The Anger of Achilles

Author: Leonard Charles Muellner
Publisher: Cornell University Press
ISBN: 9780801432309
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 250

Book Description
Menis means more than an individual's emotional response. On the basis of the epic exemplifications of the word, Muellner defines the term as a cosmic sanction against behavior that violates the most basic rules of human society. Virtually absent from the Odyssey, the term menis appears in the Iliad in conjunction with the enforcement of social rules, especially the rules of reciprocal exchange. To understand the way menis functions, Muellner invokes the concept of tabu developed by Mary Douglas, stressing both the power and the danger that accrue to a person who violates such rules. Transgressive behavior has both a creative and a destructive aspect.

The Anger of Achilles

Author: Homer
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Achilles (Greek mythology)
Languages : en
Pages : 400

Book Description

The Anger of Achilles

Author: Robert Graves
Publisher: Rosetta Books
ISBN: 0795337078
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 521

Book Description
The controversial prose-and-verse translation of the ancient war epic by the acclaimed author of I, Claudius—“full of new and provocative ideas” (Kirkus Reviews). The war between the Greeks and the Trojans has reached a fever pitch. Offended by Agamemnon, the great Greek warrior Achilles is in his tent, refusing to fight. But then Trojan prince Hector slaughters Achilles’s intimate friend Patroclus. Willing or not, Achilles must take revenge for his friend’s death, even if it will result in his own. The Anger of Achilles is a novelized interpretation of Homer’s Iliad, told by noted poet, classicist, and historical novelist Robert Graves. In this innovative take on the classic tale, Achilles comes to life in all his vivid rage, bravery, passion, and lust for battle. Combining his expertise in ancient Greek warfare and culture with a famed talent for compelling storytelling, Graves is the ideal translator to bring this ancient epic of war to a modern audience. This edition includes a compelling introduction by the author, who argues that Homer’s Iliad is best understood as a satire, closer in spirit to the works of Cervantes than those of Milton. “The translation is lucid and concise, the work of a scholar of some originality.” —Kirkus Reviews

Ancient Anger

Author: Susanna Braund
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 113945000X
Category : Literary Collections
Languages : en
Pages : 337

Book Description
Anger is found everywhere in the ancient world, starting with the very first word of the Iliad and continuing through all literary genres and every aspect of public and private life. Yet it is only recently, as a variety of disciplines start to devote attention to the history and nature of the emotions, that Classicists, ancient historians and ancient philosophers have begun to study anger in antiquity with the seriousness and attention it deserves. This volume brings together a number of significant studies by authors from different disciplines and countries, on literary, philosophical, medical and political aspects of ancient anger from Homer until the Roman Imperial Period. It studies some of the most important ancient sources and provides a paradigmatic selection of approaches to them, and should stimulate further research on this important subject in a number of fields.

The Iliad of Homer

Author: Homer
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 118

Book Description

Homer

Author: Barbara Graziosi
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0191667668
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 159

Book Description
Homer's mythological tales of war and homecoming,the Iliad and the Odyssey, are widely considered to be two of the most influential works in the history of western literature. Yet their author, 'the greatest poet that ever lived' is something of a mystery. By the 6th century BCE, Homer had already become a mythical figure, and today debate continues as to whether he ever existed. In this Very Short Introduction Barbara Graziosi considers Homer's famous works, and their impact on readers throughout the centuries. She shows how the Iliad and the Odyssey benefit from a tradition of reading that spans well over two millennia, stemming from ancient scholars at the library of Alexandria, in the third and second centuries BCE, who wrote some of the first commentaries on the Homeric epics. Summaries of these scholars' notes made their way into the margins of Byzantine manuscripts; from Byzantium the annotated manuscripts travelled to Italy; and the ancient notes finally appeared in the first printed editions of Homer, eventually influencing our interpretation of Homer's work today. Along the way, Homer's works have inspired artists, writers, philosophers, musicians, playwrights, and film-makers. Exploring the main literary, historical, cultural, and archaeological issues at the heart of Homer's narratives, Graziosi analyses the enduring appeal of Homer and his iconic works. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable. This book was previously published in hardback as Homer.

