Ancient World Literature

Aeschylus : The Earlier Plays and Related Studies This volume complements D.J. Conacher's two earlier studies of Aeschylus, Aeschylus' 'Prometheus Bound' (1980) and Aeschylus' 'Oresteia' (1987), and completes his literary commentary on the extant plays of Aeschylus. In this volume Conacher provides a detailed running commentary on the three earlier plays (The Persians, The Seven against Thebes, and The Suppliants), as well as an analysis of their themes, structure and dramatic techniques and devices. In two more general studies he reviews Aeschylus' dramatic uses of the chorus and of imagery. Conacher's close readings of the text and sensitive analysis of the main problems in the plays will be of benefit to students, especially those encountering these plays for the first time, either in Greek or in translation. He also provides a thorough overview of the various interpretative and philological problems and opinions encountered in Aeschylean scholarship, which will be of interest to senior scholars as well as students.

Antigone Complex : Ethics and the Invention of Feminine Desire What if psychoanalysis had chosen Antigone rather than Oedipus? This book traces the relation between ethics and desire in important philosophical texts that focus on femininity and use Antigone as their model. It shows that the notion of feminine desire is conditioned by a view of women as being prone to excesses and deficiencies in relation to ethical norms and rules. Sjöholm explains Mary Wollstonecraft's work, as well as readings of Antigone by G.W.F. Hegel, Martin Heidegger, Luce Irigaray, Jacques Lacan, and Judith Butler. This book introduces the concept of the "Antigone complex" in order to illuminate the obscure and multifaceted question of feminine desire, which has given rise to the fascination of generations of philosophers and other theoreticians, as well as readers and spectators. At the same time the book argues for a notion of desire that is intrinsically related to ethics. The ethical question posed by Antigone, and explored in the book, is: what determines those actions that one must do, as opposed to those that one ought to do?

Before Confucius : Studies in the Creation of the Chinese Classics Examines the original composition of China's oldest books, the Classic of Changes, the Venerated Documents, and the Classic of Poetry, and attempts to restore their original meanings.

The Buddha : A Very Short Introduction Michael Carrithers guides us through the complex and sometimes conflicting information that Buddhist texts give about the life and teaching of the Buddha. He discusses the social and political background of India in the Buddha's time, and traces the development of his thought. He also assesses the rapid and widespread assimilation of Buddhism and its contemporary relevance.

Classical Mythology : A Very Short Introduction From Zeus and Europa, to Diana, Pan and Prometheus, the myths of ancient Greece and Rome seem to exert a timeless power over us. But what do those myths represent, and why are they so enduringly fascinating? Why do they seem to be such a potent way of talking about ourselves, our origins and our desires? This imaginative and stimulating Very Short Introduction goes beyond a simple retelling of the stories to explore the rich history and diverse interpretations of classical myths. It is a wide-ranging account, examining how classical myths are used and understood in both high art and popular culture, taking the reader from the temples of Crete to skyscrapers in New York, and finding classical myths in a variety of unexpected places: from Arabic poetry and Hollywood films, to psychoanalysis, the bible, and New Age spiritualism.

Companion to Sophocles A Companion to Sophocles presents the first comprehensivecollection of essays in decades to address all aspects of the life,works, and critical reception of Sophocles. First collection of its kind to provide introductory essays tothe fragments of his lost plays and to the remaining fragments ofone satyr-play, the Ichneutae, in addition to each of hisextant tragedies Features new essays on Sophoclean drama that go well beyond thecurrent state of scholarship on Sophocles Presents readings that historicize Sophocles in relation to thesocial, cultural, and intellectual world of fifth centuryAthens Seeks to place later interpretations and adaptations ofSophocles in their historical context Includes essays dedicated to issues of gender and sexuality;significant moments in the history of interpreting Sophocles; andreception of Sophocles by both ancient and modern playwrights

Critical Survey of Mythology and Folklore: Gods and Goddesses Many mythological traditions from around the world seek to explain the origins of the earth, human beings, and the forces of nature. This set examines the stories associated with gods and goddesses: their relationships with each other and with human beings; their faults, foibles, strengths, and special powers. It offers explanations of how the gods and goddesses gifted humans with life, water, fire, music, and dance. Nearly 220 essays detail gods and goddesses from around the globe: the Greek and Roman pantheon including Zeus, Neptune, Nike, and Aphrodite; Norse gods including Odin and Loki; Native American deities including Hunahpu and Xbalanque; and Egyptian gods and goddesses like Ra and Osiris.

