The mythic voice of Statius : power and politics in the Thebaid /
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This is the first thematic study of Statius' Thebaid to be published in monograph form in English in the past twenty years. It examines in detail the thematic design and intent of the Thebaid and considers the question of its contemporary relevance. The book focuses on the central theme of power - how it is exercised on the supernatural and human levels and the consequences of its pursuit and abuse in terms of the human condition. An ensuing discussion explores the political undercurrents of the epic. This discussion is in four main parts: (1) 'Use and Abuse of Supernatural Power'; (2) 'Pursuit and Abuse of Monarchal Power'; (3) 'Consequences of the Abuse of Power'; and (4) 'Political Relevance to Contemporary Rome'. The views expressed represent a fundamental departure from previous studies and constitute a critical reassessment of the Thebaid . The provision of translations makes the book accessible to the Latinless reader.
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1 online resource (xiv, 198 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 184-190) and indexes. :
9789004329416 :
0169-8958 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Justice as an aspect of the polis idea in solon's political poems : a reading of the fragments in light of the of the researches of new classical archaeology.
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This book examines the meaning of justice or dike in the political poems of Solon from a new interpretative perspective. The first two chapters argue that neither standard historical nor literary treatments have provided an adequate foundation for understanding Solon's dike . The main defect lies in an inability to connect Solon's concrete political work with his poetic perceptions. The book's central proposal is that the polis idea, from new classical archaeology, provides an objective standard for an interpretation of Solon's dike , which remedies this defect. The third chapter sets forth the polis idea, which becomes the measure for an examination, in the final two chapters, of Solon's view of dike . The book thus exhibits an interdisciplinary approach to Archaic poetry.
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1 online resource (xviii, 284 pages) :
9789047402138 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Writing politics in Imperial Rome /
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Roman literature is inherently political in the varied contexts of its production and the abiding concerns of its subject matter. This collection examines the strategies and techniques of political writing at Rome in a broad range of literature spanning almost two centuries, differing political systems, climates, and contexts. It applies a definition of politics that is more in keeping with modern critical approaches than has often been the case in studies of the political literature of classical antiquity. By applying a wide variety of critically informed viewpoints, this volume offers the reader not only a long view of the abiding techniques, strategies, and concerns of political expression at Rome but also many new perspectives on individual authors of the early empire and their republican precursors.
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1 online resource (xii, 539 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 483-512) and indexes. :
9789004217133 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Free speech in classical antiquity /
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This book contains a collection of essays on the notion of "Free Speech" in classical antiquity. The essays examine such concepts as "freedom of speech," "self-expression," and "censorship," in ancient Greek and Roman culture from historical, philosophical, and literary perspectives. Among the many questions addressed are: what was the precise lexicographical valence of the ancient terms we routinely translate as \'Freedom of Speech,\' e.g., Parrhesia in Greece, Licentia in Rome? What relationship do such terms have with concepts such as isêgoria , dêmokratia and eleutheria ; or libertas , res publica and imperium ? What does ancient theorizing about free speech tell us about contemporary relationships between power and speech? What are the philosophical foundations and ideological underpinnings of free speech in specific historical contexts?
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Consists of a collection of papers presented at the second Penn-Leiden Colloquium on Ancient Values, held in June 2002 at the University of Pennsylvania. :
1 online resource (xii, 450 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and indexes. :
9789047405689 :
0169-8958 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Solon of Athens : new historical and philological approaches /
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This volume offers a range of innovative approaches to Solon of Athens, legendary law-giver, statesman, and poet of the early sixth century B.C. In the first part, Solon's poetry is reconsidered against the background of oral poetics and other early Greek poetry. The connection between Solon's alleged roles as poet and as politician is fundamentally questioned. Part two offers a reassessment of Solon's laws based on a revision of the textual tradition and recent views on early Greek lawgiving. In part three, fresh scrutiny of the archeological and written evidence of archaic Greece results in new perspectives on the agricultural crisis and Solon's role in the social and political developments of sixth-century Athens. Originally published in hardcover
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"This volume originated at a conference which was held at the study center of the Radboud University Nijmegen, Soeterbeeck, in the Netherlands in December 2003"--Acknowledgements. :
1 online resource (viii, 476 pages) : illustrations. :
Includes bibliographical references and indexes. :
9789047408895 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
The propaganda of power : the role of panegyric in late antiquity /
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The 13 essays presented here shed new light on the role of panegyric in the western and eastern Roman Empire in the late antique world. Introductory chapters give an overview of panegyrical theory and practice, followed by studies of major writers of the early empire and the anonymous Panegyrici latini . The core of the volume deals with prose and verse panegyric under the Christian Roman Empire (4th-7th century): key themes addressed are social and political context, the 'hidden agenda', and the impact of Christianity on the pagan tradition of the panegyric, including the portrayal of patriarchs and holy men.
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1 online resource (x, 378 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004351479 :
0169-8958 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.