Daniel Mendelsohn
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199249565
- eISBN:
- 9780191719356
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199249565.001.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Plays and Playwrights: Classical, Early, and Medieval
This book is a study of Euripides' so-called ‘political plays’ (Children of Herakles and Suppliant Women). Still disdained as the anomalously patriotic or propagandistic works of a playwright ...
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This book is a study of Euripides' so-called ‘political plays’ (Children of Herakles and Suppliant Women). Still disdained as the anomalously patriotic or propagandistic works of a playwright elsewhere famous for his subversive, ironic, artistic ethos, the two works in question — notorious for their uncomfortable juxtaposition of political speeches and scenes of extreme feminine emotion — continue to be dismissed by scholars of tragedy as artistic failures unworthy of the author of Medea, Hippolytus, and Bacchae. This study makes use of recent insights into classical Greek conceptions of gender (in real life and on stage) and Athenian notions of civic identity to demonstrate that the political plays are, in fact, intellectually subtle and structurally coherent exercises in political theorizing — works that use complex interactions between female and male characters to explore the advantages, and costs, of being a member of the polis.Less
This book is a study of Euripides' so-called ‘political plays’ (Children of Herakles and Suppliant Women). Still disdained as the anomalously patriotic or propagandistic works of a playwright elsewhere famous for his subversive, ironic, artistic ethos, the two works in question — notorious for their uncomfortable juxtaposition of political speeches and scenes of extreme feminine emotion — continue to be dismissed by scholars of tragedy as artistic failures unworthy of the author of Medea, Hippolytus, and Bacchae. This study makes use of recent insights into classical Greek conceptions of gender (in real life and on stage) and Athenian notions of civic identity to demonstrate that the political plays are, in fact, intellectually subtle and structurally coherent exercises in political theorizing — works that use complex interactions between female and male characters to explore the advantages, and costs, of being a member of the polis.
Kathleen Riley
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199534487
- eISBN:
- 9780191715945
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199534487.001.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Literary Studies: Classical, Early, and Medieval
This book is the first to examine the reception and performance history of Euripides' Herakles from the fifth century BC to AD 2006. Its primary interest lies in changing ideas of Heraklean madness, ...
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This book is the first to examine the reception and performance history of Euripides' Herakles from the fifth century BC to AD 2006. Its primary interest lies in changing ideas of Heraklean madness, of its causes, its consequences, and its therapy. Writers subsequent to Euripides have tried to ‘reason’ or make sense of the madness, often in accordance with contemporary thinking on mental illness. Diagnoses of Herakles' condition have included melancholy, epilepsy, hysteria, manic depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder, and have been informed by a range of theories from humoral pathology to psychoanalysis and beyond. The study's concurrent focus is how these attempts to reason the madness have, in the process, necessarily entailed redefining Herakles' heroism. The book also demonstrates that, in spite, of its relatively infrequent staging, the Herakles has always surfaced in historically charged circumstance – Nero's Rome, Shakespeare's England, Freud's Vienna, Cold-War and post-9/11 America – and has had an undeniable impact on the history of ideas. As an analysis of heroism in crisis, a tragedy about the greatest of heroes facing an abyss of despair but ultimately finding redemption through human love and friendship, the play resonates powerfully with individuals and communities at historical and ethical crossroads.Less
This book is the first to examine the reception and performance history of Euripides' Herakles from the fifth century BC to AD 2006. Its primary interest lies in changing ideas of Heraklean madness, of its causes, its consequences, and its therapy. Writers subsequent to Euripides have tried to ‘reason’ or make sense of the madness, often in accordance with contemporary thinking on mental illness. Diagnoses of Herakles' condition have included melancholy, epilepsy, hysteria, manic depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder, and have been informed by a range of theories from humoral pathology to psychoanalysis and beyond. The study's concurrent focus is how these attempts to reason the madness have, in the process, necessarily entailed redefining Herakles' heroism. The book also demonstrates that, in spite, of its relatively infrequent staging, the Herakles has always surfaced in historically charged circumstance – Nero's Rome, Shakespeare's England, Freud's Vienna, Cold-War and post-9/11 America – and has had an undeniable impact on the history of ideas. As an analysis of heroism in crisis, a tragedy about the greatest of heroes facing an abyss of despair but ultimately finding redemption through human love and friendship, the play resonates powerfully with individuals and communities at historical and ethical crossroads.
