Title: The limits of heroism : Homer and the ethics of reading /
Authors: Buchan, Mark, 1966-
Publisher: University of Michigan Press,
Year: 2004
Subjects: Homer.; Homer Ethics.; Odysseus, In literature.; Epic poetry, Greek History and criticism.; War Moral and ethical aspects; Ethics, Ancient, in literature.; Courage in literature.; Ethics in literature.; Heroes in literature
Abstract: "The Limits of Heroism: Homer and the Ethics of Reading examines the difficulty and danger of human desire in both the Iliad and the Odyssey, as it explores the uncertainty of decision making and the relationship of desire to heroic ideology." "The Limits of Heroism applies current theoretical work on desire and ideology-critique as it investigates well-known scholarly problems: the problem of the self and human identity, the cohesiveness of heroic ideology, and the possibility of an internal critique of ideology. Scholars and readers of Homer, as well as those interested in the problem of desire, will find The Limits of Heroism an illuminating study of the Iliad and the Odyssey, two vital texts in classical studies."--Jacket.
Contents: Introduction 2 1. Polyphemus: The Blinding of a Cyclops z8 2. Phaeacia: The Impossible Choice of Subjectivity 36 3. In the Beginning Was Proteus 5o 4. From Stones to Statehood: Sublime Objects in the Odyssey 72 5. Metis and Monstrosity: Odysseus' and Demodocus' Battle of Wits 89 6. The Limits of Heroism tzo 7. The Odyssey from the Perspective of Its Victims 233 8. What Does a Phaeacian Woman Want? 282 9. Penelope as Parthenos 206 Notes 237 References 269 Index 275.