Formulaic expressions in official Roman Republican epistolography inscribed in Greek

Official Roman Republican letters inscribed in Greek have been neglected in recent scholarship on Ancient Greek and Roman epistolography, and the language of these letters in particular has not yet received satisfactory treatment. The letters have been assessed against texts which differ from them temporally, geographically, and in terms of media and text type. This has resulted in criticism of their language and their authors’ capabilities. These letters are important for understanding Greek and Roman history, epistolography, languages, and bilingualism, and their language is in need of a reassessment which applies relevant comparanda and is sensitive to the Koine Greek of documentary evidence. One important feature of the language of the Roman letters inscribed in Greek is the formulaic expressions. Since they require a knowledge of the language as well as familiarity with the text type, they are revealing of the authors’ understanding of official epistolography in Koine Greek. This dissertation analyses the form and function of formulaic language in these Roman letters in Greek. It demonstrates the attention which the authors paid to formulaic language and the proficiency with which they applied the Greek language in their official letters.