Libanius and the autobiography of chronic pain
Abstract
This paper addresses the pain experience of Libanius of Antioch through his Autobiography. Using the methods of the History of Emotions and Pain Studies, we analyse this work as a first-person narrative of pain. Thus, throughout the text we address the emotions linked to chronic pain, the way in which it conditioned Libanius' perception of time and space, the sophist's reflections on his suffering identity, and how all these issues are narrated in Autobiography. Furthermore, we situate the work in its historical context, relating it to the second sophistic and the way in which the sick body was conceptualised in imperial times. Finally, through this case study we aim to offer some methodological guidelines for approaching the experience of chronic pain in Antiquity.
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