Critical Survey of Mythology and Folklore: World Mythology The Critical Survey of Mythology and Folklore series offers analytical articles and plot summaries of the major myths, fairy tales, and other traditional literature for studies in advanced high school and undergraduate classrooms. The Critical Survey of Mythology and Folklore presents articles on myths, folktales, legends, and other traditional literature. Drawing upon the most widely-read literature, this volume covers a diverse range of authors, countries, and cultures. Articles begin with a summary that offers readers the major actions and characters in the tale followed by an analysis of the important cultural and social interpretations of the author and myth. Myths in the volume are organised by regions of the world and cultures, such as Oceania, South East Asia, and Meso-America. In addition, twelve maps listing ancient cultures and charts on mythological figures will provide a broad overview of major deities in world mythology. Students, educators, and general readers will discover a broad critical and cultural survey that engages the contemporary imagination in the importance of myth, fairy tale, and other traditional literature.

Destiny and Human Initiative in the Mahabharata Considers the questions of free will in the great India epic, the Mahabharata.

Homer the Preclassic Homer the Preclassic considers the development of the Homeric poems-in particular the Iliad and Odyssey-during the time when they were still part of the oral tradition. Gregory Nagy traces the evolution of rival "Homers" and the different versions of Homeric poetry in this pretextual period, reconstructed over a time frame extending back from the sixth century BCE to the Bronze Age. Accurate in their linguistic detail and surprising in their implications, Nagy's insights conjure the Greeks' nostalgia for the imagined "epic space" of Troy and for the resonances and distortions this mythic past provided to the various Greek constituencies for whom the Homeric poems were so central and definitive.

The New Testament As Literature : A Very Short Introduction The words, phrases, and stories of the New Testament permeate the English language. Indeed, this relatively small group of twenty-seven works, written during the height of the Roman Empire, not only helped create and sustain a vast world religion, but also have been integral to the largercultural dynamics of the West, above and beyond particular religious expressions. Looking at the New Testament through the lens of literary study, Kyle Keefer offers an engrossing exploration of this revered religious text as a work of literature, but also keeps in focus its theological ramifications. Unique among books that examine the Bible as literature, thisbrilliantly compact introduction offers an intriguing double-edged look at this universal text--a religiously informed literary analysis. The book first explores the major sections of the New Testament--the gospels, Paul's letters, and Revelation--as individual literary documents. Keefer shows how,in such familiar stories as the parable of the Good Samaritan, a literary analysis can uncover an unexpected complexity to what seems a simple, straightforward tale. At the conclusion of the book, Keefer steps back and asks questions about the New Testament as a whole. He reveals that whether readas a single document or as a collection of works, the New Testament presents readers with a wide variety of forms and viewpoints, and a literary exploration helps bring this richness to light. A fascinating investigation of the New Testament as a classic literary work, this Very Short Introduction uses a literary framework--plot, character, narrative arc, genre--to illuminate the language, structure, and the crafting of this venerable text.

Ovid's 'Metamorphoses' : A Reader's Guide Perhaps no other classical text has proved its versatility so much as Ovid's epic poem. A staple of undergraduate courses in Classical Studies, Latin, English and Comparative Literature, Metamorphoses is arguably one of the most important, canonical Latin texts and certainly among the most widely read and studied.Ovid's'Metamorphoses': A Reader's Guide is the ideal companion to this epic classical text offering guidance on:• Literary, historical and cultural context• Key themes• Reading the text• Reception and influence• Further reading

Ransom, Revenge, and Heroic Identity in the Iliad Wilson examines the nature of compensation--ransom and revenge--in the liad, offering a fundamentally new reading of the quarrel between Agamemnon and Achilles. She presents a detailed anthropology of compensation in Homer, located in the wider context of agonistic exchange, to demonstrate how the struggle over definitions is a central feature of elite competition for status in the zero-sum and fluid ranking system of Homeric society. The study thus asserts the integral role of compensation in the traditional, cultural and poetic matrix of this foundational epic.

