A Cultural History of Violence in Antiquity / edited by Fiona McHardy.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

McHardy, Fiona, editor.

Series:

The Cultural Histories Series.

The Cultural Histories Series

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Violence--History.

Violence.

Civilization--History.

Civilization.

Civilization, Classical.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (280 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Distribution:

London : Bloomsbury Publishing (UK), 2026.

Place of Publication:

London : Bloomsbury Academic, 2025.

System Details:

text file rdaft

Summary:

Increasing attention has been paid in recent years to understanding different aspects of violence in antiquity. Building on this research, this volume explores the multifaceted concept of violence across ancient societies. Spanning millennia and continents—from third millennium BCE Mesopotamia via ancient Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, China, India, Persia, the Hebrew Old Testament, and the Greco-Roman world through to the classic Maya—this volume delves into the manifestation of violence through literary, epigraphic, and visual evidence. The contributors to this volume take a cross-cultural approach to examining how violence was understood in antiquity. Chapters investigate ancient attitudes to different types of violence, the role of religion in exacerbating violence, the spaces in which violence was undertaken, the significance of power and authority in understanding violence, the extent of op[pression and persecution in ancient societies, the connection of emotions to acts of violence, how violence is depicted in literary and visual sources, and which technologies of violence were developed and employed. By juxtaposing perspectives from diverse ancient cultures, this volume provides fresh insights into the attitudes and practices of the ancient world, laying the foundation for further research in this dynamic field.

Contents:

Introduction, Fiona McHardy (University of Roehampton, UK) 1. Understanding and Defining Violence, Fiona McHardy (University of Roehampton, UK) 2. Sacred Violence, Mar Marcos (University of Cantabria, Spain) 3. Spaces of Violence, Werner Riess (University of Hamburg, Germany) 4. Authority and Violence, Filippo Carlà-Uhink (University of Potsdam, Germany) 5. Persecution, Oppression and Subjection, Dan Zhao (University of Cambridge, UK) 6. Emotion and Violence, Owen Rees (Birmingham Newman University, UK) 7. Visual Representations of Violence, Cezary Kucewicz (University of Gdansk, Poland) 8. Literary Representations of Violence, Kathryn Chew (California State University, Long Beach, USA) 9. Technologies of Violence, Obert Bernard Mlambo (Rhodes University, South Africa)

ISBN:

9781350148376

OCLC:

1582442514