R. Bertolín Cebrián, Singing the dead : a model for epic evolution

Reyes Bertolín Cebrián, Singing the dead : a model for epic evolution. New York: Peter Lang, 2006. 171 p.

• ISBN 9780820481654
• $62.95
  

Recension par Massimiliano Di Fazio dans Bryn Mawr Classical Review 2009.05.31.

Texte de presentation fourni par l'éditeur

This book outlines the evolution of Greek heroic epic from funeral laments and creates a model for epic evolution using Greek, other Indo-European, and non-Indo-European materials. Singing the Dead conceives the epic as a post-Mycenean phenomenon associated with the first migrations away from the ancestors' tombs to the Ionian coast. Physical separation from the tombs impelled the development of narration concerning the ancestors and the rite at the tomb was substituted by stories that eventually became epic.

Auteur(s) - Responsable(s) de publication

The Author: Reyes Bertolín Cebrián studied classical philology at the University of Valencia (Spain) and received her Ph.D. in Indo-European linguistics from the University of Freiburg (Germany). Currently, she is Assistant Professor in the Department of Greek and Roman Studies at the University of Calgary (Canada).

Table des matières:

Introduction 1 Part I Chapter 1: In the Beginning Was the Rite 8 Chapter 2: From Funerary Lament to Epic 41 Chapter 3: Laments and Other Genres 85 Chapter 4: Women's Funerary Lament 118 Conclusion of Part I 146 Part II Chapter 5: Epic and Sports 152 Chapter 6: Classical Funeral Orations and Epic 168 Part III Conclusion 189 Appendix: Did the Romans Have an Oral Epic Tradition? 193 Bibliography 207 Index