Browse

Aeschylus: Suppliant Women

A. J. Bowen

Aeschylus starts his tetralogy boldly, making the Danaids themselves prologue, chorus and protagonist. Guided by their father Danaus, these girls have fled from Egypt, where their cousins want to ... More

Aeschylus starts his tetralogy boldly, making the Danaids themselves prologue, chorus and protagonist. Guided by their father Danaus, these girls have fled from Egypt, where their cousins want to marry them, to seek asylum in Argos: they claim descent from Io, who was driven to Egypt five generations earlier when Zeus' love for her was detected by jealous Hera. In the long first movement of the play, the Danaids argue their claim, pressing it with song and dance of pathos and power, upon the reluctant Argive king. He, forced eventually by their threat of suicide, puts the case to his people, who vote to accept the girls, but while they sing blessings on Argos, Danaus spies their cousins' ships arriving. Left on their own when he goes for help, they sing more seriously of suicide, and seek sanctuary upstage when the Egyptians enter. A remarkable tussle of two choruses ensues; in the nick of time the king arrives, sees off the Egyptians (but they promise a return) and offers his hospitality. The girls want their father, however, and go when guided by him and his escort of Argive soldiers. Their final song has elements of wedding song in it; they share it, provocatively, with the Argives. The rest of the tetralogy is lost, but enough is known to indicate that marriage is the theme. Aeschylus probably surprised his first audience in his use of the myth; his command of theatre and poetry is fully mature.Less

Antichrist

Amy Simmons

Written and directed by Lars von Trier, one of the most influential and provocative filmmakers working today, Antichrist (2009), tells a story of parental loss, mourning and despair that result from ... More

Written and directed by Lars von Trier, one of the most influential and provocative filmmakers working today, Antichrist (2009), tells a story of parental loss, mourning and despair that result from the tragic death of a child. When the film screened at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival, it split audiences down the middle. Some attacked von Trier for misogyny (amongst other things), while others defended him for creating a daring and poetic portrait of grief and separation. Dense, shocking, and thought-provoking, Antichrist is a film which calls for careful analysis. The book follows an account of the film's making with an in-depth consideration of the themes and issues arising from it — the ambiguous depiction of the natural world, the shifting gender power relations, its reflections on Christianity and the limitations of rationality. At the film's heart, says the author, is a heart-breaking depiction of grief-stricken parents, a confounding interplay between psychology and psychosis, misogyny, and empowerment.Less

Appian: Wars of the Romans in Iberia

Appian wrote his Roman history in the second century AD as a series of books arranged geographically to chronicle the rise of the Roman Empire. His Iberike, of which this is the first translation ... More

Appian wrote his Roman history in the second century AD as a series of books arranged geographically to chronicle the rise of the Roman Empire. His Iberike, of which this is the first translation with historical commentary in English, deals with the Romans' wars in the Iberian peninsula from the third to the first centuries BC. It is the only continuous source for much of the history of this crucial period in one of the earliest regions of Rome's imperial expansion, and so fills in the gap made by the loss of Livy's later books. He describes the major campaigns of the conquest from the defeat of the Carthaginians by Scipio Africanus, the wars against the Celtiberians, the war against the Lusitanians under Viriathus and the siege of Numantia. The value of the text is not merely as a chronicle of otherwise obscure events, Appian was an historian who deserves to be studied in his own right. This scholarly edition presents the Greek text with facing-page English translation, accompanied by an introduction, historical commentary and copious notes.Less

Aristophanes: Ecclesiazusae

Alan H. Sommerstein (ed.)

Ecclesiazusae, probably produced in 391 BC, is at once a typically Aristophanic fantasy of gender inversion, obscenity and farce, the earliest surviving work in the western Utopian tradition, and the ... More

Ecclesiazusae, probably produced in 391 BC, is at once a typically Aristophanic fantasy of gender inversion, obscenity and farce, the earliest surviving work in the western Utopian tradition, and the source of a blueprint for a communist society on which Plato may well have drawn in his Republic. This edition attempts to set the play, more closely than has usually been done, against the political background at the time of its production, when Athens has just spurned what proved to be the last opportunity to escape from a war it did not have the resources to fight, and to define the details of staging as precisely as the text will allow. This edition presents the Greek text with facing-page translation, commentary and notes.Less

Aristophanes: Knights

Alan H. Sommerstein (ed.)