Sophocles' Oedipus Plays: Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus, & Antigone Presents concise, easy-to-understand biographical, critical, and bibliographical information on a specific literary work -- Provides multiple sources for book reports and term papers with a wealth of information on literary works, authors, and major characters -- Digests of critical extracts prefaced by headnotes

Vergil's Aeneid and Its Tradition A Companion to Vergil's Aeneid and itsTradition presents a collection of original interpretive essaysthat represent an innovative addition to the body of Vergilscholarship. Provides fresh approaches to traditional Vergil scholarship andnew insights into unfamiliar aspects of Vergil's textualhistory Features contributions by an international team of the mostdistinguished scholars Represents a distinctively original approach to Vergilscholarship

When Heroes Love : The Ambiguity of Eros in the Stories of Gilgamesh and David Toward the end of the Mesopotamian Epic of Gilgamesh King Gilgamesh laments the untimely death of his comrade Enkidu, "my friend whom I loved dearly." Similarly in the Bible, David mourns his companion, Jonathan, whose "love to me was wonderful, greater than the love of women." These passages, along with other ambiguous erotic and sexual language found in the Gilgamesh epic and the biblical David story, have become the object of numerous and competing scholarly inquiries into the sexual nature of the heroes' relationships. Susan Ackerman's innovative work carefully examines the stories' sexual and homoerotic language and suggests that its ambiguity provides new ways of understanding ideas of gender and sexuality in the ancient Near East and its literature. In exploring the stories of Gilgamesh and Enkidu and David and Jonathan, Ackerman cautions against applying modern conceptions of homosexuality to these relationships. Drawing on historical and literary criticism, Ackerman's close readings analyze the stories of David and Gilgamesh in light of contemporary definitions of sexual relationships and gender roles. She argues that these male relationships cannot be taken as same-sex partnerships in the modern sense, but reflect the ancient understanding of gender roles, whether in same- or opposite-sex relationships, as defined as either active (male) or passive (female). Her interpretation also considers the heroes' erotic and sexual interactions with members of the opposite sex. Ackerman shows that the texts' language and erotic imagery suggest more than just an intense male bonding. She argues that, though ambiguous, the erotic imagery and language have a critical function in the texts and serve the political, religious, and aesthetic aims of the narrators. More precisely, the erotic language in the story of David seeks to feminize Jonathan and thus invalidate his claim to Israel's throne in favor of David. In the case of Gilgamesh and Enkidu, whose egalitarian relationship is paradoxically described using the hierarchically dependent language of sexual relationships, the ambiguous erotic language reinforces their status as liminal figures and heroes in the epic tradition.

Agamemnon Treating ancient plays as living drama. Classical Greek drama is brought vividly to life in this series of new translations. Students are encouraged to engage with the text through detailed commentaries, including0 suggestions for discussion and analysis. In addition, numerous practical questions stimulate ideas on staging and encourage students to explore the play's dramatic qualities. Agamemnon is suitable for students of both Classical Civilisation and Drama. Useful features include full synopsis of the play, commentary alongside translation for easy reference and a comprehensive introduction to the Greek Theatre. Agamemnon is aimed primarily at A-level and undergraduate students in the UK, and college students in North America.

Classical Literature and Its Reception: An Anthology This anthology presents a selection of works that illustrates the traffic between British poetry and classical literature. Gives readers the classical background they need in order to really appreciate British poetry. Divided into two halves the first half presenting a selection of the best British poems, and the second presenting relevant classical works in translation. Notes and introductions highlight the connections between British works and their classical forebears.

