Helen of Troy

Beauty, Myth, Devastation

Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism, Ancient & Classical, Nonfiction, History, Ancient History, Greece
Cover of the book Helen of Troy by Ruby Blondell, Oxford University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Ruby Blondell ISBN: 9780199911936
Publisher: Oxford University Press Publication: April 4, 2013
Imprint: Oxford University Press Language: English
Author: Ruby Blondell
ISBN: 9780199911936
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Publication: April 4, 2013
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Language: English

Ancient Greek culture is pervaded by a profound ambivalence regarding female beauty. It is an awe-inspiring, supremely desirable gift from the gods, essential to the perpetuation of a man's name through reproduction; yet it also grants women terrifying power over men, posing a threat inseparable from its allure. The myth of Helen is the central site in which the ancient Greeks expressed and reworked their culture's anxieties about erotic desire. Despite the passage of three millennia, contemporary culture remains almost obsessively preoccupied with all the power and danger of female beauty and sexuality that Helen still represents. Yet Helen, the embodiment of these concerns for our purported cultural ancestors, has been little studied from this perspective. Such issues are also central to contemporary feminist thought. Helen of Troy engages with the ancient origins of the persistent anxiety about female beauty, focusing on this key figure from ancient Greek culture in a way that both extends our understanding of that culture and provides a useful perspective for reconsidering aspects of our own. Moving from Homer and Hesiod to Sappho, Aeschylus, and Euripides, Ruby Blondell offers a fresh examination of the paradoxes and ambiguities that Helen embodies. In addition to literary sources, Blondell considers the archaeological record, which contains evidence of Helen's role as a cult figure, worshipped by maidens and newlyweds. The result is a compelling new interpretation of this alluring figure.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Ancient Greek culture is pervaded by a profound ambivalence regarding female beauty. It is an awe-inspiring, supremely desirable gift from the gods, essential to the perpetuation of a man's name through reproduction; yet it also grants women terrifying power over men, posing a threat inseparable from its allure. The myth of Helen is the central site in which the ancient Greeks expressed and reworked their culture's anxieties about erotic desire. Despite the passage of three millennia, contemporary culture remains almost obsessively preoccupied with all the power and danger of female beauty and sexuality that Helen still represents. Yet Helen, the embodiment of these concerns for our purported cultural ancestors, has been little studied from this perspective. Such issues are also central to contemporary feminist thought. Helen of Troy engages with the ancient origins of the persistent anxiety about female beauty, focusing on this key figure from ancient Greek culture in a way that both extends our understanding of that culture and provides a useful perspective for reconsidering aspects of our own. Moving from Homer and Hesiod to Sappho, Aeschylus, and Euripides, Ruby Blondell offers a fresh examination of the paradoxes and ambiguities that Helen embodies. In addition to literary sources, Blondell considers the archaeological record, which contains evidence of Helen's role as a cult figure, worshipped by maidens and newlyweds. The result is a compelling new interpretation of this alluring figure.

More books from Oxford University Press

Cover of the book European Imperialism: Oxford Bibliographies Online Research Guide by Ruby Blondell
Cover of the book Shakespeare's Common Prayers by Ruby Blondell
Cover of the book Creolization: Oxford Bibliographies Online Research Guide by Ruby Blondell
Cover of the book Honest Bodies by Ruby Blondell
Cover of the book The Intelligent Clinician's Guide to the DSM-5RG by Ruby Blondell
Cover of the book Preparing for Weight Loss Surgery by Ruby Blondell
Cover of the book After the Spring:Economic Transitions in the Arab World by Ruby Blondell
Cover of the book The Occupiers by Ruby Blondell
Cover of the book Emerson's Ghosts by Ruby Blondell
Cover of the book Trust in Social Dilemmas by Ruby Blondell
Cover of the book Inside the Offertory by Ruby Blondell
Cover of the book Eugene Onegin: A Novel in Verse by Ruby Blondell
Cover of the book Conceptions in the Code by Ruby Blondell
Cover of the book The Arc of a Bad Idea by Ruby Blondell
Cover of the book Embodiment by Ruby Blondell
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy