The Tears of Achilles

by Hélène Monsacré, Nicholas J. Snead (Translator), Richard P. Martin (Introduction)

Overview

Achilles—warrior and hero—by the protocols of Western culture, should never cry. And yet Homeric epic is full of his tears and those of his companions at Troy. This path-blazing study by Hélène Monsacré shows how later ideals of stoically inexpressive manhood run contrary to the poetic vision presented in the Iliad and Odyssey. The epic protagonists, as larger-than-life figures who transcend gender categories, are precisely the men most likely to weep.

Monsacré pursues the paradox of the tearful fighter through a series of lucid and detailed close readings, and examines all aspects of the interactions between men and women in the Homeric poems. Her illuminating analysis, first published in French in 1984, remains bold, fresh, and compelling for anyone touched—like Achilles—by a world of grief.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780674975682
Publisher:	Harvard University Press
Publication date:	01/15/2018
Series:	Hellenic Studies Series , #75
Pages:	198
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Hélène Monsacré is Director of Sciences humaines for Éditions Albin Michel, Paris.

Table of Contents

Foreword Richard P. Martin, Stanford University vii

Translator's Note: Truchement = Caretaker Nicholas J. Snead xxiii

Preface to the English Edition Hélène Monsacré xxvii

Introduction 1

Part I The Borders of Heroism

1 Proper Relations to Aphrodite: A Criterion in the Definition of Heroic Conduct 7

2 Physical Evidence of the Hero 15

3 Erotic Images of War 25

4 The Feminine and the Warrior 37

Part II Femininity in the Epic

1 Women in the Epic 53

2 The Specificity of Women 63

3 Virile Women … or Heroines? 75

Part III Sobs of Men, Tears of Women

1 Crying in the Heroic Space of the Iliad 85

2 Tears in a Different World: The Odyssey 91

3 The Tears of Women 103

4 The Language of Tears 111

5 The Weeping Body of Achilles 125

Conclusion 135

Bibliography 137

Index Locorum 147

Subject Index 155