Alex C Purves
Biographic Data
| ID | 9085028 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Alex C Purves |
| GIVEN NAMES | Alex C |
| FAMILY NAME | Purves |
| SIGNATURE | PURVES A C |
| VERIFIED | No |
| TOTAL WORKS | 12 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 9 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 12 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2010 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2019 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
Reaching
This chapter examines Priam’s gesture of reaching Achilles’ hands to his mouth when he comes to ransom the body of his son. The gesture has been noted for its emotional effect, but here it is framed within the context of other gestures at work in the Iliad ’s final book. The chapter draws on Agamben’s definition of gesture as a “bearing” of the body in order to highlight the essential ambiguity of whose hands reach toward whom in the famous scene…
Homer and the Poetics of Gesture
Standing
This chapter looks at two separate and enduring acts of standing in the Iliad and Odyssey . The first is the “standing apart” of Achilles and Agamemnon at the beginning of the Iliad . This opening act sets in motion a series of separations in the poem that come to signify the loneliness of the Homeric warrior. The second is Penelope’s signature pose of “standing beside the stathmos,” repeated four times in the Odyssey and symbolizing her reluctan…
Falling
Falling is not only a highly repetitive action in the Iliad but also the primary means for indicating death on the battlefield. It is thus a quintessentially human gesture, which draws the body not only toward death but also into a specifically mortal sense of time. In light of the significance of falling for mortals, this chapter examines the problematic case of two gods who fall in the Iliad . It argues that when Hephaestus tumbles to earth fro…
Running
This chapter examines the difference between catching up and overtaking as it applies to the Iliad and Odyssey . It begins by exploring how the Iliad foregrounds the problems and strategies involved with catching up with one’s opponent and getting ahead. It then goes on to show how, by contrast, the Odyssey presents a world where overtaking and alternating between the positions of first and last are of central concern to Odysseus in the course of…
Leaping
This chapter considers the last gesture that Odysseus performs in the Odyssey : a single leap ten lines before the poem’s end. It understands that leap within the context of formulaic epic action, whose gestures function as a series of habituated impulses that almost automatically drive the actions of their characters forward. In the case of Odysseus, however, his final leap expresses an instance of “rebellious repetition,” in which the kinaesthe…
Hermes
Olympos
Hades
Body
Homer and the Art of Overtaking
This article draws attention to the thematics of running in Homer, seeking to make sense of the difference between catching up and overtaking as it applies to the two epics. It begins by exploring how the Iliad foregrounds the problems and strategies involved in catching up with one's opponent and getting ahead. It then goes on to show how, by contrast, the Odyssey presents a world where the act of overtaking and the alternation between the categ…
Space and Time in Ancient Greek Narrative
In this wide-ranging survey of ancient Greek narrative from archaic epic to classical prose, Alex Purves shows how stories unfold in space as well as in time. She traces a shift in authorial perspective, from a godlike overview to the more focused outlook of human beings caught up in a developing plot, inspired by advances in cartography, travel, and geometry. Her analysis of the temporal and spatial dimensions of ancient narrative leads to new i…
Homer and the Art of Overtaking
This article draws attention to the thematics of running in Homer, seeking to make sense of the difference between catching up and overtaking as it applies to the two epics. It begins by exploring how the Iliad foregrounds the problems and strategies involved in catching up with one's opponent and getting ahead. It then goes on to show how, by contrast, the Odyssey presents a world where the act of overtaking and the alternation between the categ…
Space and Time in Ancient Greek Narrative
In this wide-ranging survey of ancient Greek narrative from archaic epic to classical prose, Alex Purves shows how stories unfold in space as well as in time. She traces a shift in authorial perspective, from a godlike overview to the more focused outlook of human beings caught up in a developing plot, inspired by advances in cartography, travel, and geometry. Her analysis of the temporal and spatial dimensions of ancient narrative leads to new i…
Hermes
Olympos
Hades
Body
Homer and the Art of Overtaking
This article draws attention to the thematics of running in Homer, seeking to make sense of the difference between catching up and overtaking as it applies to the two epics. It begins by exploring how the Iliad foregrounds the problems and strategies involved in catching up with one's opponent and getting ahead. It then goes on to show how, by contrast, the Odyssey presents a world where the act of overtaking and the alternation between the categ…
Reaching
This chapter examines Priam’s gesture of reaching Achilles’ hands to his mouth when he comes to ransom the body of his son. The gesture has been noted for its emotional effect, but here it is framed within the context of other gestures at work in the Iliad ’s final book. The chapter draws on Agamben’s definition of gesture as a “bearing” of the body in order to highlight the essential ambiguity of whose hands reach toward whom in the famous scene…
Homer and the Poetics of Gesture
Standing
This chapter looks at two separate and enduring acts of standing in the Iliad and Odyssey . The first is the “standing apart” of Achilles and Agamemnon at the beginning of the Iliad . This opening act sets in motion a series of separations in the poem that come to signify the loneliness of the Homeric warrior. The second is Penelope’s signature pose of “standing beside the stathmos,” repeated four times in the Odyssey and symbolizing her reluctan…
Falling
Falling is not only a highly repetitive action in the Iliad but also the primary means for indicating death on the battlefield. It is thus a quintessentially human gesture, which draws the body not only toward death but also into a specifically mortal sense of time. In light of the significance of falling for mortals, this chapter examines the problematic case of two gods who fall in the Iliad . It argues that when Hephaestus tumbles to earth fro…
Running
This chapter examines the difference between catching up and overtaking as it applies to the Iliad and Odyssey . It begins by exploring how the Iliad foregrounds the problems and strategies involved with catching up with one’s opponent and getting ahead. It then goes on to show how, by contrast, the Odyssey presents a world where overtaking and alternating between the positions of first and last are of central concern to Odysseus in the course of…
Leaping
This chapter considers the last gesture that Odysseus performs in the Odyssey : a single leap ten lines before the poem’s end. It understands that leap within the context of formulaic epic action, whose gestures function as a series of habituated impulses that almost automatically drive the actions of their characters forward. In the case of Odysseus, however, his final leap expresses an instance of “rebellious repetition,” in which the kinaesthe…
Art (9 works) · Classical Antiquity Studies (8 works) · Literature (8 works) · Computer Science (7 works) · History (7 works) · Linguistics (5 works) · Philosophy (5 works) · Poetry (5 works) · Classical Philosophy and Thought (4 works) · Historical, Religious, and Philosophical Studies (4 works)