Personality in Greek epic, tragedy, and philosophy
Subtitle: the self in dialogue
By: Christopher Gill.
Publisher: Clarendon Press
Published: 1996
Place of publication: Oxford
Language: eng
Number of pages: 510
Subjects: Greek literature -- History and criticism.; Self in literature.; Epic poetry, Greek -- History and criticism.; Greek drama (Tragedy) -- History and criticism.; Personality in literature.; Philosophy, Ancient.
Description: This is a major study of conceptions of selfhood and personality in Homer, Greek tragedy, and philosophy. The focus is on norms of personality in Greek psychology and ethics. The key thesis is that, to understand Greek thinking of this type, we need to counteract the subjective and individualistic aspects of our own thinking about the self.

The book defines an 'objective-participant' conception of personality, symbolized by the idea of the person as an interlocutor in a series of types of psychological and ethical dialogue. The book is shaped as a response to recent work in the philosophy of mind, ethics, and personhood, as well as in classical scholarship. Clear and non-technical, with all Greek translated, the book brings out the continuing importance of ancient Greek thinking for contemporary study of ideas of personality and selfhood.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and indexes.