Kathleen Riley
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199534487
- eISBN:
- 9780191715945
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199534487.003.0010
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Literary Studies: Classical, Early, and Medieval
This chapter, which focuses on Archibald MacLeish's Herakles and Simon Armitage's Mister Heracles, investigates the emergence, in late 20th- and early 21st-century stage adaptations of Euripides' ...
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This chapter, which focuses on Archibald MacLeish's Herakles and Simon Armitage's Mister Heracles, investigates the emergence, in late 20th- and early 21st-century stage adaptations of Euripides' text, of a neo-Senecan Herakles and the concurrent identification of a ‘Herakles complex’ in the heroic male psyche. MacLeish and Armitage specifically concentrate on the filicide and its cultural implications, and apply a Senecan and psychoanalytic reading to the madness and to the Euripidean sequence of labours / filicide. MacLeish draws a frightening analogy between Herakles Kallinikos (Glorious Victor) and a Strangelovean scientist bent on dystopian perfection. Armitage portrays a maverick military man, an intuitive berserker lost in the maze of peacetime complexity. In each case the restless, overachieving hero fits the psychological profile of what American criminologists categorize as the ‘family annihilator’.Less
This chapter, which focuses on Archibald MacLeish's Herakles and Simon Armitage's Mister Heracles, investigates the emergence, in late 20th- and early 21st-century stage adaptations of Euripides' text, of a neo-Senecan Herakles and the concurrent identification of a ‘Herakles complex’ in the heroic male psyche. MacLeish and Armitage specifically concentrate on the filicide and its cultural implications, and apply a Senecan and psychoanalytic reading to the madness and to the Euripidean sequence of labours / filicide. MacLeish draws a frightening analogy between Herakles Kallinikos (Glorious Victor) and a Strangelovean scientist bent on dystopian perfection. Armitage portrays a maverick military man, an intuitive berserker lost in the maze of peacetime complexity. In each case the restless, overachieving hero fits the psychological profile of what American criminologists categorize as the ‘family annihilator’.
Kathleen Riley
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199534487
- eISBN:
- 9780191715945
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199534487.003.0011
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Literary Studies: Classical, Early, and Medieval
This chapter gives examples of some of the mediated ways in which Euripides' Herakles has infiltrated the current cultural climate, and examines in further detail the current phase in the reception ...
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This chapter gives examples of some of the mediated ways in which Euripides' Herakles has infiltrated the current cultural climate, and examines in further detail the current phase in the reception of Euripides' Herakles, that of the ‘neo-Senecan Herakles’. Out of the escalating horrors of our post-9/11 world, and in direct response to the Iraq War, several new stage adaptations of Herakles have emerged. Apart from their record number, what is fascinating about these productions is that, although they are consciously inspired by Euripides, they have been unconsciously Senecanized, filtered through a sense of despair that is supremely Senecan and at the same time utterly contemporary. One of the modern productions discussed is Daniel Algie's Home Front (2006), in which the redemptive might of Euripidean philia is finally cancelled.Less
This chapter gives examples of some of the mediated ways in which Euripides' Herakles has infiltrated the current cultural climate, and examines in further detail the current phase in the reception of Euripides' Herakles, that of the ‘neo-Senecan Herakles’. Out of the escalating horrors of our post-9/11 world, and in direct response to the Iraq War, several new stage adaptations of Herakles have emerged. Apart from their record number, what is fascinating about these productions is that, although they are consciously inspired by Euripides, they have been unconsciously Senecanized, filtered through a sense of despair that is supremely Senecan and at the same time utterly contemporary. One of the modern productions discussed is Daniel Algie's Home Front (2006), in which the redemptive might of Euripidean philia is finally cancelled.
Kathleen Riley
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199534487
- eISBN:
- 9780191715945
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199534487.003.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Literary Studies: Classical, Early, and Medieval
The Introduction begins with an acknowledgement of the play's relative obscurity and disturbing subject matter, and then offers an explanation for its perceived ‘untouchability’. The book's two main ...
