Title Pindar and Greek religion : theologies of mortality in the Victory Odes / Hanne Eisenfeld

Published Cambridge, United Kingdom ; New York, NY : Cambridge University Press, 2022 ©2022

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Description 1 online resource (xv, 277 pages) : illustrations Contents Pindar mythologus and theologus -- Herakles looks back at the world -- The Dioskouroi in existential crisis -- Exaltation at Akragas : Herakles, the Dioskouroi, and Theron -- The isolation of Amphiaraos -- Asklepios and the limits of the possible -- An invitation Summary "This book recontexualizes Pindar's victory songs within the lived religious landscapes of the fifth century in order to demonstrate their theological force. Focusing on a set of mythical figures whose identities blur the boundaries between mortality and immortality (Herakles, the Dioskouroi, Amphiaraos, and Asklepios), it offers a new interpretation of the value of immortality in the epinician corpus. It demonstrates that epinician depictions of gods and heroes activate a world in which both the immortality of the gods and the mortality of humans constitute real and meaningful modes of existence, and shows that Pindar manipulates the ambiguous position of his boundary-blurring figures in a way which reasserts the categorical distinction between them. Pindar's depiction of these figures depends on an engagement with the identity of each figure in the lived experiences of his audiences and results in a contribution to-or even an alteration of-those shared conceptions. Through a series of case studies, each devoted to close reading of a single victory song, the book demonstrates how Pindar's depictions of these "in-between" figures responds to and shapes contemporary religious experience and revalues mortality as a prerequisite for the glory found in victory"-- Provided by publisher Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and indexes Notes Description based on online resource; title from digital title page (viewed on December 02, 2022) Subject Pindar -- Criticism and interpretation SUBJECT Pindar fast Subject Greek poetry -- History and criticism Mythology, Greek, in literature. Heroes in literature. Gods in literature. LITERARY CRITICISM -- Ancient & Classical. Gods in literature Greek poetry Heroes in literature Mythology, Greek, in literature Genre/Form Criticism, interpretation, etc. Form Electronic book LC no. 2022003224 ISBN 9781108923507 110892350X

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