The Fall of Cities in the Mediterranean: Commemoration in Literature, Folk-Song, and Liturgy - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1009073214 ISBN 13: 9781009073219

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2021

Synopsis

A body of theory has developed about the role and function of memory in creating and maintaining cultural identity. Yet there has been no consideration of the rich Mediterranean and Near Eastern traditions of laments for fallen cities in commemorating or resolving communal trauma. This volume offers new insights into the trope of the fallen city in folk-song and a variety of literary genres. These commemorations reveal memories modified by diverse agendas, and contains narrative structures and motifs that show the meaning of memory-making about fallen cities. Opening a new avenue of research into the Mediterranean genre of city lament, this book examines references to, or re-workings of, otherwise lost texts or ways of commemorating fallen cities in the extant texts, and with greater emphasis than usual on the point of view of the victors.

About this title

About the Authors

Mary R. Bachvarova is a Professor in the Department of Classical Studies at Willamette University, Oregon. Her publications include From Hittite to Homer: The Anatolian Background of Ancient Greek Epic (Cambridge, 2015).

Dorota Dutsch is Associate Professor of Classics at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Her publications include Feminine Discourse in Roman Comedy: On Echoes and Voices (2008) and Women in Roman Republic Drama (co-edited with David Konstan and Sharon James, 2015).

Ann Suter is retired Professor Emerita of Classical Studies at the University of Rhode Island. Her publications include The Narcissus and the Pomegranate: An Archaeology of the Homeric Hymn to Demeter (2002) and Lament: Studies in the Ancient Mediterranean and Beyond (editor, 2008).

Edition details

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 2021
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1009073214
• ISBN 13: 9781009073219
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 296
• Editor: Bachvarova Mary R.