The Age of Grace: Charis in Early Greek Poetry

Bonnie MacLachlan

Published by Princeton University Press 1993

The Age of Grace

Charis in Early Greek Poetry

Bonnie MacLachlan

Volume 251 in the series Princeton Legacy Library

https://doi.org/10.1515/9781400863358

Overview
Contents

About this book

Although "grace" in today's secular usage often connotes beauty or good manners, to the ancient Greeks it was both an aesthetic and a moral concept central to social order--a transformative power grounded in favor, thanks, repayment, delight, pleasure, and, above all, reciprocity. Here Bonnie MacLachlan explores the Greek concept of grace, or charis, as depicted in poetic works from Homer to Aeschylus, to tap into the essential meaning behind the manifold uses of the term. She also relates it to other important concepts in the moral language of the eighth century \B.C.E.

Examining epic, lyric, erotic, epinician, and tragic poetry, and the cult of the Charites themselves, MacLachlan shows how charis governed human relations of all sorts, from the battlefield to bed: Achilles sulks, and jeopardizes the Greek victory in the Trojan War, because there was no charis in Agamemnon's gesture of reconciliation; the young Telemachus, filled with the gift of charis, speaks persuasively before the assembly of Ithacans; young men and women in erotic poems shine with charis when they are sexually mature. In shaping her definition of charis as a mutually shared pleasure that breaks down the barriers of the self, MacLachlan seeks to elucidate many poetic passages that have long mystified the commentators.

Originally published in 1993.

The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

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Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
CONTENTS Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	ix
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	xi
A NOTE ON USAGE Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	xv
EDITIONS AND ABBREVIATIONS Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	xvii
Chapter One. INTRODUCTION Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
Chapter Two. THE CHARIS OF ACHILLES Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	13
Chapter Three. THE CHARITES Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	41
Chapter Four. EROTIC CHARlS Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	56
Chapter Five. SOCIAL CHARIS Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	73
Chapter Six. EPINICIAN CHARIS Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	87
Chapter Seven. THE CHARlS OF THE ORESTE1A Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	124
Chapter Eight. CONCLUSION Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	147
Appendix 1. EURIPIDEAN CHARlS Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	151
Appendix 2. THE PREPOSITIONAL USE OF χάϱιν Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	161
GLOSSARY Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	165
BIBLIOGRAPHY Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	167
INDEX LOCORUM ANTIQUORUM Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	181
GENERAL INDEX Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	187

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