The ancient aesthetics of deception : the ethics of enchantment from Gorgias to Heliodorus / Jonas Grethlein.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Grethlein, Jonas, 1978- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Greek literature--History and criticism.

Greek literature.

Aesthetics in literature.

Deception in literature.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (viii, 323 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2021.

Summary:

The concept of mimesis has dominated reflection on the nature and role, in Greek literature, of representation. Jonas Grethlein, in his ambitious new book, takes this reflection a step further. He argues that, beyond mimesis, there was an important but unacknowledged strand of reflection focused instead on the nuanced idea of apatē (often translated into English as 'deceit'), oscillating between notions of 'deception' and 'aesthetic illusion'. Many authors from Gorgias and Plato to Philo, Plutarch and Clement of Alexandria used this key concept to entwine aesthetics with ethics. In creatively exploring the various reconfigurations of apatē, and placing these in their socio-historical contexts, the book offers a bold new history of ancient aesthetics. It also explores the present significance of the aesthetics of deception, unlocking the potential of ancient reflection for current debates on the ethical dimension of representation. It will appeal to scholars in classics and literary theory alike.

Contents:

Gorgias and the justice of tragic apatē

The circulation and significance of apatē in the Classical era in the Classical era

The dramatic entanglement of aesthetic illusion with deceit in Sophocles' Electra

Immersion and corruption in Plato's Republic

The void of Hellenistic criticism

The appeal and challenge of apatē in Imperial criticism: Plutarch's De audiendis poetis

Lucian and the spell of philosophy

How to read ekphrasis: Tabula Cebetis

Christian polemics against idolatry: Clement of Alexandria's Protrepticus

The aesthetics of deception reconfigured in Heliodorus' Ethiopica

From deep-fake to psychotherapy: The aesthetics of deception today.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 23 Aug 2021).

ISBN:

1-009-00773-4

1-009-00850-1

1-009-00351-8

OCLC:

1276860983