Pity and Power in Ancient Athens

by Rachel Hall Sternberg

Overview

Arguing that the exercise of power in democratic Athens, especially during its brief fifth-century empire, raised troubling questions about the alleviation and infliction of suffering, this book examines how pity emerged as a timely topic in Atheninan culture. Ten essays examine the role of pity in the literature, art, and society of classical Athens by analyzing evidence from tragedy, philosophy, historiography, epic, oratory, vase painting, sculpture, and medical writings. Athenians had power and used it ruthlessly, but the infliction of suffering did not mesh well with their civic self-images.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521845526
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	07/25/2005
Pages:	370
Product dimensions:	5.98(w) x 9.02(h) x 0.94(d)

Table of Contents

1. The nature of pity Rachel Hall Sternberg; 2. Pity and politics David Konstan; 3. The pitiers and the pitied in Herodotus and Thucydides Donald Lateiner; 4. A generous city: pity in Athenian oratory and tragedy; 5. Athenian tragedy: an education in pity James F. Johnson and Douglas C. Clapp; 6. Engendering the tragic Theates: pity, power, and spectacle in Sophocles' Trachiniae Thomas M. Falkner; 7. Pity in classical Athenian vase painting John H. Oakley; 8. The civic art of pity Aileen Ajootian; 9. A crying shame: pitying the sick in the Hippocratic corpus and Greek tragedy Jennifer Clarke Kosak; 10. Pity in Plutarch Christopher Pelling.

Editorial Reviews

Review of the hardback: 'This is a fascinating and thought-provoking study of an unusual topic.' CA News

Review of the hardback: '… it brings together experts is this field to give a broad range of views on the subject … an excellent introduction to the study of accient emotions and pity in particular … a very worthwhile contribution to the study of ancient emotions.' Journal of Classics Teaching

From the Publisher