Knights was the first play to be produced by Aristophanes on his own behalf. In it, he launched a violent attack on Cleon, the leading politician of the day, on the whole style of leadership that he ... More

Knights was the first play to be produced by Aristophanes on his own behalf. In it, he launched a violent attack on Cleon, the leading politician of the day, on the whole style of leadership that he represented and on a system which seemed to guarantee that a bad leader could be displaced by a worse. Knights was performed at the Lenaea of 424 B.C. and won first prize, defeating the Satyrs of Cratinus and the Porters of Aristomenes. It was produced as a violent attack on Cleon, who was credited for the victory at Pylos during the Peloponnesian War and became a national hero. This book begins with a criticism of the whole style of political leadership in Knights, of which Cleon was the foremost representative. It describes the deep pessimistic content of the play, in which the Athenian people are portrayed by the old man Demosthenes, who is shown as being so stupid and gullible. The book then presents the Greek text with facing-page translation, introduction, commentary and notes.Less

Aristophanes: Wasps

Alan H. Sommerstein (ed.)

Wasps was first produced at the Lenaea festival of 422 BC. The play is at once a political satire and also, like Clouds and the lost Banqueters, a comedy on the theme of the conflict of generations. ... More

Wasps was first produced at the Lenaea festival of 422 BC. The play is at once a political satire and also, like Clouds and the lost Banqueters, a comedy on the theme of the conflict of generations. The play follows the efforts of a mischievous and mercurial old man to escape the control of a stern and heavy son. In its political aspect it attacks the leading Athenian politician Cleon, as Knights had. But Wasps represents a departure as it concentrates less on Cleon personally, and more on his and his associates' alleged domination of the law courts and the men who served in them as jurors. First published in 1983, this edition contains addenda and a new bibliography. It presents the Greek text with facing-page English translation, commentary and notes.Less

Aristotle: On Sleep and Dreams

David Gallop

This work is designed to make Aristotle's three essays on sleep and dreams (De Somno et Vigilia, De Insomniis and De Divinatione per Somnum) accessible in translation to modern readers, and to ... More

This work is designed to make Aristotle's three essays on sleep and dreams (De Somno et Vigilia, De Insomniis and De Divinatione per Somnum) accessible in translation to modern readers, and to provide a commentary with a contemporary perspective. It considers Aristotle's theory of dreams in historical context, especially in relation to Plato. It also discusses neo-Freudian interpretations of Aristotle and contemporary experimental psychology of dreaming. Aristotle's account of dreaming as a function of the imagination is examined from a philosophical perspective. The edition presents the Greek text, with facing-page English translation, introduction, notes and commentary.Less

Arthur Szyk: Artist, Jew, Pole

Joseph P. Ansell

Artist and illustrator Arthur Szyk was a Polish Jew whose work was overwhelmingly Jewish in theme and content. The mission he set himself was to use his artistic talents to serve humanity and the ... More

Artist and illustrator Arthur Szyk was a Polish Jew whose work was overwhelmingly Jewish in theme and content. The mission he set himself was to use his artistic talents to serve humanity and the Jewish people. His work as a political artist went well beyond a narrow definition of the Jewish cause. He is best known among Jews for his illustrated Haggadah, but the majority of his work deals with contemporary political themes and social causes. In Poland, Szyk promoted the causes of freedom, toleration, and human dignity. He believed that as a Jewish artist he had a responsibility to speak for all minorities. He worked for years on behalf of the Polish government in an effort to strengthen the Jews' position. Szyk left Europe in 1940 and arrived in the United States later the same year. Determined to use his art for political purposes, he crusaded against the Nazis. Convinced that Hitler would not stop with the Jews but would suppress all freedom-loving people, he supported the war effort through his striking propaganda images of the German and Japanese armies, to great effect. After the war he turned his efforts to promoting the idea of a Jewish homeland in Israel. In every phase of his career, one finds Szyk looking to the past but hoping for the future; he believed that art could make a difference in the world, politically and socially. This biography makes a singular contribution to the history of Jewish art and of Polish–Jewish relations in the first half of the twentieth century.Less

Athens in Jerusalem: Classical Antiquity and Hellenism in the Making of the Modern Secular Jew

