1
Imitation (mimesis,
imitatio)
MICHAEL P. FRONDA
In Platonic and Aristotelian philosophy,
mimesis referred to how written and visual
arts mimicked or imitated the world. The
term, and its Latin equivalent imitatio
(“imitation”), were more widely used in
rhetoric and all genres of literature. In this
context, imitation meant an author’s con-
scious use of features and characteristics of
earlier works to acknowledge indebtedness to
past writers. Imitation can be found in nearly
all works by Greek and, especially, Roman
authors. Ancient theoretical discussions of
imitation agree that good imitation required
more than simple copying. An imitator was
expected to emulate many models, join imi-
tated material seamlessly to his own, reshape
and vary it for its new context, and improve
upon it. Perhaps the most notable ancient
treatment is DIONYSIUS OF HALICARNASSUS’ On
Imitation (Peri mimeseos), which survives
only in fragments. It may have been the source
for QUINTILIAN’s famous list of desirable Greek
models (Inst. 10.1–2).
The ubiquity of imitation has obvious
ramifications for the study of ancient history.
Ancient historians regularly employed “sub-
stantive imitation,” introducing narrative
details or inventing whole episodes based on
imitated models (see INVENTIO). For example,
LUCIAN (Hist. conscr. 15) relates how a contem-
porary historian inserted a fictitious plague
The Encyclopedia of Ancient History, First Edition. Edited by Roger S. Bagnall, Kai Brodersen, Craige B. Champion, Andrew Erskine,
and Sabine R. Huebner, print pages 3416–3417.
© 2013 Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Published 2013 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
DOI: 10.1002/9781444338386.wbeah08087
into his account of the Parthian wars, modeled
on Thucydides’ account of the Athenian plague.
Also, when two accounts of an event share sim-
ilarities, it can be difficult to determine whether
they derive from a common source or one is
a case of imitation. The process of imitation
(mimesis, imitatio) has drawn recent scholarly
attention because of its relevance to the study
of ancient reception and intertextuality.
SEE ALSO: Historiography, Greek and Roman.
REFERENCES AND SUGGESTED READINGS
Markovic, M. (1983) “Roman poets as literary
historians.” Illinois Classical Studies 8: 211–37.
Muckelbauer, J. (2003) “Imitation and invention in
antiquity: an historical-theoretical revision.”
Rhetorica 21: 61–88.
Perry, E. (2002) “Literary criticism and the Roman
aesthetics of artistic imitation.” In E. K. Gazda,
ed., The ancient art of emulation: studies in artistic
originality and tradition from the present to
classical antiquity: 153–71. Ann Arbor.
Reiff, A. (1959) Interpretatio, imitatio, aemulatio:
Begriff und Vorstellung literarischer Abhängigkeit
bei den Römern. Bonn.
Russell, D. A. (1979) “De imitatione.” In West and
Woodman, eds.: 1–16.
West, D. and Woodman, D., eds. (1979) Creative
imitation and Latin literature. Cambridge.
Woodman, T. (1979) “Self-imitation and the
substance of history: Tacitus, Annals 1.61–5 and
Histories 2.70, 5.14–15.” In West and Woodman,
eds.: 143–55.
Zimbrich, U. (2010) [online] [Accessed January
26, 2010.] “Mimesis.” In New Pauly online.
Available from http://www.paulyonline.brill.nl.