Egyptian Myth : a very short introduction The complex world of Egyptian myth is clearly illuminated in this fascinating new approach to ancient Egypt. Geraldine Pinch explores the cultural and historical background behind a wide variety of sources and objects, from Cleopatra's Needle and Tutankhamun's golden statue, to a story on papyrus of the gods misbehaving. What did they mean, and how have they been interpreted?

Homeric Moments Eva Brann is a member of the senior faculty at St. John's College in Annapolis, Maryland.

The Mahabharata and the Yugas This book questions the conventional wisdom that a fully matured theory of the yugas - Hinduism's ages of the world - is integral to the Mahabharata, and it illustrates how traditional commentators and modern scholars have read the later Pura'ic yuga theory into the Mahabharata, in particular when it comes to placing the action at the beginning of the current terrible Kali Yuga. Luis Gonz#65533;lez-Reiman discusses the meaning of key terms in the epic by examining the text and early Buddhist sources. This book also traces the sectarian appropriation of the yuga system in later literature and documents how modern religious movements have used the system to proclaim the arrival of a new, prosperous K'ta Yuga, a phenomenon that coincides with New Age expectations.

Masterpieces of Classic Greek Drama Aeschylus' "Oresteia," Sophocles' "Oedipus" plays, Euripides' "Medea" and "Bacchae," and Aristophanes' "Birds" and " Lysistrata" are discussed in this lively and scholarly volume. The author's experience teaching these plays to gifted high school students makes this volume particularly useful. The drama festivals, the adaptations of myth, the relevance of Aristotelian criteria, and the political and cultural background of each play are described fully, and the nature of tragedy and comedy, plot construction, stagecraft, theme, character, imagery and individual odes and speeches are analyzed in depth. The 5th century BC witnessed the flourishing of Athenian culture and was one of the most influential periods in history. The achievements of the Greeks at that time forever shaped our political and legal institutions and provided the foundation for Western civilization. At the same time, the world of the Greeks is distant and exotic to contemporary students. The values and beliefs of the Greeks are best represented in the plays that were crafted at that time, and these works continue to be widely read and studied. This book is a valuable introduction to ancient Greek drama. Designed for high school students, undergraduates, and their teachers, this work describes the origins and physical aspects of ancient Greek theatre, discusses Aristotle's "Poetics," and analyzes, in ten separate chapters, ten frequently studied Greek plays: Aeschylus' "Oresteia," Sophocles' "Antigone, Oedipus Rex" and "Oedipus at Colonus," Euripides' "Medea" and "Bacchae" and Aristophanes' "Birds" and "Lysistrata." For each there is cultural, political and mythological background, plot synopsis, and analysis of overall structure and important scenes, speeches and odes. The Aristophanes chapters explore comic method and all chapters discuss theme and stagecraft in depth.

The Odyssey The second of the two great epic poems attributed to Homer, ""The Odyssey"" takes place after the Trojan War and tells the story of Odysseus' voyage home to Ithaca and his wife, Penelope. Odysseus' journey is a perilous one, for he encounters a wide array of heart-pounding adventures and precarious mythical creatures on his way. Supported by numerous full-length essays, this updated volume offers various critical approaches to exploring this enrapturing tale of magic and heroism.