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The Introduction begins with an acknowledgement of the play's relative obscurity and disturbing subject matter, and then offers an explanation for its perceived ‘untouchability’. The book's two main lines of enquiry are set out: first, how writers subsequent to Euripides have tried to ‘reason’ or make sense of Herakles' madness, and, secondly, how these attempts have necessarily entailed redefining Herakles' heroism. Each of the major receptions is then summarized in relation to these focal investigative points. The Introduction also considers the book's place within classical reception studies and relates the present study to current reception theory and methodology.Less
The Introduction begins with an acknowledgement of the play's relative obscurity and disturbing subject matter, and then offers an explanation for its perceived ‘untouchability’. The book's two main lines of enquiry are set out: first, how writers subsequent to Euripides have tried to ‘reason’ or make sense of Herakles' madness, and, secondly, how these attempts have necessarily entailed redefining Herakles' heroism. Each of the major receptions is then summarized in relation to these focal investigative points. The Introduction also considers the book's place within classical reception studies and relates the present study to current reception theory and methodology.
Kathleen Riley
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199534487
- eISBN:
- 9780191715945
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199534487.003.0002
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Literary Studies: Classical, Early, and Medieval
This chapter examines Euripides' own radical treatment of the Herakles mainomenos myth, namely his externalization of the madness and humanization of the hero. The structural fission, unparalleled ...
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This chapter examines Euripides' own radical treatment of the Herakles mainomenos myth, namely his externalization of the madness and humanization of the hero. The structural fission, unparalleled central epiphany, and highly unusual characterization of Herakles and Lyssa establish psychological and ethical discontinuity between Herakles sane and Herakles insane. Against divine unreason, the rehabilitated Herakles emerges as a mature and humanistic hero whose salvation is achieved through human philia (love, friendship) and his own progressive spiritual resolve. The chapter concludes with a brief survey of antiquity's alternate traditions of the myth prior to Seneca.Less
This chapter examines Euripides' own radical treatment of the Herakles mainomenos myth, namely his externalization of the madness and humanization of the hero. The structural fission, unparalleled central epiphany, and highly unusual characterization of Herakles and Lyssa establish psychological and ethical discontinuity between Herakles sane and Herakles insane. Against divine unreason, the rehabilitated Herakles emerges as a mature and humanistic hero whose salvation is achieved through human philia (love, friendship) and his own progressive spiritual resolve. The chapter concludes with a brief survey of antiquity's alternate traditions of the myth prior to Seneca.
Kathleen Riley
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199534487
- eISBN:
- 9780191715945
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199534487.003.0007
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Literary Studies: Classical, Early, and Medieval
This chapter looks in detail at Robert Browning's poem Aristophanes' Apology (1875) and his transcription, within this, of Euripides' Herakles. Browning applies himself at length to the whole issue ...
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This chapter looks in detail at Robert Browning's poem Aristophanes' Apology (1875) and his transcription, within this, of Euripides' Herakles. Browning applies himself at length to the whole issue of Euripidean reception, both ancient and modern, and, as the coup de grâce in his defence of the playwright, he translates Herakles faithfully and in full. The play is deemed by Browning ‘the consummate Tragedy’ and ‘the perfect piece’ by which to ‘test true godship’. The chapter considers Browning's version of Herakles in relation to his very different translations of Alkestis and Agamemnon, and in terms of the Victorian translation debate.Less
This chapter looks in detail at Robert Browning's poem Aristophanes' Apology (1875) and his transcription, within this, of Euripides' Herakles. Browning applies himself at length to the whole issue of Euripidean reception, both ancient and modern, and, as the coup de grâce in his defence of the playwright, he translates Herakles faithfully and in full. The play is deemed by Browning ‘the consummate Tragedy’ and ‘the perfect piece’ by which to ‘test true godship’. The chapter considers Browning's version of Herakles in relation to his very different translations of Alkestis and Agamemnon, and in terms of the Victorian translation debate.
Kathleen Riley
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199534487
- eISBN:
- 9780191715945
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199534487.003.0008
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Literary Studies: Classical, Early, and Medieval
This chapter is the first of two dealing with the Modernist reception of Herakles. It examines the combined theories of Wilamowitz, the critic Herman Bahr, and the playwright Hugo von Hofmannsthal. ...