Homer: Iliad Book XVIII

Author: Homer
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108594492
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 277

Book Description
Book 18 of the Iliad is an outstanding example of the range and power of Homeric epic. It describes the reaction of the hero Achilles to the death of his closest friend, and his decision to re-enter the conflict even though it means he will lose his own life. The book also includes the forging of the marvellous shield for the hero by the smith-god Hephaestus: the images on the shield are described by the poet in detail, and this description forms the archetypal ecphrasis, influential on many later writers. In an extensive introduction, R. B. Rutherford discusses the themes, style and legacy of the book. The commentary provides line-by-line guidance for readers at all levels, addressing linguistic detail and larger questions of interpretation. A substantial appendix considers the relation between Iliad 18 and the Babylonian Epic of Gilgamesh, which has been prominent in much recent discussion.

The Anger of Achilles Peterson

Author: Craig Janacek
Publisher: Craig Janacek
ISBN:
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 387

Book Description
May, 1927. A young boy finds himself in the center of an epic tale of love, anger, hatred, honor, and merciless fate. A basketball-crazed land is about to witness the final days of the Central New York State Basketball League. Two legendary teams, the Albany Senators and the Troy Trojans are coming together for a final clash. The victor of this playoff series will go down in the record books as the ultimate team of the era. The most skilled players of the age are set to demonstrate the skills that made them famous. The Trojans, led by the heroic shooting guard Hector Price, flanked by his brother Paris and sweet-shooting Andy Apolinar, and anchored in the middle by the ferocious Sammy Zussman, desperately desire to wrest the title from their bitter rivals. The Senators, led by the gigantic center Arthur Atkinson, and driven by the magnificent power forward Alex Telamon and the crafty point guard Otis Lawson, hope to cement their status as the most imposing team ever assembled. But one man overshadows them all, the greatest basketball player of all time… Achilles Peterson. What should be but a series of fantastically entertaining games is forever altered when a momentous argument over women and honor sparks the fire that will plunge them all into disaster. A fire with a name… The Anger of Achilles Peterson. From the game’s first injury to the spiraling catastrophic conclusion, events unfold as if all involved were caught in the very threads of fate. At once the riveting story of two basketball games and a tragic reliving of a thousand years-old war, THE ANGER OF ACHILLES PETERSON tells a tale as old as time itself. The eternal battle of mankind with their passions, which can be channeled into acts of phenomenal skill and beauty, or left unchecked to destroy everything they touch. The futile struggle against destiny. And the desire for eternal glory, even at the cost of life itself.

The Shield of Achilles

Author: W. H. Auden
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691256586
Category : Poetry
Languages : en
Pages : 137

Book Description
Back in print for the first time in decades, Auden’s National Book Award–winning poetry collection, in a critical edition that introduces it to a new generation of readers The Shield of Achilles, which won the National Book Award in 1956, may well be W. H. Auden’s most important, intricately designed, and unified book of poetry. In addition to its famous title poem, which reimagines Achilles’s shield for the modern age, when war and heroism have changed beyond recognition, the book also includes two sequences—“Bucolics” and “Horae Canonicae”—that Auden believed to be among his most significant work. Featuring an authoritative text and an introduction and notes by Alan Jacobs, this volume brings Auden’s collection back into print for the first time in decades and offers the only critical edition of the work. As Jacobs writes in the introduction, Auden’s collection “is the boldest and most intellectually assured work of his career, an achievement that has not been sufficiently acknowledged.” Describing the book’s formal qualities and careful structure, Jacobs shows why The Shield of Achilles should be seen as one of Auden’s most central poetic statements—a richly imaginative, beautifully envisioned account of what it means to live, as human beings do, simultaneously in nature and in history.

Becoming Achilles

Author: Richard Holway
Publisher: Lexington Books
ISBN: 0739146904
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 271

Book Description
Viewing the Iliad and myth through the lens of modern psychology, Richard Holway exposes sacrificial childrearing practices at the root of competitive, glory-seeking ancient Greek cultures. The Iliad dramatizes and cathartically purges not only strife within and between generations but knowledge of sacrificial parenting. Holway's analysis yields a new reading of the Iliad, from its first word to its last, and a revised account of the family dynamics underlying ancient Greek cultures.