Morality and custom in ancient Greece / John M. Dillon.

Format:

• Book

Author/Creator:

• Dillon, John M.

Contributor:

• Class of 1924 Book Fund.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

• Ethics--Greece--History.
• Ethics.
• History.
• Greece.

Physical Description:

xviii, 217 p : illustrations, map ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Bloomington, Ind. : Indiana University Press, [2004]

Summary:

John M. Dillon's exploration of Athenian society vividly brings to life how the ancient Greeks behaved toward each other. How did husbands treat their wives and parents their children? What were the rights enjoyed, and the perils faced, by a courtesan? What were the obligations of love and friendship between men and men, men and women, and men and boys? Dillon shows how slaves were to be treated and what it was like to be a slave or a slave's child; and asks how, when, and why duties to the gods were fulfilled. The problems of inheritance and the position of widows, daughters, and sons are also examined. In each chapter two or more stories drawn from ancient sources give contrasting perspectives on the Greeks' attitudes and beliefs, and to discussions of the works of literature, history, and philosophy they used to beguile and guide their lives. This thoughtful and entertaining book shows the practical outcomes of ancient Greek thought and literature and how the strange and familiar are mixed in the customs and habits of people living two and a half thousand years ago.

Contents:

• 1 The Family: For Better or Worse 1
• 2 Outside the Fold, Beyond the Pale: Problems of Non-Citizen Women 25
• 3 Preserving the Oikos: The Woes of Inheritance 50
• 4 The Best of Enemies: Patterns of Friendship and Enmity 78
• 5 A Peculiar Institution: The Etiquette of Homosexual Relationships 101
• 6 Slaves and Slave-Masters 127
• 7 Dealing with the Gods: Piety and Impiety 155
• 8 A Vision of the Past: The Role of the Anecdote in the Formation of the Athenian Self-Image 183.

Notes:

• "First published in the UK in 2004 by Edinburgh University Press"--T.p. verso.
• Includes bibliographical references (pages [210]-215) and index.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Class of 1924 Book Fund.

ISBN:

• 0253217474
• 025334526X

OCLC:

56426775

Online:

The Class of 1924 Book Fund Home Page