Pandora's Jar: Women in Greek Myths NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER "Funny, sharp explications of what these sometimes not-very-nice women were up to, and how they sometimes made idiots of . . . but read on!"--Margaret Atwood, author of The Handmaid's Tale The national bestselling author of A Thousand Ships returns with a fascinating, eye-opening take on the remarkable women at the heart of classical stories Greek mythology from Helen of Troy to Pandora and the Amazons to Medea. The tellers of Greek myths--historically men--have routinely sidelined the female characters. When they do take a larger role, women are often portrayed as monstrous, vengeful or just plain evil--like Pandora, the woman of eternal scorn and damnation whose curiosity is tasked with causing all the world's suffering and wickedness when she opened that forbidden box. But, as Natalie Haynes reveals, in ancient Greek myths there was no box. It was a jar . . . which is far more likely to tip over. In Pandora's Jar, the broadcaster, writer, stand-up comedian, and passionate classicist turns the tables, putting the women of the Greek myths on an equal footing with the men. With wit, humor, and savvy, Haynes revolutionizes our understanding of epic poems, stories, and plays, resurrecting them from a woman's perspective and tracing the origins of their mythic female characters. She looks at women such as Jocasta, Oedipus' mother-turned-lover-and-wife (turned Freudian sticking point), at once the cleverest person in the story and yet often unnoticed. She considers Helen of Troy, whose marriage to Paris "caused" the Trojan war--a somewhat uneven response to her decision to leave her husband for another man. She demonstrates how the vilified Medea was like an ancient Beyonce--getting her revenge on the man who hurt and betrayed her, if by extreme measures. And she turns her eye to Medusa, the original monstered woman, whose stare turned men to stone, but who wasn't always a monster, and had her hair turned to snakes as punishment for being raped. Pandora's Jar brings nuance and care to the millennia-old myths and legends and asks the question: Why are we so quick to villainize these women in the first place--and so eager to accept the stories we've been told?

The Ramayana Revisited The Ramayana is one of India's foundational epics, and it demonstrates a continuing power to influence social, religious, cultural, and political life. Brought to textual life in Sanskrit by the legendary "first poet," Valmiki, over the ensuing centuries the tale has been recycled withextraordinary adaptability and diversity through the varied cultural heritages of India and other parts of Asia. The basic tale of the Ramayana is continually adapted to new contexts, forms, and media. It is read, recited, sung, danced, and acted in one form or another, and renewed so constantly bychanging times and values that it demands constant revaluation. The Ramayana Revisited presents the latest in Ramayana scholarship. Fourteen leading scholars examine the epic in its myriad contexts throughout South and Southeast Asia. They explore the role the narrative plays in societies as variedas India, Indonesia, Thailand, and Cambodia. The essays also expand the understanding of the "text" to include non-verbal renditions of the epic, with particular attention to the complex ways such retellings change the way the narrative deals with gender. This volume will be invaluable to studentsand scholars interested in mythology, Hinduism, Asian studies, and anthropology.

Virgil's Aeneid: A Reader's Guide Written by eminent scholar David O. Ross, this guide helps readers to engage with the poetry, thought, and background of Virgil's great epic, suggesting both the depth and the beauty of Virgil's poetic images and the mental images with which the Romans lived. Guides readers through the complexity of Virgil's poetic style and imagery All extracts are translated, with original Latin given when necessary Provides useful historical and social context in which to understand the poem as it was viewed in its time Includes short introductions to important topics such as Roman religion and the Roman concept of 'character' Features a helpful appendix which clarifies how to read and hear the poem's Latin hexameter

Defining Documents in World History: The Ancient World (2700 B.C.E.–c.500 C.E.) Through in-depth analysis of important primary documents from B.C.E. and C.E., readers will gain new insights into the life and culture in Ancient History. Includes the fall of Rome, ancient Egypt, daily life and culture of Romans, Sumerians, Mayans Babylonians and more.

Great Events from History: The Ancient World, Prehistory-476 c.e. The essays in this set provide coverage of events involving prehistoric cultures and social and cultural developments in all areas of the world from prehistory to 476

Voices of Ancient Egypt Supporting the current trends toward document-based teaching, this book introduces the reader to the multifaceted world of ancient Egypt through revealing excerpts from 51 texts written by Egyptians themselves. * Offers a fresh yet accessible approach to the study of ancient Egypt by giving readers firsthand insights into Egyptians' own perceptions of their unique world * Illuminates the character and social history of the ancient Egyptians as well as many aspects of daily life and practice * Shows how the extensive timespan of ancient Egyptian civilization and its domination of the surrounding geographical areas exerted a profound influence that lasted through time * Demonstrates how significant aspects of ancient Egyptian culture have been transmitted to the modern world * Includes "Topics and Activities to Consider" to encourage discussion and allow readers to expand their knowledge