The best of the Achaeans : concepts of the hero in Archaic Greek poetry / Gregory Nagy.

Title
  1. The best of the Achaeans : concepts of the hero in Archaic Greek poetry / Gregory Nagy.
Published by
  1. Baltimore : Johns Hopkins University Press, 1999.
Author
  1. Nagy, Gregory

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StatusFormatTextAccessRequest in advanceCall numberPA3015.H43 N34 1999Item locationOff-site

Details

Description
  1. xviii, 400 p.; 23 cm.
Summary
  1. "Despite widespread interest in the Greek hero as a cult figure, little was written about the relationship between the cult practices and the portrayals of the hero in poetry. The first edition of The Best of the Achaeans bridged that gap, raising new questions about what could be known or conjectured about Greek heroes. In this revised edition, which features a new preface, Gregory Nagy reconsiders his conclusions in the light of the subsequent debate and resumes his discussion of the special status of heroes in ancient Greek life and poetry. His book remains an engaging introduction both to the concept of the hero in Hellenic civilization and to the poetic forms through which the hero is defined: the Iliad and Odyssey in particular and archaic Greek poetry in general."--Jacket.
Subject
  1. Homer > Characters > Heroes
  2. Epic poetry, Greek > History and criticism
  3. Heroes in literature
Genre/Form
  1. Criticism, interpretation, etc.
Contents
  1. Pt. I. Demodokos, Odyssey, Iliad -- 1. The First Song of Demodokos -- 2. The Best of the Achaeans -- 3. A Conflict between Odysseus and Achilles in the Iliad -- 4. The Death of Achilles and a Festival at Delphi -- Pt. II. Hero of Epic, Hero of Cult -- 5. The Name of Achilles -- Supplement: The Name of the Achaeans -- 6. Lamentation and the Hero -- 7. The Death of Pyrrhos -- 8. The Death of Hektor -- 9. Poetic Categories for the Hero -- 10. Poetic Visions of Immortality for the Hero -- Pt. III. Praise, Blame, and the Hero -- 11. On Strife and the Human Condition -- 12. Poetry of Praise, Poetry of Blame -- 13. Iambos -- 14. Epos, the Language of Blame, and the Worst of the Achaeans -- 15. The Best of the Achaeans Confronts an Aeneid Tradition -- Pt. IV. Beyond Epic -- 16. The Death of a Poet -- 17. On the Antagonism of God and Hero -- Supplement: The Name of Homer -- 18. On the Stories of a Poet's Life -- 19. More on Strife and the Human Condition -- 20. Achilles beyond the Iliad -- App. On the Forms krataio- and Akhaio-.
Owning institution
  1. Harvard Library
Note
  1. Includes passages in Greek translated in English.
  2. Appendix: p. 349-354.
  3. 'Addenda, 1999': p. 373-380.
  4. 'Index of sources': p. 383-389; 'Index of names': p. 390-393; 'Index of key words and themes': p. 394-400.
Bibliography (note)
  1. Includes footnotes, bibliographical references (p. [355]-380).
Processing action (note)
  1. committed to retain