Description
Follows the extraordinary record of ancient Greek thought on Hyperborea as a case study of cosmography and anthropological philology.
About the Author
Renaud Gagne is University Reader in Ancient Greek Literature and Religion at the University of Cambridge and Fellow of Pembroke College. He has published Ancestral Fault in Ancient Greece (Cambridge, 2013); Choral Mediations in Greek Tragedy (Cambridge, 2013, with Marianne Hopman); Sacrifices humains (Liege, 2013, with Pierre Bonnechere); Regimes of Comparatism (Leiden, 2018, with Simon Goldhill and Geoffrey Lloyd); Les dieux d'Homere II (Paris, 2019, with Miguel Herrero). In 2015 he received the Philip Leverhulme Prize.
Reviews
'There are places, not necessarily real, that enter into the imagination of a culture and shape its vision of the world. Hyperborea, that region 'beyond the north,' was such a place for the ancient Greeks, and Renaud Gagne has traced its formative role in Greek cosmography and theology with exceptional insight and immense learning. There are treasures on every page.' David Konstan, Professor of Classics, New York University
'Greek religion is a constantly shifting map of songs', writes Gagne. Indeed, dynamic movement infuses this invaluable investigation into Greek cosmography, conceived here as the composition of worlds that can be found in many texts and genres in dialogue across centuries. Grounded in current anthropology, this book about the 'poetics of worlding' successfully combines a strong command of philology, an impressive mastery of scholarship and an inspiring analysis of Hyperborea as the touchstone of a broad-spectrum enquiry. It is also a delightful journey.' Vinciane Pirenne-Delforge, Professor for Religion, History and Society in the Ancient Greek World, College de France
'A truly extraordinary study of the reasons that and the ways in which different texts and traditions in ancient Greece constructed worlds based upon a notion of Hyperborea. This is a brilliant work that opens up a host of new and exciting questions concerning the workings of religion and culture in ancient Greece.' Michael Puett, Walter C. Klein Professor of Chinese History and Anthropology, Harvard University
Book Information
ISBN 9781108833233
Author Renaud Gagne
Format Hardback
Page Count 568
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Weight(grams) 790g
Dimensions(mm) 222mm * 144mm * 32mm