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This chapter is the first of two dealing with the Modernist reception of Herakles. It examines the combined theories of Wilamowitz, the critic Herman Bahr, and the playwright Hugo von Hofmannsthal. In his 1889 edition of the Herakles, Wilamowitz proposed his ‘seeds of madness’ theory, portraying Euripides' hero as a blood-crazed megalomaniac. In 1902 his translation of the play was produced in Vienna and was the first modern revival of Euripides on the European stage. This production, and in particular Bahr's reaction to it, had a direct impact on the creation of Nervenkunst (neurotic art). Bahr, focusing on verse 931 (he was no longer himself), believed the mad Herakles to be a hero straight from the pages of Breuer and Freud, symbolizing the terrifying potential in all human beings to lose themselves, to become something ‘other’ than themselves. His reading of 931 formed the basis of the first explicitly psychoanalytic interpretation of Greek tragedy ever staged, Hofmannsthal's Elektra of 1903.Less
This chapter is the first of two dealing with the Modernist reception of Herakles. It examines the combined theories of Wilamowitz, the critic Herman Bahr, and the playwright Hugo von Hofmannsthal. In his 1889 edition of the Herakles, Wilamowitz proposed his ‘seeds of madness’ theory, portraying Euripides' hero as a blood-crazed megalomaniac. In 1902 his translation of the play was produced in Vienna and was the first modern revival of Euripides on the European stage. This production, and in particular Bahr's reaction to it, had a direct impact on the creation of Nervenkunst (neurotic art). Bahr, focusing on verse 931 (he was no longer himself), believed the mad Herakles to be a hero straight from the pages of Breuer and Freud, symbolizing the terrifying potential in all human beings to lose themselves, to become something ‘other’ than themselves. His reading of 931 formed the basis of the first explicitly psychoanalytic interpretation of Greek tragedy ever staged, Hofmannsthal's Elektra of 1903.
Daniel Mendelsohn
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199249565
- eISBN:
- 9780191719356
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199249565.003.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Plays and Playwrights: Classical, Early, and Medieval
This introductory chapter begins with a description of the current state of interpretative >aporia surrounding Euripedes' plays, Children of Herakles and Suppliant Women. It argues that the ...
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This introductory chapter begins with a description of the current state of interpretative >aporia surrounding Euripedes' plays, Children of Herakles and Suppliant Women. It argues that the widespread interpretative dismay about the form of the texts seems to follow from erroneous assumptions about their content. It is also argued that in the political plays, the pairings of seemingly opposite feminine types — good/bad, fetishized/uncanny, constructive/destructive — constitute a coherent structural device with particular implications for political theorizing.Less
This introductory chapter begins with a description of the current state of interpretative >aporia surrounding Euripedes' plays, Children of Herakles and Suppliant Women. It argues that the widespread interpretative dismay about the form of the texts seems to follow from erroneous assumptions about their content. It is also argued that in the political plays, the pairings of seemingly opposite feminine types — good/bad, fetishized/uncanny, constructive/destructive — constitute a coherent structural device with particular implications for political theorizing.
Daniel Mendelsohn
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199249565
- eISBN:
- 9780191719356
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199249565.003.0002
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Plays and Playwrights: Classical, Early, and Medieval
This chapter analyses the play, Children of Herakles. The play is a drama of displacement, underscoring the problematics of place — the priorities and codes that govern religious, political, and ...
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This chapter analyses the play, Children of Herakles. The play is a drama of displacement, underscoring the problematics of place — the priorities and codes that govern religious, political, and social space. It opens with a shocking violation of the religious space represented by the altar standing at the centre of the orkhestra; it traces the desperate flight of a hero's kin who, deprived by exile of their political status, are forced to wander from polis to polis; and its high point is the self-sacrifice of a young girl who, in order to perform her heroic deed, must cross the invisible but culturally well-guarded border between male and female spaces.Less
This chapter analyses the play, Children of Herakles. The play is a drama of displacement, underscoring the problematics of place — the priorities and codes that govern religious, political, and social space. It opens with a shocking violation of the religious space represented by the altar standing at the centre of the orkhestra; it traces the desperate flight of a hero's kin who, deprived by exile of their political status, are forced to wander from polis to polis; and its high point is the self-sacrifice of a young girl who, in order to perform her heroic deed, must cross the invisible but culturally well-guarded border between male and female spaces.
