Pindar and Greek religion : theologies of mortality in the Victory Odes / Hanne Eisenfeld.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Eisenfeld, Hanne, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Pindar--Criticism and interpretation.

Pindar.

Greek poetry--History and criticism.

Greek poetry.

Mythology, Greek, in literature.

Heroes in literature.

Gods in literature.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xv, 277 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, United Kingdom : Cambridge University Press, 2022.

Summary:

Pindar's victory songs teem with divinity. By exploring them within the lived religious landscapes of the fifth century BCE, Hanne Eisenfeld demonstrates that they are in fact engaged in theological work. Focusing on a set of mythical figures whose identities blur the boundaries between mortality and immortality (Herakles, the Dioskouroi, Amphiaraos, and Asklepios), she newly interprets the value of immortality in the epinician corpus. Pindar's depiction of these figures responds to and shapes contemporary religious experience and revalues mortality as a prerequisite for the glory found in victory. The book combines close reading and philological analysis with religious historical approaches to Pindar's songs and his world. It highlights the inextricability of Greek literature and Greek religion, and models a novel approach to Greek lyric poetry at the intersection of these fields.

Contents:

Pindar mythologus and theologus

Herakles looks back at the world

The Dioskouroi in existential crisis

Exaltation at Akragas : Herakles, the Dioskouroi, and Theron

The isolation of Amphiaraos

Asklepios and the limits of the possible

An invitation.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 22 Nov 2022).

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1-108-92435-2

1-108-91229-X

1-108-92350-X