Book Cover
Book
Author Falkner, Thomas M., 1947-

Title The poetics of old age in Greek epic, lyric, and tragedy / by Thomas M. Falkner
Published Norman : University of Oklahoma Press, [1995]
©1995

Copies

Location Call no. Vol. Availability
 W'PONDS  886.0354 F1932/P  AVAILABLE
Description xxi, 342 pages ; 24 cm
Series Oklahoma series in classical culture ; v. 19
Oklahoma series in classical culture ; v. 19
Contents 1. On the Threshold: Homeric Heroism, Old Age, and the End of the Odyssey -- 2. Slouching Towards Boeotia: Age and Age-Grading in the Hesiodic Myth of the Five Races -- 3. Erotic Dismembering, Poetic Remembering: Sappho on Love, the Lyre, and the Life Course -- 4. Geronterotic Images: Age, Sex, and Society in Early Greek Poetry -- 5. The Politics and the Poetics of Time: Solon's "Ten Ages" -- 6. Euripides and the Tragedy of Old Age: Children of Heracles and Phoenician Women -- 7. The Unpolished Rock: Sophocles' Oedipus at Colonus and the Lessons of Old Age
Summary A striking feature of ancient Greek literature is its preoccupation with old age. Yet scholars have been slow to explore the subject - a possible reflection of the ageism that characterizes both ancient Greece and our times. This groundbreaking study by Thomas M. Falkner remedies the oversight by providing the most extensive treatment of old age in Greek literature to date. Focusing on three major genres - epic, lyric, and tragedy - Falkner examines the representation of old age and the elderly in a range of texts, including Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, Sappho's lyrics, and Sophocles' last tragedy, Oedipus at Colonus
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references (pages [319]-336) and index
Notes Text in English and Greek
Subject Greek literature -- History and criticism.
Old age in literature.
Old age -- Greece.
LC no. 95017116
ISBN 0806127759 (alk. paper)