Daniel Mendelsohn
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199249565
- eISBN:
- 9780191719356
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199249565.003.0004
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Plays and Playwrights: Classical, Early, and Medieval
This chapter argues that Euripides' Children of Herakles and Suppliant Women should be studied together because both are remarkably similar products of a moment in the playwright's career and the ...
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This chapter argues that Euripides' Children of Herakles and Suppliant Women should be studied together because both are remarkably similar products of a moment in the playwright's career and the history of Athens. That moment, in the early stages of a (Peloponnesian) War — a conflict with a foe who was ideologically and culturally different, if not in fact opposite — made those myths particularly suggestive as vehicles for re-examination of what it meant to be Athenian. It further argues that an understanding of these plays as living theatrical examples of the complex and elusive principle of negotiation can be key to viewing them as coherent and especially apt dramatic investigations of the nature of the democratic polis — which is to say, as truly ‘political’ plays.Less
This chapter argues that Euripides' Children of Herakles and Suppliant Women should be studied together because both are remarkably similar products of a moment in the playwright's career and the history of Athens. That moment, in the early stages of a (Peloponnesian) War — a conflict with a foe who was ideologically and culturally different, if not in fact opposite — made those myths particularly suggestive as vehicles for re-examination of what it meant to be Athenian. It further argues that an understanding of these plays as living theatrical examples of the complex and elusive principle of negotiation can be key to viewing them as coherent and especially apt dramatic investigations of the nature of the democratic polis — which is to say, as truly ‘political’ plays.
Henrik Indergaard
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199546510
- eISBN:
- 9780191594922
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199546510.003.0009
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Poetry and Poets: Classical, Early, and Medieval
This chapter discusses the myth contained in Pindar's Isthmian 6, in which Pindar tells the story of how Herakles, visiting Telamon to summon him for their expedition against Troy, prays to Zeus that ...
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This chapter discusses the myth contained in Pindar's Isthmian 6, in which Pindar tells the story of how Herakles, visiting Telamon to summon him for their expedition against Troy, prays to Zeus that his host will have a son who will be a great warrior, naming the child Ajax. The importance of the common exploits of Herakles and Telamon for Aegina is discussed, especially in light of the pedimental sculpture of the Temple of Aphaia, along with the increased prominence of Ajax in the Aeginetan tradition, which reveals revisionism of more ancient versions of the Ajax myth. Also of interest is the way in which the mythical narrative of the friendship between Herakles and the Aeginetan Aiakidai seems to mirror contemporary relations between Thebes and Aegina, as an aetiology for cultural and political ties, between Theban poet and Aeginetan patron, and between Thebes and Aegina more broadly.Less
This chapter discusses the myth contained in Pindar's Isthmian 6, in which Pindar tells the story of how Herakles, visiting Telamon to summon him for their expedition against Troy, prays to Zeus that his host will have a son who will be a great warrior, naming the child Ajax. The importance of the common exploits of Herakles and Telamon for Aegina is discussed, especially in light of the pedimental sculpture of the Temple of Aphaia, along with the increased prominence of Ajax in the Aeginetan tradition, which reveals revisionism of more ancient versions of the Ajax myth. Also of interest is the way in which the mythical narrative of the friendship between Herakles and the Aeginetan Aiakidai seems to mirror contemporary relations between Thebes and Aegina, as an aetiology for cultural and political ties, between Theban poet and Aeginetan patron, and between Thebes and Aegina more broadly.
Jan N. Bremmer and Andrew Erskine
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748637980
- eISBN:
- 9780748670758
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748637980.003.0013
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Ancient Religions
This chapter offers an overview of the criteria by which Herakles has been categorised, both in antiquity and in modern scholarship, on the hero-to-god scale. Most recently the debate has focused ...
