The talking Greeks : speech, animals, and the other in Homer, Aeschylus, and Plato / John Heath.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Heath, John, 1955- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Aeschylus--Criticism and interpretation.

Aeschylus.

Homer--Criticism and interpretation.

Homer.

Plato.

Greek literature--History and criticism.

Greek literature.

Speech in literature.

Human-animal relationships in literature.

Difference (Psychology) in literature.

Language and languages in literature.

Gods, Greek, in literature.

Human beings in literature.

Animals in literature.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (vii, 392 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2005.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

When considering the question of what makes us human, the ancient Greeks provided numerous suggestions. This book argues that the defining criterion in the Hellenic world, however, was the most obvious one: speech. It explores how it was the capacity for authoritative speech which was held to separate humans from other animals, gods from humans, men from women, Greeks from non-Greeks, citizens from slaves, and the mundane from the heroic. John Heath illustrates how Homer's epics trace the development of immature young men into adults managing speech in entirely human ways and how in Aeschylus' Oresteia only human speech can disentangle man, beast, and god. Plato's Dialogues are shown to reveal the consequences of Socratically imposed silence. With its examination of the Greek focus on speech, animalization, and status, this book offers new readings of key texts and provides significant insights into the Greek approach to understanding our world.

Contents:

I: Speech, animals, and human status in Homer

Bellowing like a bull: humans and other animals in Homer

Controlling language: Telemachus learns to speak

Talking through the heroic code: Achilles learning to tell tales

II: Listening for the other in classical Greece

Making a difference: the silence of otherness

III: Speech, animals, and human status in classical Athens

Disentangling the beast: humans and other animals in the Oresteia

Socratic silence: the shame of the Athenians.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015).

Includes bibliographical references (p. 334-386) and index.

ISBN:

1-107-13930-9

0-521-11778-X

0-511-18132-9

0-511-11113-4

1-280-41558-4

0-511-19795-0

0-511-48301-5

0-511-29906-0

OCLC:

252490287