Author : Ruth Scodel
Publisher : Classical Press of Wales
ISBN 13 : 1910589438
Total Pages : 186 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (15 download)
Book Synopsis Epic Facework by : Ruth Scodel
Download or read book Epic Facework written by Ruth Scodel and published by Classical Press of Wales. This book was released on 2008-12-31 with total page 186 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Homer's characters are often very far from an unreflecting struggle for status at others' expense. Rather than being a 'zero-sum game', their negotiations can be of an impressive delicacy, designed to protect the 'face' of the other. Gifts and visible deference are important measures of honour, but characters also care about what others really feel. This sensitive study reveals that at the beginnings of (surviving) Greek literature Homer's audience is expected to appreciate psychology and self-control of a very high order. Literary analysts, historians, anthropologists and indeed archaeologists will have much to learn here about the general level of sophistication of the historic and prehistoric societies which generated such deeply civilized poetry.