| Concordia Discors: Eros and Dialogue in Classical Athenian Literature Contributor(s): Scholtz, Andrew (Author) |
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ISBN: 0674025989 ISBN-13: 9780674025981 Publisher: Harvard University Press OUR PRICE: $18.76 Product Type: Paperback Published: January 2008 Annotation: Writing to a friend, Horace describes the man as fascinated by "the discordant harmony of the cosmos, its purpose and power." Andrew Scholtz takes this notion of "discordant harmony" and argues for it as an aesthetic principle where classical Athenian literature addresses politics in the idiom of sexual desire. His approach is an untried one for this kind of topic. Drawing on theorists of the sociality of language, Scholtz shows how "eros," consuming, destabilizing desire, became a vehicle for exploring and exploiting dissonance within the songs Athenians sang about themselves. Thus he shows how societal tension and instability could register as an ideologically charged polyphony in works like the "Periclean Funeral Oration," Aristophanes' "Knights," and Xenophon's "Symposium," |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Literary Criticism | Ancient And Classical |
| Dewey: 880.9 |
| LCCN: 2007017715 |
| Series: Hellenic Studies |
| Physical Information: 0.48" H x 5.39" W x 9.01" (0.61 lbs) 174 pages |
| Themes: - Chronological Period - Ancient (To 499 A.D.) |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Writing to a friend, Horace describes the man as fascinated by "the discordant harmony of the cosmos, its purpose and power." Andrew Scholtz takes this notion of "discordant harmony" and argues for it as an aesthetic principle where classical Athenian literature addresses politics in the idiom of sexual desire. His approach is an untried one for this kind of topic. Drawing on theorists of the sociality of language, Scholtz shows how eros, consuming, destabilizing desire, became a vehicle for exploring and exploiting dissonance within the songs Athenians sang about themselves. Thus he shows how societal tension and instability could register as an ideologically charged polyphony in works like the Periclean Funeral Oration, Aristophanes' Knights, and Xenophon's Symposium. |
Contributor Bio(s): Scholtz, Andrew: - Andrew Scholtz is Assistant Professor of Classics, Binghamton University. |