Friendship in the Classical World
Friendship in the Classical World
This book – the only history of friendship in classical antiquity that exists in English – examines the nature of friendship in Greece and Rome from Homer to the Christian Roman Empire of the fourth century AD. Friendship is conceived of as a voluntary and loving relationship, but there are major shifts in emphasis from the bonding among warriors in epic poetry, to the egalitarian ties characteristic of the Athenian democracy, the status-conscious connections in Rome and the Hellenistic kingdoms, and the commitment to a universal love among Christian writers. Friendship is also examined in relation to erotic love and comradeship, for its role in politics and economic life, in philosophical and religious communities, in connection with patronage and the private counsellors of kings, and in respect to women. Its relation to modern friendship is also fully discussed.
- Only study of friendship in Greece and Rome that exists in English
- Author very well known, especially in the USA
- Volume in successful series
Reviews & endorsements
"...this is a valuable study of interest to such diverse groups as the ancient historian, the moral theologian or the philosopher with an interest in the virtues." Alicia Batten, Toronto Journal of Theology
"Konstan's account will serve well anyone who wants to learn more about the classical thinkers who gave us our language and our understanding of friendship, or who wants to contemplate what we have made of that inheritance." Gilbert Meilaender, First Things
Product details
February 1997Paperback
9780521459983
224 pages
229 × 152 × 13 mm
0.34kg
Available
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- 1. Archaic Greece
- 2. The classical city
- 3. The Hellenistic world
- 4. Rome
- 5. Christian and pagan
- Bibliography
- Index.
