Exile and the Poetics of Loss in Greek Tradition

by Nancy Sultan

Overview

In Exile and the Poetics of Loss in Greek Tradition, Nancy Sultan examines the theme of heroic exile and return in Greek poetic tradition from the Archaic epic of Homer to modern Greek folk poetry and song. Sultan studies issues of how husbands and wives survive separation and communicate the painful experience of loss. Focusing on the role women play as obstacles and facilitators during the hero's exile and return, Sultan argues that the hero's reputation, his glory, that which he earns through suffering in exile, is managed by women—especially his wife and mother. Without their emotional support, the hero's glory is compromised. This innovative and interdisciplinary book will be of interest to classicists, anthropologists, and scholars of literature and women's studies.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780847687527
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	04/22/1999
Series:	Greek Studies: Interdisciplinary Approaches
Pages:	160
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.98(h) x 0.41(d)

About the Author

Nancy Sultan is associate professor of humanities and classical studies at Illinois Wesleyan University.

Table of Contents

	Foreword	ix
	Note on Text and Transliteration	xi
	Acknowledgments	xiii
	Introduction	1
Part I	The Hero's Voice in Exile
1.	The Discourse of Xenitia	9
2.	Dikos or Xenos?	12
3.	Hero and Pallikari	24
4.	Gendered Discourse: Ponos 'Suffering'	33
5.	Ponos to Poneria	41
6.	Summary of Part I	50
Part II	The Hero's Voice of Return
1.	Female Sexuality: Controlling Timely Death	54
2.	Women's Ponos and Their Discourse of Honor	60
3.	Ponos and Weaving	63
4.	Home as Place of Telos	67
5.	Witnessing	74
6.	Testing Fidelity	84
7.	Transfer of Kleos	91
8.	A Question of Free Will: Ananke	95
9.	Summary of Part II	99
	Notes	101
	Bibliography	119
	Select Discography	130
	Index	131
	About the Author	137

Editorial Reviews

.. . Sultan's conclusions are rewarding.

Choice Reviews - J. M. Foley

Nancy Sultan's book is a powerful reminder that the discourse of exile so dominant for us by Ovid is not the only one available.

Times Literary Supplement (UK)

Examines the traditions of women's songmaking over the whole range of Hellenic history. Ethnomusicologist and classicist Sultan deals with the ways in which women's traditions actually affected and to a degree regulated men's song-making traditions, including classical tragedy and the epics of Homer. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews

Nancy Sultan's book is a powerful reminder that the discourse of exile so dominant for us by Ovid is not the only one available.

Times Literary Supplement

Sultan's book fully meets the standards and goals it sets out for itself.

Artemis Leontis

. . . Sultan's conclusions are rewarding.
— J. M. Foley,, University of Missouri, Columbia

Choice