Yaacov Shavit

According to this book, the Hellenistic tradition played a role as a model for Jewish modernisers to draw upon as they perceived a lack in Jewish culture. The book claims that Greek and Hellenistic ... More

According to this book, the Hellenistic tradition played a role as a model for Jewish modernisers to draw upon as they perceived a lack in Jewish culture. The book claims that Greek and Hellenistic concepts are now internalised by the Jewish people. The book begins with the question of a dichotomy between Athens and Jerusalem and approaches the issue by considering how Athens, with its associations of classical antiquity and Hellenism, might have any impact on modern Jewish culture. The book considers what makes Hellenism and Hebraism conceptual twins. Further, it seeks to address why it was also necessary to place the Greek ideal in opposition to Hebraism (Judaism). In conclusion, the book explores the complex reality of the modern Jerusalem as it has been irrevocably influenced by Athens. It considers that, given Athens and Jerusalem are two antipodal entities, can these hostile and contradicting spiritual and cultural entities exist together? It reveals that modern Judaism, namely secular Judaism, inspired by Athens and shaped by the heritage of classical antiquity (and Western values), is a different type of Judaism from the Judaism of previous generations; therefore, the conflict between Athens and Jerusalem in Jerusalem was and is inevitable. This conflict is the core of the struggle over the identity and content of modern Judaism in Palestine.Less

Augustine: De Civitate Dei The City of God Book V

This edition of St. Augustine's The City of God (De Civitate Dei) is the only one in English to provide a text and translation as well as a detailed commentary of this most influential document in ... More

This edition of St. Augustine's The City of God (De Civitate Dei) is the only one in English to provide a text and translation as well as a detailed commentary of this most influential document in the history of western Christianity. In Book V, Augustine searches out and presents an answer to the question which lies behind the earlier books. In spite of the moral bankruptcy of the Roman state, and in spite of the disasters and injustices which have marked her history since the foundation, Rome has extended her imperial sway throughout Europe and the Near East. If the pagan gods have not guided her to this terrestrial eminence, how has this success been achieved? Augustine divides his response into four main sections: addressing the pagan notion of fate; arguing that God aided the Romans to imperial glory because a minority of them were virtuous even though they did not worship him; stating explicitly that the Roman Empire was set in place by God and is governed by his providence; and devoting the final section to the advent of Christian Emperors. The edition presents Latin text with facing-page English translation, introduction and commentary.Less

Augustine: De Civitate Dei The City of God Book X

This edition of St. Augustine's The City of God (De Civitate Dei) is the only one in English to provide a text and translation as well as a detailed commentary of this most influential document in ... More

This edition of St. Augustine's The City of God (De Civitate Dei) is the only one in English to provide a text and translation as well as a detailed commentary of this most influential document in the history of western Christianity. In these books, written in the aftermath of the sack of Rome in AD 410 by the Goths, Augustine replies to the pagans, who attributed the fall of Rome to the Christian religion and its prohibition of the worship of the pagan gods. Following on from Book IX, this book discusses the issue of demons and their role in Platonism as being partly identical with the lesser gods. Having previously argued that in order to achieve the blessed life, we must worship one true God alone, Augustine now continues his discussion using the celebrated Neoplatonist Porphyry as his main source. Whilst applauding aspects of Porphyry's views, Augustine's main concern is to deliver his message that the sole path to blessedness after death is acknowledgement of the Incarnation and Christ as Mediator. Increasingly concerned with promoting the Christian message, Augustine cites the Bible frequently in Book X. The edition presents Latin text with facing-page translation, introduction and commentary.Less

Augustine: De Civitate Dei The City of God Books I and XII

This edition of Books I & II of St. Augustine's The City of God (De Civitate Dei) is the only edition in English to provide a text and translation as well as a detailed commentary of this most ... More

