The Best of the Achaeans

Concepts of the Hero in Archaic Greek Poetry

Bibliographic Data

ID3939292
AuthorsWayne B Ingalls (corresponding author)
Year1981
Volume35
Issue3
Pages276
Publication date1981-01-01
Open AccessNo
TypeREVIEW
Review ofThe best of the Achaeans: Concepts of the hero in Archaic Greek poetry, Gregory Nagy, 1979
VenuePhoenix (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0031-8299 • E-ISSN: 1929-4883
PublisherJSTOR (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.2307/1087661
OpenAlexW2068115066
LanguageEN

Despite widespread interest in the Greek hero as a cult figure, little was written about the relationship between the cult practices and the portrayals of the hero in poetry. The first edition of The Best of the Achaeans bridged that gap, raising new questions about what could be known or conjectured about Greek heroes. In this revised edition, which features a new preface by the author, Gregory Nagy reconsiders his conclusions in the light of the subsequent debate and resumes his discussion of the special status of heroes in ancient Greek life and poetry. His book remains an engaging introduction both to the concept of the hero in Hellenic civilization and to the poetic forms through which the hero is defined: the Iliad and Odyssey in particular and archaic Greek poetry in general

Art · HERO · Literature · Poetry · Classical Antiquity Studies

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