Perfidy and Passion: Reintroducing the Iliad |
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Author:
| Buchan, Mark |
Series title: | Wisconsin Studies in Classics Ser. |
ISBN: | 978-1-283-69209-0 |
Publication Date: | Jan 2012 |
Publisher: | University of Wisconsin Press
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Book Format: | Ebook |
List Price: | USD $19.95 |
Book Description:
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Homer s "Iliad" is often considered a poem of blunt truthfulness, his characters motivation pleasingly simple. A closer look, however, reveals a complex interplay of characters who engage in an awful lot of lies. Beginning with Achilles, who hatches a secret plot to destroy his own people, Mark Buchan traces motifs of deception and betrayal throughout the poem. Homer s heroes offer bluster, their passion linked to and explained by their lack of authenticity. Buchan reads Homer s...
More Description
Homer s "Iliad" is often considered a poem of blunt truthfulness, his characters motivation pleasingly simple. A closer look, however, reveals a complex interplay of characters who engage in an awful lot of lies. Beginning with Achilles, who hatches a secret plot to destroy his own people, Mark Buchan traces motifs of deception and betrayal throughout the poem. Homer s heroes offer bluster, their passion linked to and explained by their lack of authenticity. Buchan reads Homer s characters between the lies, showing how the plot is structured individual denial and what cannot be said. "