>1834728
>>1834771
>>1834792
Also with regards to the formal style (as opposed to substance) of ancient writing and speaking, Quintilian is generally the best source.

>>1833241
Romans had very specific formules for letters, and you can see them in the epistles we have by Cicero, Pliny, among other.

The most common convention, regarding to your question, was the use of specific greetings at the beginning and end of letters:
They started with a reference to the health (salus) of the receiver (and hence our word "salute"). For example: "Cicero Marco salutem dicit", which means "Cicero says salus to Marcus, Cicero salutes Marcus". The "salutem dicit" was often abbreviated SD.

At the end of letters, they wished well being (valitudo). Common formules were "cura ut valeas" (make sure you are well) or simply "vale" (be fine).

In the end, "salve" and "vale" just meant "hello" and "good bye".

>you will never know latin and greek

Paul's letters are pretty all over the place at times, it's quite clear the copies we have of one Epistle are copies of several letters compiled together so don't make the mistake of thinking that he actually wrote them in that format

>>1833241
Great thread.

>>1836115
But they are formulaic and a common example.

Perhaps a better one would be the "Royal Correspondence in the Hellenistic Period" gathered by Welles:

http://www.attalus.org/docs/rc/index.html

You will note that most of those open with a "from (author) to (recipient), grace/greetings (usually χαίρειν - a more common cognate of Paul's χαρις)" as well.

>>1836056

>tfw studying latin and its so hard

>>1838633
Sorry to go back to the Bible and Paul again, but I recalled a letter quoted in Acts and went back to check on the language it uses.

When tribune Claudius Lysias writes a letter to governor Felix in Acts 23 he also opens with the formulaic: "Claudius Lysias, To His Excellency, Governor Felix: Greetings."

Where the "Greetings" is χαίρειν as I described above.