| Victim of the Muses: Poet as Scapegoat, Warrior and Hero in Greco-Roman and Indo-European Myth and History Contributor(s): Compton, Todd Merlin (Author) |
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ISBN: 067401958X ISBN-13: 9780674019584 Publisher: Harvard University Press OUR PRICE: $29.65 Product Type: Paperback Published: January 2006 Annotation: This book probes the narratives of poets who are exiled, tried or executed for their satire. Aesop, fabulist and riddle warrior, is assimilated to the pharmakos--the wretched human scapegoat who is expelled from the city or killed in response to a crisis--after satirizing the Delphians. In much the same way, Dumezil's Indo-European heroes, Starkathr and Suibhne, are both warrior-poets persecuted by patron deities. This book views the scapegoat as a group's dominant warrior, sent out to confront predators or besieging forces. Both poets and warriors specialize in madness and aggression, are necessary to society, yet dangerous to society. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Literary Criticism | Poetry - Literary Criticism | Ancient And Classical |
| Dewey: B |
| LCCN: 2006002331 |
| Series: Hellenic Studies |
| Physical Information: 1.13" H x 5.6" W x 8.46" (1.47 lbs) 432 pages |
| Themes: - Chronological Period - Ancient (To 499 A.D.) |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: This book probes the narratives of poets who are exiled, tried or executed for their satire. Aesop, fabulist and riddle warrior, is assimilated to the pharmakos--the wretched human scapegoat who is expelled from the city or killed in response to a crisis--after satirizing the Delphians. In much the same way, Dumezil's Indo-European heroes, Starkathr and Suibhne, are both warrior-poets persecuted by patron deities. This book views the scapegoat as a group's dominant warrior, sent out to confront predators or besieging forces. Both poets and warriors specialize in madness and aggression, are necessary to society, yet dangerous to society. |
Contributor Bio(s): Compton, Todd Merlin: - Todd Merlin Compton is an independent scholar. |