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Acts of Compassion in Greek Tragic Drama (Hardcover)
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Acts of Compassion in Greek Tragic Drama (Hardcover)
Series: Oklahoma Series in Classical Culture
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The ability of human beings to feel compassion or empathy for one
another - and express that emotion by offering comfort or
assistance - is an important antidote to violence and aggression.
In ancient Greece, the epics of Homer and the tragic dramas
performed each spring in the Theater of Dionysus offered citizens
valuable lessons concerning the necessity and proper application of
compassionate action. This book is the first full-length
examination of compassion (eleos or oiktos in Greek) as a dramatic
theme in ancient Greek literature. Through careful textual
analysis, James F. Johnson surveys the treatment of compassion in
the epics of Homer, especially the Iliad, and in the works of the
three great Athenian tragedians: Aischylos, Euripides, and
Sophokles. He emphasizes reciprocity, reverence, and retribution as
defining features of Greek compassion during the Homeric and
Archaic periods. In framing his analysis, Johnson distinguishes
compassion from pity. Whereas in English the word ""pity"" suggests
an attitude of superiority toward the sufferer, the word
""compassion"" has a more positive connotation and implies equality
in status between subject and object. Although scholars have
conventionally translated eleos and oiktos as ""pity,"" Johnson
argues that our modern-day notion of compassion comes closest to
encompassing the meaning of those two Greek words. Beginning with
Homer, eleos normally denotes an emotion that entails action of
some sort, whereas oiktos usually refers to the emotion itself.
Johnson also draws associations between compassion and the concepts
of fear and pity, which Aristotle famously attributed to tragedy.
Because the Athenian plays are tragedies, they mainly show the
disastrous consequences of a world where compassion falls short. At
the same time, they offer glimpses into a world where compassion
can generate a more beneficial - and therefore more hopeful -
outcome. Their message resonates with today's readers as much as it
did for fifth-century Athenians.
General
Imprint: |
University of Oklahoma Press
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Country of origin: |
United States |
Series: |
Oklahoma Series in Classical Culture |
Release date: |
May 2016 |
Authors: |
James Franklin Johnson
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Dimensions: |
229 x 152 x 26mm (L x W x T) |
Format: |
Hardcover - Cloth over boards
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Pages: |
320 |
ISBN-13: |
978-0-8061-5166-3 |
Categories: |
Books
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LSN: |
0-8061-5166-8 |
Barcode: |
9780806151663 |
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