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This chapter offers an overview of the criteria by which Herakles has been categorised, both in antiquity and in modern scholarship, on the hero-to-god scale. Most recently the debate has focused particularly on cult practice, but other elements which need to be taken into account include the geographical extent of Herakles’ popularity, intimations of immortality in his heroic myth and, most crucially, the apotheosis story. It is this last which ultimately differentiates Herakles from all other ‘ambiguous’ hero-gods and articulates his exceptionally liminal status.Less
This chapter offers an overview of the criteria by which Herakles has been categorised, both in antiquity and in modern scholarship, on the hero-to-god scale. Most recently the debate has focused particularly on cult practice, but other elements which need to be taken into account include the geographical extent of Herakles’ popularity, intimations of immortality in his heroic myth and, most crucially, the apotheosis story. It is this last which ultimately differentiates Herakles from all other ‘ambiguous’ hero-gods and articulates his exceptionally liminal status.
Jan N. Bremmer and Andrew Erskine
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748637980
- eISBN:
- 9780748670758
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748637980.003.0002
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Ancient Religions
The Greeks were polytheists who believed in a multitude of gods. In the modern discussion of Greek religion the gods take second place to ritual, and the study of individual gods is privileged over ...
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The Greeks were polytheists who believed in a multitude of gods. In the modern discussion of Greek religion the gods take second place to ritual, and the study of individual gods is privileged over attempts to define their general characteristics qua gods. While studies of the functions and personalities of gods like Apollo, Demeter, Dionysos or Herakles abound, no comprehensive treatment of the generic properties of the Greek gods exists. The question “What is Greek god?” is considered too ‘theological’ and therefore shunned. This chapter examines four divine qualities that are shared by all the Greek gods—their immortality, anthropomorphism, foreknowledge, and finally their power.Less
The Greeks were polytheists who believed in a multitude of gods. In the modern discussion of Greek religion the gods take second place to ritual, and the study of individual gods is privileged over attempts to define their general characteristics qua gods. While studies of the functions and personalities of gods like Apollo, Demeter, Dionysos or Herakles abound, no comprehensive treatment of the generic properties of the Greek gods exists. The question “What is Greek god?” is considered too ‘theological’ and therefore shunned. This chapter examines four divine qualities that are shared by all the Greek gods—their immortality, anthropomorphism, foreknowledge, and finally their power.
Jan N. Bremmer and Andrew Erskine
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748637980
- eISBN:
- 9780748670758
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748637980.003.0007
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Ancient Religions
The paper treats the visualization of epiphany and theoxeny in ancient Greek art with particular reference to votive reliefs, such as those dedicated to Asklepios, Aphrodite, Herakles and the ...
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The paper treats the visualization of epiphany and theoxeny in ancient Greek art with particular reference to votive reliefs, such as those dedicated to Asklepios, Aphrodite, Herakles and the Dioskouroi. It discusses some images showing the direct encounter with the divine, most of them from the fifth and fourth century BC. It points out their significant characteristics and analyzes them, showing that different concepts of gods are reflected in different modes of epiphany.Less
The paper treats the visualization of epiphany and theoxeny in ancient Greek art with particular reference to votive reliefs, such as those dedicated to Asklepios, Aphrodite, Herakles and the Dioskouroi. It discusses some images showing the direct encounter with the divine, most of them from the fifth and fourth century BC. It points out their significant characteristics and analyzes them, showing that different concepts of gods are reflected in different modes of epiphany.
Carolyn Higbie
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199241910
- eISBN:
- 9780191714351
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199241910.003.0004
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Ancient Religions
When the Lindians erected the stele with its inventories of votives and epiphanies by 99 BC, oral tradition about the antiquity and wealth of the sanctuary or city was not sufficient, as the Greek ...
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When the Lindians erected the stele with its inventories of votives and epiphanies by 99 BC, oral tradition about the antiquity and wealth of the sanctuary or city was not sufficient, as the Greek world was developing new ways of using written sources and discovering new texts to use in its study of the past. The Lindians had played a role in the adventures of Herakles, the Trojan War, the colonization to the coast of Asia Minor and to Magna Graecia, the Persian Wars, and the conquests of Alexander the Great. They bask in the reflected glory of their goddess, Athena Lindia, who is indisputably resident on their acropolis. The citation of sources reveals the Lindians grafting new ways of thinking onto traditional storytelling patterns. Pride in their past of military victories, colonising expeditions, and great heroes may have helped to compensate the Lindians for their place in the present.Less
When the Lindians erected the stele with its inventories of votives and epiphanies by 99 BC, oral tradition about the antiquity and wealth of the sanctuary or city was not sufficient, as the Greek world was developing new ways of using written sources and discovering new texts to use in its study of the past. The Lindians had played a role in the adventures of Herakles, the Trojan War, the colonization to the coast of Asia Minor and to Magna Graecia, the Persian Wars, and the conquests of Alexander the Great. They bask in the reflected glory of their goddess, Athena Lindia, who is indisputably resident on their acropolis. The citation of sources reveals the Lindians grafting new ways of thinking onto traditional storytelling patterns. Pride in their past of military victories, colonising expeditions, and great heroes may have helped to compensate the Lindians for their place in the present.
