Alan H. Sommerstein
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- May 2014
- ISBN:
- 9781904675679
- eISBN:
- 9781781380581
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Liverpool University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5949/liverpool/9781904675679.003.0012
- Subject:
- History, Ancient History / Archaeology
This chapter examines the ‘informal oaths’ that are recurrent in comedy, oratory, and prose dialogue in ancient Greece, with particular reference to the extent to which, and the circumstances in ...
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This chapter examines the ‘informal oaths’ that are recurrent in comedy, oratory, and prose dialogue in ancient Greece, with particular reference to the extent to which, and the circumstances in which, they were felt as having binding force. It offers a reading of Aristophanes's Clouds, a play featuring forty-seven oaths that are being uttered by characters in the action, to assess the degree of sanctity and significance to be attached to an informal oath. The chapter also discusses seven hypotheses about how the expression or context of an oath might influence its perceived solemnity and binding force: whether the oath is by Zeus, or by another god or gods; if the oath is by Zeus, whether it names him with the definite article; whether the name of the god invoked is accompanied by an epithet; whether the oath-formula is a conjunction of two or more invocations; whether attention is drawn to features of sanctity in the environment; whether the oath has been solicited by another person; and whether the oath has been preceded by explicit discussion of swearing.Less
This chapter examines the ‘informal oaths’ that are recurrent in comedy, oratory, and prose dialogue in ancient Greece, with particular reference to the extent to which, and the circumstances in which, they were felt as having binding force. It offers a reading of Aristophanes's Clouds, a play featuring forty-seven oaths that are being uttered by characters in the action, to assess the degree of sanctity and significance to be attached to an informal oath. The chapter also discusses seven hypotheses about how the expression or context of an oath might influence its perceived solemnity and binding force: whether the oath is by Zeus, or by another god or gods; if the oath is by Zeus, whether it names him with the definite article; whether the name of the god invoked is accompanied by an epithet; whether the oath-formula is a conjunction of two or more invocations; whether attention is drawn to features of sanctity in the environment; whether the oath has been solicited by another person; and whether the oath has been preceded by explicit discussion of swearing.
John Gittings
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- March 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780199575763
- eISBN:
- 9780191804458
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:osobl/9780199575763.003.0003
- Subject:
- History, Military History
This chapter examines key episodes of ancient Greek and Chinese history, as reflected in well-known historical and literary texts. It discerns a peaceful narrative in Homer's Iliad, and expressed ...
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This chapter examines key episodes of ancient Greek and Chinese history, as reflected in well-known historical and literary texts. It discerns a peaceful narrative in Homer's Iliad, and expressed visually in his description of the Shield of Achilles. It shows that critical attitudes on the Greek stage can be identified not only in the Peace and other familiar works of Aristophanes, but in many of the surviving plays of the great tragedians. The chronicles of the Spring and Autumn and subsequent Warring States periods of pre-imperial China, with their endless tales of battle and intrigue, might also seem poor material for a peace-oriented study. Yet rational arguments can be reconstructed giving preference to peace rather than war in the counsel offered by ministers and advisers in the historical annals, and by the main schools of political thought from Kongzi (Confucius) onwards. The popular voice of the farmers who had to abandon their fields to fight on remote frontiers is rarely heard, but the anti-war sentiment in many of the folk songs recorded in the Shijing (Book of Songs) should be noted.Less
This chapter examines key episodes of ancient Greek and Chinese history, as reflected in well-known historical and literary texts. It discerns a peaceful narrative in Homer's Iliad, and expressed visually in his description of the Shield of Achilles. It shows that critical attitudes on the Greek stage can be identified not only in the Peace and other familiar works of Aristophanes, but in many of the surviving plays of the great tragedians. The chronicles of the Spring and Autumn and subsequent Warring States periods of pre-imperial China, with their endless tales of battle and intrigue, might also seem poor material for a peace-oriented study. Yet rational arguments can be reconstructed giving preference to peace rather than war in the counsel offered by ministers and advisers in the historical annals, and by the main schools of political thought from Kongzi (Confucius) onwards. The popular voice of the farmers who had to abandon their fields to fight on remote frontiers is rarely heard, but the anti-war sentiment in many of the folk songs recorded in the Shijing (Book of Songs) should be noted.
