Digenes Akrites - New Approaches to Byzantine Heroic Poetry (Paperback)

Called variously the 'Byzantine epic', the 'epic of Modern Greece', an 'epic-romance' and 'romance', the poem of Digenes Akrites has, since its rediscovery towards the end of the nineteenth century, exerted a tenacious hold on the imagination of scholars from a wide range of disciplines and from many countries of the world, as well as of writers and public figures in Greece. There are many reasons for this, not least among them the prestige accorded to 'national epics' in the nineteenth century and for some time afterwards. Another reason must surely be the work's uniqueness: there is nothing quite like Digenes Akrites in either Byzantine or Modern Greek literature. However, this uniqueness is not confined to its problematic place in the literary 'canon' and literary history. As historical testimony, and in its complex relationship to later oral song and to older myth and story-telling, Digenes Akrites again has no close parallels of comparable length in Byzantine or Modern Greek culture. Whether as a literary text, a historical source, or a manifestation of an oral popular culture, Digenes Akrites remains, more than a century after its rediscovery, persistently enigmatic. This Byzantine 'epic' or 'romance' has now become the focus of new research across a range of disciplines since the publication in 1985 of a radically revised edition based on the Escorial text of the poem, by Stylianos Alexiou. The papers in this volume, derived from a conference held in May 1992 at King's College London, seeks to present and discuss the results of this new research. Digenes Akrites: New Approaches to Byzantine Heroic Poetry is the second in the series published by Variorum for the Centre for Hellenic Studies, King's College London.

General

Imprint:	Routledge
Country of origin:	United Kingdom
Series:	Publications of the Centre for Hellenic Studies, King's College London
Release date:	November 2016
First published:	1993
Authors:	Roderick Beaton • David Ricks
Dimensions:	235 x 156 x 12mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Paperback
Pages:	208
ISBN-13:	978-1-138-27103-6
Categories:	Books > Language & Literature > Literature: history & criticism > Literary studies > Classical, early & medieval Books > Humanities > History > World history > BCE to 500 CE Books > Humanities > History > World history > 500 to 1500 Books > History > World history > 500 to 1500 Books > History > World history > BCE to 500 CE
LSN:	1-138-27103-9
Barcode:	9781138271036

Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate? Let us know about it.

Does this product have an incorrect or missing image? Send us a new image.

Is this product missing categories? Add more categories.

Review This Product

No reviews yet - be the first to create one!