Irad Malkin
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199734818
- eISBN:
- 9780199918553
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199734818.003.0004
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, World History: BCE to 500CE, European History: BCE to 500CE
This chapter discusses Greek and Phoenician (with Tyre’s central role) “colonial” networks. Colonization created the network-oriented, city-state culture of the ancient Mediterranean (contrasting ...
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This chapter discusses Greek and Phoenician (with Tyre’s central role) “colonial” networks. Colonization created the network-oriented, city-state culture of the ancient Mediterranean (contrasting with the ól, or “yoke” of the Near Eastern empires, in the words of Ezekiel). The chapter places special focus on the gods-heroes Herakles and Melqart, founders of dynasties and cities, as giving expression to notions of foundation, territorial appropriation, accommodating middle grounds, as well as irredentist claims. Analysis of sources (biblical and others) reveals those aspects that allowed for identifying the two. The grafting of Herakles onto specific sites of intended Greek colonization (especially western Sicily) sometimes followed preexisting networks established by Phoenicians. A polytheistic network allowed for translation and syncretism; it also transformed (even in Thasos, where Herakles was superimposed upon Melqart) the quintessential wandering and terrestrial Herakles into a city-associated and even maritime hero. Herakles provided irredentist “charters” for conquest (Dorieus) that could transform into a middle ground of common existence (Elymians, Phoenicians, Herakleia Minoa). His use by Greeks in the Mediterranean helped integrate the new colonies into Panhellenic networks of myth.Less
This chapter discusses Greek and Phoenician (with Tyre’s central role) “colonial” networks. Colonization created the network-oriented, city-state culture of the ancient Mediterranean (contrasting with the ól, or “yoke” of the Near Eastern empires, in the words of Ezekiel). The chapter places special focus on the gods-heroes Herakles and Melqart, founders of dynasties and cities, as giving expression to notions of foundation, territorial appropriation, accommodating middle grounds, as well as irredentist claims. Analysis of sources (biblical and others) reveals those aspects that allowed for identifying the two. The grafting of Herakles onto specific sites of intended Greek colonization (especially western Sicily) sometimes followed preexisting networks established by Phoenicians. A polytheistic network allowed for translation and syncretism; it also transformed (even in Thasos, where Herakles was superimposed upon Melqart) the quintessential wandering and terrestrial Herakles into a city-associated and even maritime hero. Herakles provided irredentist “charters” for conquest (Dorieus) that could transform into a middle ground of common existence (Elymians, Phoenicians, Herakleia Minoa). His use by Greeks in the Mediterranean helped integrate the new colonies into Panhellenic networks of myth.
William G. Thalmann
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199731572
- eISBN:
- 9780199896752
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199731572.003.0002
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, World History: BCE to 500CE
This chapter applies spatial theory to the general themes of the poem. The Argo’s voyage involves a material, bodily experience of space, but it produces space by connecting the places on its ...
