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.
Modern critical theory and classical literature /
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In recent decades the study of literature in Europe and the Americas has been profoundly influenced by modern critical theory in its various forms, whether Structuralism or Deconstructionism, Hermeneutics, Reader-Response Theory or Rezeptionsästhetik , Semiotics or Narratology, Marxist, feminist, neo-historical, psychoanalytical or other perspectives. Whilst the value and validity of such approaches to literature is still a matter of some dispute, not least among classical scholars, they have had a substantial impact on the study both of classical literatures and of the mentalité of Greece and Rome. In an attempt to clarify issues in the debate, the eleven contributors to this volume were asked to produce a representative collection of essays to illustrate the applicability of some of the new approaches to Greek and Latin authors or literary forms and problems. The scope of the volume was deliberately limited to literary investigation, broadly construed, of Greek and Roman authors. Broader areas of the history and culture of the ancient world impinge in the essays, but are not their central focus. The volume also contains a separate bibliography, offering for the first time a complete bibliography of classical studies which incorporate modern critical theory.
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1 online resource (vi, 292 pages) : illustrations. :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 281-288) and index. :
9789004329263 :
0169-8958 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Ancient stepmothers : myth, misogyny, and reality /
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Ancient Stepmothers is the first full-length study of the stepmother in Graeco-Roman antiquity. Several perspectives are covered: literary, historical and sociological, the last-mentioned making use of comparative material from modern studies of stepfamilies. The portrayal of the stepmother in myth and literature is thoroughly explored. The historical background in Athens and Rome is examined with a view to determining the relationship between fiction and real life. The book makes an important contribution to the study of both literary history and family relationships: in particular, it sheds light on attitudes to women, the portrayal of the stepmother being an outstanding illustration of misogynistic prejudice. It will also interest sociologists wishing to place studies of the contemporary stepfamily in a wider historical context: for this reason, all Greek and Latin is translated into English.
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1 online resource (xii, 288 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 272-277) and indexes. :
9789004329485 :
0169-8958 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Psychological and ethical ideas : what early Greeks say /
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Psychological and Ethical Ideas studies what Greek poets and philosophers of the Archaic Age of Greece say about certain psychological and ethical ideas. These ideas include "psychological activity", "soul", "excellence", and "justice". These ideas were chosen to show how early Greek individuals think, act, and relate to other people and to their universe. The book first discusses the nature of the literature of the Archaic Age. It then treats in detail what early Greeks say about the four ideas, presenting numerous quotations (all in translation). The book concludes with an overview of the ideas discussed. The book introduces the reader to important ideas of the Archaic Age, showing what both poets and philosophers thought. These ideas are central to this period and were to have an important role in the literature and philosophy of later Greek authors, especially in the drama of the fifth century and the philosophy of the fourth century.
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1 online resource (xii, 262 pages) : maps. :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 243-249) and indexes. :
9789004329492 :
0169-8958 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Signs of orality : the oral tradition and its influence in the Greek and Roman world /
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The essays in this volume present new insights into the far-reaching influence of an early oral culture on subsequent development after the spread of literacy. At the outset, revisionist essays on the Homeric epics examine such questions as historical memory, Homer's audience(s), descriptive strategies, ring-composition, and the status of orality as a constitutive feature of the epics. These are followed by virtually unprecedented studies of the orality of later (written) literature, including Greek oratory, Virgilian epic, Pliny's Panegyricus and story-telling in late Greek writers. Included as well are two discussions of Athenian vase-painting: annular scene-composition in the black-figure tradition, and the implications of kalos -inscriptions. An introduction by leading oral theorist John Miles Foley situates all the essays at the leading edge of oral theoretical development.
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1 online resource (x, 261 pages) : illustrations. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004351424 :
0169-8958 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.