The Best of the Achaeans by Gregory Nagy

The Best of the Achaeans by Gregory Nagy

Despite widespread interest in the Greek hero as a cult figure, little was written about the relationship between the cult practices and the portrayals of the hero in poetry. The first edition of The Best of the Achaeans bridged that gap, raising new questions about what could be known or conjectured about Greek heroes. In this revised edition, which features a new preface by the author, Gregory Nagy reconsiders his conclusions in the light of the subsequent debate and resumes his discussion of the special status of heroes in ancient Greek life and poetry. His book remains an engaging introduction both to the concept of the hero in Hellenic civilization and to the poetic forms through which the hero is defined: the Iliad and Odyssey in particular and archaic Greek poetry in general.

--James Redfield, University of Chicago Times Literary Supplement

"This is a learned, clever, and disturbing book.. One is left with the uneasy feeling that curtains have parted in the wind, giving glimpses of unsuspected realities behind the apparently simple face of Greek heroic poetry."--M. L. West, 'Times Literary Supplement'

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780801823886
ISBN 10	0801823889
Title	The Best of the Achaeans
Author	Gregory Nagy
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Johns Hopkins University Press
Year published	1981-08-01
Number of pages	414
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.