The Greek Concept of Justice: From Its Shadow in Homer to Its Substance in Plato

Eric A. Havelock

Published by Harvard University Press 1978

The Greek Concept of Justice

From Its Shadow in Homer to Its Substance in Plato

Eric A. Havelock

https://doi.org/10.4159/harvard.9780674183513

Overview
Contents

About this book

In this book, Eric Havelock presents a challenging account of the development of the idea of justice in early Greece, and particularly of the way justice changed as Greek oral tradition gradually gave way to the written word in a literate society.

He begins by examining the educational functions of poets in preliterate Greece, showing how they conserved and transmitted the traditions of society, a thesis adumbrated in his earlier book Preface to Plato. Homer, he demonstrates, has much to say about justice, but since that idea is nowhere in the epics directly stated or expressed, it must be deduced from the speech and actions of the characters. Havelock's careful reading of the Iliad and the Odyssey is original and revealing; it sheds light both on Homeric notions of justice and on the Archaic Greek society depicted in the poems.

As Havelock continues his inquiry from Hesiod to Aeschylus, his findings become more complex. The oral Greek world shades into a literate one. Words lose some kinds of meanings, gain others, and steadily become more suited to the conceptualization that Plato strove for and achieved. This evolution of language itself, Havelock shows, was one of the principal accomplishments of the Greek world.

Lucidly written and forcefully argued, this book is a major contribution to our knowledge of ancient Greece--its politics, philosophy, and literature, from Homer to Plato.

Author / Editor information

Havelock Eric :

Eric A. Havelock was Sterling Professor of Classics, Emeritus, Yale University.

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Foreword Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	vii
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	ix
Prologue Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
1. From Homer to Plato, The Contours of the Problem Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	4
2. The Function of Epic in Preliterate Societies Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	15
3. The Psychology of Rhythmic Memorization Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	38
4. The Society Reported by Homer Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	55
5. Some Elements of the Homeric Fantasy Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	88
6. The Method and Manner of Homeric Storage Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	106
7. The Justice of the Iliad Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	123
8. The Legalities of the Odyssey Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	139
9. The Moralities of the Odyssey Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	150
10. The Justice of the Odyssey Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	179
11. The Justice of Hesiod, An Essay in Detection Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	193
12. The Spoken and the Written Word Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	218
13. The Early History of the Verb “to Be” Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	233
14. The Justice of Solon Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	249
15. The Justice of the Pre-Socratics Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	263
16. The Justice of Aeschylus Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	272
17. The Justice of Herodotus Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	296
18. The Justice of Plato Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	308
19. A Philosophy of the Written Word Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	324
Epilogue Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	335
Notes, Works Cited, Index
Notes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	343
Works Cited Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	367
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	375

(Deutsch)

Language: English
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Copyright year: 1978
Edition: Reprint 2014
Audience: Professional and scholarly;
Pages
- Front matter: 9
- Main content: 382
Keywords: PHILOSOPHY / History & Surveys / Ancient & Classical; Justice.

eBook

Published: October 1, 2013
ISBN: 9780674183513

Hardcover

Published: February 5, 1978
ISBN: 9780674183308