[This article is a draft of a review later published in Journal of Hellenic Studies 131 (2011) 166–169 (DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0075426911000127). Page numbers for that publication have been added in curly brackets. For instance, {166|167} indicates the break between pages 166 and 167.] For the author (hereafter LF), the… Read more
The ancient Greeks’ concept of “the hero” was very different from what we understand by the term today, Gregory Nagy argues—and it is only through analyzing their historical contexts that we can truly understand Achilles, Odysseus, Oedipus, and Herakles. In Greek tradition, a hero was a human, male or female, of the… Read more
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… Read more
Warrior, hero, super-male—Achilles, by the protocols of Western culture, should never cry. And yet Homeric epic if full of his tears and those of his companions at Troy. This path-blazing study by Hélène Monsacré shows how later ideals of stoically inexpressive manhood run contrary to the poetic vision presented in… Read more
New iteration of the popular online project now open for registration Registration is now open for the latest session of “The Ancient Greek Hero,” a groundbreaking open, online project from HarvardX that uses Massively Open Online Course (MOOC) technology to introduce participants to the literature and heroes of ancient Greece. Read more
With the fifth version of the HeroesX project opening on Jan. 6, we would like to reflect upon the hero and heroic tradition. In the featured video, Gregory Nagy talks about the suffering of heroes in an attempt to elaborate on the choice of violent ends for… Read more
With the fifth version of the HeroesX project opening on Jan. 6, we would like to reflect upon the hero and heroic tradition. In the featured video, Gregory Nagy talks about the suffering of heroes in an attempt to elaborate on the choice of violent ends for… Read more
