Tragedy offstage : suffering and sympathy in ancient athens / Rachel Hall Sternberg.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Sternberg, Rachel Hall.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Helping behavior--Greece--Athens--History--To 1500.

Helping behavior.

Caring--Greece--Athens--History--To 1500.

Caring.

Athens (Greece)--Moral conditions--History.

Athens (Greece).

Physical Description:

1 online resource (251 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Austin : University of Texas Press, 2006.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

"In this book, Rachel Hall Sternberg draws on evidence from Greek oratory and historiography of the fifth and fourth centuries BCE to study the moral universe of the ancient Athenians: how citizens may have treated one another in times of adversity, when and how they were expected to help. She develops case studies in five spheres of everyday life: home nursing, the ransom of captives, intervention in street crimes, the long-distance transport of sick and wounded soldiers, and slave torture. Her close reading of selected narratives suggests that Athenians embraced high standards for helping behavior - at least toward relatives, friends, and some fellow citizens. Meanwhile, a subtle discourse of moral obligation strengthened the bonds that held Athenian society together, encouraging individuals to bring their personal behavior into line with the ideals of the city-state."--Jacket

Contents:

Home nursing

The ransom of captives

Bystander intervention

The transport of sick and wounded soldiers

The judicial torture of slaves.

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references (p. [211]-226) and indexes.

ISBN:

0-292-79436-3

OCLC:

646793564