Atticists
Quick Summary
The term "Atticists" refers to a movement in classical scholarship that emerged during the 1st century CE and lasted into the Byzantine period. This movement focused on imitating the language and style of classical Athenian writers from the 5th and 4th centuries BCE.1
The Attic dialect was the language of ancient Athens and became the most prestigious Greek dialect by the 5th century BCE. It was adopted as the standard language by Macedonian kings and later became the common dialect, Koine, across the Greek-speaking world. In literature, Attic was the dialect of Athenian comedy and tragedy. By the late 5th century BCE, it also became the dialect for Greek prose, used by prominent Athenian writers and even foreigners.2
During the Roman period, writers like Plutarch and Lucian were considered Atticists because they preferred classical Attic over the spoken Koine of their time. This movement, while aiming for linguistic purity, had a significant impact on the development and preservation of classical Greek literature.21
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