Prevalent among classicists today is the notion that Greeks,
Romans, and Jews enhanced their own self-perception by contrasting
themselves with the so-called Other--Egyptians, Phoenicians,
Ethiopians, Gauls, and other foreigners--frequently through hostile
stereotypes, distortions, and caricature. In this provocative book,
Erich Gruen demonstrates how the ancients found connections rather
than contrasts, how they expressed admiration for the achievements
and principles of other societies, and how they discerned--and even
invented--kinship relations and shared roots with diverse
peoples.
Gruen shows how the ancients incorporated the traditions of
foreign nations, and imagined blood ties and associations with
distant cultures through myth, legend, and fictive histories. He
looks at a host of creative tales, including those describing the
founding of Thebes by the Phoenician Cadmus, Rome's embrace of
Trojan and Arcadian origins, and Abraham as ancestor to the
Spartans. Gruen gives in-depth readings of major texts by
Aeschylus, Herodotus, Xenophon, Plutarch, Julius Caesar, Tacitus,
and others, in addition to portions of the Hebrew Bible, revealing
how they offer richly nuanced portraits of the alien that go well
beyond stereotypes and caricature.
Providing extraordinary insight into the ancient world, this
controversial book explores how ancient attitudes toward the Other
often expressed mutuality and connection, and not simply contrast
and alienation.
General
Imprint: |
Princeton University Press
|
Country of origin: |
United States |
Series: |
Martin Classical Lectures |
Release date: |
September 2012 |
First published: |
2010 |
Authors: |
Erich S. Gruen
|
Dimensions: |
235 x 152 x 28mm (L x W x T) |
Format: |
Paperback
|
Pages: |
416 |
ISBN-13: |
978-0-691-15635-4 |
Categories: |
Books
|
LSN: |
0-691-15635-2 |
Barcode: |
9780691156354 |
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