Brill’s New Pauly

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Epistle
(2,481 words)

[German version]

A. Term, Terminology, Origins

A letter is a written message to an absent recipient. The Greek epistolḗ (ἐπιστολή) is the verbal noun for ἐπιστέλλειν; epistéllein, ‘to give a message (to a messenger)’ or ‘to send a written or oral message (to s.o.)’; epistolḗ means ‘a sent message’, which in earlier times could also include an oral message. Synonyms: grámmata…

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Görgemanns, Herwig (Heidelberg) and Zelzer, Michaela (Vienna), “Epistle”, in: Brill’s New Pauly, Antiquity volumes edited by: Hubert Cancik and , Helmuth Schneider, English Edition by: Christine F. Salazar, Classical Tradition volumes edited by: Manfred Landfester, English Edition by: Francis G. Gentry. Consulted online on 28 March 2024 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1574-9347_bnp_e333290>
First published online: 2006
First print edition: 9789004122598, 20110510



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