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This chapter applies spatial theory to the general themes of the poem. The Argo’s voyage involves a material, bodily experience of space, but it produces space by connecting the places on its itinerary as interrelated constituents of a spatial system. It defines that space also by tracing routes or “pathways” on the sea, and also because the Argonauts leave signs of their presence in places where they stop. These signs imply narratives of what they did, and these narratives explain landmarks or ritual and other cultural practices associated with the Argonauts and exemplary for later times. In these stories (called aitia by the Greeks), space and time fuse together, and space is a signifying system, as is the poem itself, which is self-reflexively identified with the voyage. The Argo is a mobile embodiment of Greek space, confronting the alterity of foreign places and peoples. Herakles’ random movement through space provides a contrast with the systematic production of it by Jason and the Argonauts.Less
This chapter applies spatial theory to the general themes of the poem. The Argo’s voyage involves a material, bodily experience of space, but it produces space by connecting the places on its itinerary as interrelated constituents of a spatial system. It defines that space also by tracing routes or “pathways” on the sea, and also because the Argonauts leave signs of their presence in places where they stop. These signs imply narratives of what they did, and these narratives explain landmarks or ritual and other cultural practices associated with the Argonauts and exemplary for later times. In these stories (called aitia by the Greeks), space and time fuse together, and space is a signifying system, as is the poem itself, which is self-reflexively identified with the voyage. The Argo is a mobile embodiment of Greek space, confronting the alterity of foreign places and peoples. Herakles’ random movement through space provides a contrast with the systematic production of it by Jason and the Argonauts.
Ory Amitay
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520266360
- eISBN:
- 9780520948174
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520266360.001.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Archaeology: Classical
Scholars have long recognized the relevance to Christianity of the many stories surrounding the life of Alexander the Great, who claimed to be the son of Zeus. But until now, no comprehensive effort ...
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Scholars have long recognized the relevance to Christianity of the many stories surrounding the life of Alexander the Great, who claimed to be the son of Zeus. But until now, no comprehensive effort has been made to connect the mythic life and career of Alexander to the stories about Jesus and to the earliest theology of the nascent Christian churches. This book delves into a wide range of primary texts in Greek, Latin, and Hebrew to trace Alexander as a mythological figure, from his relationship to his ancestor and rival, Herakles, to the idea of his divinity as the son of a god. In detail, the book illuminates both Alexander's links to Herakles and to two important and enduring ideas—that of divine sonship and that of reconciliation among peoples.Less
Scholars have long recognized the relevance to Christianity of the many stories surrounding the life of Alexander the Great, who claimed to be the son of Zeus. But until now, no comprehensive effort has been made to connect the mythic life and career of Alexander to the stories about Jesus and to the earliest theology of the nascent Christian churches. This book delves into a wide range of primary texts in Greek, Latin, and Hebrew to trace Alexander as a mythological figure, from his relationship to his ancestor and rival, Herakles, to the idea of his divinity as the son of a god. In detail, the book illuminates both Alexander's links to Herakles and to two important and enduring ideas—that of divine sonship and that of reconciliation among peoples.
Ory Amitay
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520266360
- eISBN:
- 9780520948174
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520266360.003.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Archaeology: Classical
The great importance of Alexander the Great's historical achievement for the development of Christianity has long been recognized. The notion of Alexander as a philosopher-king who strives for a ...
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The great importance of Alexander the Great's historical achievement for the development of Christianity has long been recognized. The notion of Alexander as a philosopher-king who strives for a Unity of Mankind has come under serious attack by scholarship since World War II. Yet the influence of Alexander on the world of myth and religion depended not solely on what he did, but also on what other people thought, told, and wrote about him. This book suggests a possible link connecting the life, career, and posthumous reputation of Alexander the Great with that of Jesus Christ. It treats Alexander both as a historical character and as a mythical one, but treats Jesus for his myth alone. It also examines the special relation between Alexander and his mythical ancestral hero Herakles and whether, and to what degree, the myth of Alexander could also influence the theology and mythology of the one who is to come. It concludes by arguing that Alexander was a flesh-and-blood character who broke the barrier between humanity and divinity, and is thus a unique forerunner of Christ.Less
The great importance of Alexander the Great's historical achievement for the development of Christianity has long been recognized. The notion of Alexander as a philosopher-king who strives for a Unity of Mankind has come under serious attack by scholarship since World War II. Yet the influence of Alexander on the world of myth and religion depended not solely on what he did, but also on what other people thought, told, and wrote about him. This book suggests a possible link connecting the life, career, and posthumous reputation of Alexander the Great with that of Jesus Christ. It treats Alexander both as a historical character and as a mythical one, but treats Jesus for his myth alone. It also examines the special relation between Alexander and his mythical ancestral hero Herakles and whether, and to what degree, the myth of Alexander could also influence the theology and mythology of the one who is to come. It concludes by arguing that Alexander was a flesh-and-blood character who broke the barrier between humanity and divinity, and is thus a unique forerunner of Christ.
