Inventing the Barbarian: Greek Self-definition Through Tragedy (Oxford Classical Monographs) - Hardcover

Hall, Edith

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 019814895X ISBN 13: 9780198148951

Publisher: Clarendon Press, 1989

Synopsis

The aim of this treatise is to explain the singular fascination ancient Greek tragedians felt for the non-Greek, "barbaric" world. It sets Greek drama against the historical background of the Panhellenic wars with Persia and the establishment of an Athenian empire based on democracy and slavery. The plays are also set in the context of contemporary anthropology and political philosophy, thus revealing how the poets conceptualized the barbarian as the negative embodiment of Athenian civic ideals. By comparing the treatment of foreigners in Homer and tragedy, the author explains how the new dimension which the idea of the barbarian brought to the Greek tragic theatre radically affected the poets' interpretation of myth and their evocation of the distant past. The dissertation out of which this book was developed won the Hellenic Foundation's prize for the best doctoral thesis in ancient Greek studies in the UK and Republic of Ireland, 1988.

About this title

Review

`she sets out the important considerations with great clarity ... this is a thorough, well-researched and broadly convincing book ... an impressive piece of work.'Classical Review

`Dr Hall offers a careful survey of the archaic background, enlivened by much shrewd observation. It is no criticism of this learned and lively book to observe that it suggests more questions than it answers.' Times Literary Supplement

`a most impressive analysis of ancient Greek ethnocentrism' Greece & Rome

'H. presents her case with great skill and learning. Her scholarship is meticulous but not stodgy, and the argument is constantly enriched with references to comparative material on ethnicity drawn from a wide range of historical and social contexts'.R.G.A. Buxton, Journal of Hellinic Studies'.

'a beautiful book which developed out of the author's PhD-thesis. It is elegantly produced, provided with an elaborate bibliography, an index of passages cited and a general index ... well-argued and carefully referenced text ... an important contribution to both Athenian history and Persian history.'Heleen Sancisi-Weerdenburg, Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht, De Novis Libris Judicia

Edition details

• Publisher: Clarendon Press
• Publication date: 1989
• ISBN 10: 019814895X
• ISBN 13: 9780198148951
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 293