| A Literary History of Greece Contributor(s): Flaceliere, Robert (Author) |
|
 |
ISBN: 0202362957 ISBN-13: 9780202362953 Publisher: Routledge OUR PRICE: $50.30 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: September 2008 |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Reference |
| Dewey: 881.010 |
| LCCN: 2008027237 |
| Physical Information: 0.9" H x 5.8" W x 8.8" (1.19 lbs) 406 pages |
| Themes: - Chronological Period - Ancient (To 499 A.D.) |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: There are several good histories of Greek literature of various shapes and sizes, but the purpose of this book is not simply to consider the literature of ancient Greece as an isolated subject, treating each of the literary modes - epic, lyric, drama, history, philosophy, and rhetoric - in terms of its own evolution. Instead, Robert Flaceliere provides a Greek history that deals with all the important works of Hellenic literature that are still of interest to contemporary readers; and he does this in chronological order with an accurate account of their historical background.Flaceliere follows the history of Greece down through the centuries as the writer records it. He describes the political atmosphere in the nation and the advances in the other arts that influenced literature. The author understands Sappho's rhapsodies; girlish love in the context of the acceptance of homosexuality in that era. He sympathizes with the unrequited passion of the penniless Archilochos. He appreciates Pindar's pacifist tendencies, Herodotus' upright insistence on truth, and Euripides' doubts about the existence of the gods. For the classical centuries, so rich in talent and genius, the author follows the successive generations systematically so as to distinguish the special features of each, what it owes to the preceding generation and how it paves the way for the next.Since this is a literary history, attention is mainly focused on the writers and their works, but by displaying these in their political, social, artistic and scientific setting, Flaceliere gives a better understanding of the production and significance of these wonderful achievements of the human spirit. Due to the wide range of material presented, "A Literary History of Greece" can be used as a reference book as well as for enjoyment reading. |
Contributor Bio(s): Flaceliere, Robert: - Robert FlaceliEre, born in 1904, joined the French School of Archaeology at Athens in 1925. He did active fieldwork, especially studying the inscriptions at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He was Professor of Greek at Lyons University and at the Sorbonne and was also Principal at the Ecole Normale SupErieure. He is the author of many works on Greek literature, history and archaeology including Daily Life in Greece at the Time of Pericles, Greek Oracles, and Love in Ancient Greece. |