This edition of Books I & II of St. Augustine's The City of God (De Civitate Dei) is the only edition in English to provide a text and translation as well as a detailed commentary of this most influential document in the history of western Christianity. In these books, written in the aftermath of the sack of Rome in AD 410 by the Goths, Augustine replies to the pagans, who attributed the fall of Rome to the Christian religion and its prohibition of the worship of the pagan gods. It begins with a focus on Augustine, who was the sole bishop of Hippo from 396 to 397 and had achieved cult status as the leading apologist for Christian orthodoxy in Africa. It explains how Augustine wrote an extended contrast between Jerusalem and Babylon, the city of God and the secular city. It also mentions Augustine's City of God, which culminated the patristic tradition of Christian apology in the West during the mid-second century. The book then looks at Augustine's central criticism of Roman religion, which implies that the Roman gods are demonic spirits that impersonate humans. It explores the basic belief on which Augustine constructs his work, the contrast between the city where injustice and violence reign and the city of justice and peace. The edition contains Latin text with facing-page English translation, introduction and commentary for both books.Less

Augustine: De Civitate Dei The City of God Books VI and VII

This edition of St. Augustine's The City of God (De Civitate Dei) is the only one in English to provide a text and translation as well as a detailed commentary of this most influential document in ... More

This edition of St. Augustine's The City of God (De Civitate Dei) is the only one in English to provide a text and translation as well as a detailed commentary of this most influential document in the history of western Christianity. In these books, written in the aftermath of the sack of Rome in AD 410 by the Goths, Augustine replies to the pagans, who attributed the fall of Rome to the Christian religion and its prohibition of the worship of the pagan gods. Books VI and VII focus on the figure of Terentius Varro, a man revered by Augustine's pagan contemporaries. By exploiting Varro's learned researches on Roman religion, Augustine condemns Roman religious practices and beliefs in order to refute pagan claims that the Roman deities had guaranteed a blessed life in the hereafter for their devotees. These books are therefore not only an invaluable source for the study of early Christianity but also for any student of Classical Rome, who is provided here with a detailed account of one of the most learned figures of Roman antiquity, whose own works have not survived in the same state. The volume presents Latin text with facing-page English translation, introduction and commentary.Less

Augustine: De Civitate Dei The City of God Books VIII and IX

This edition of St. Augustine's The City of God (De Civitate Dei) is the only one in English to provide a text and translation as well as a detailed commentary of this most influential document in ... More

This edition of St. Augustine's The City of God (De Civitate Dei) is the only one in English to provide a text and translation as well as a detailed commentary of this most influential document in the history of western Christianity. In these books, written in the aftermath of the sack of Rome in AD 410 by the Goths, Augustine replies to the pagans, who attributed the fall of Rome to the Christian religion and its prohibition of the worship of the pagan gods. Before his conversion to Christianity in 386, Augustine had devoted himself to the study of Platonism. In books VIII and IX of De Civitate Dei, Augustine renews his acquaintance with this philosophy, which had played such a fundamental role in his conversion. The main topic of these books is demonology, with Augustine using the De Deo Socratis of Apuleius, which places demons as the intermediaries between gods and men, as the foundation of his exploration into this theme. Augustine is keen to point out the similarities between Platonism and Christianity and therefore puts forward the theory that the ideal mediator between God and man is Christ — he who shares temporary mortality with humans and permanent blessedness with God and can therefore lead men from wretchedness to eternal bliss. The volume presents Latin text with facing-page English translation, introduction and commentary.Less

Augustine: De Civitate Dei The City of God Books XI and XII

In books I–V of De Civitate Dei, St. Augustine rejects the claim that worship of the pagan gods had brought success in this life, and in books VI–X, the prospect of a happy afterlife. In books ... More

In books I–V of De Civitate Dei, St. Augustine rejects the claim that worship of the pagan gods had brought success in this life, and in books VI–X, the prospect of a happy afterlife. In books XI–XII, Augustine turns from attack to defence, for at this point he initiates his apology for the Christian faith. Books XI and XII document the initial phase of the rise of the two cities, the city of God and the city of this world, beginning with the Creation of the world and the human race. In Book XI, Augustine rejects the theories of Aristotle, Plato and the Epicureans on the creation of the universe and addresses the creation of angels, Satan, the role of the holy Trinity and the importance of numerology in the Genesis account. In Book XII, Augustine is chiefly concerned with refuting standard objections to the Christian tradition, returning to discussion of the Creation, including his calculation, based on the scriptures, that the world was created less than 6,000 years ago. This book is the only edition in English to provide not only a text but also a detailed commentary on one of the most influential documents in the history of western Christianity. It presents Latin text, with facing-page English translation, introduction, notes and commentary.Less

Between the Yeshiva World and Modern Orthodoxy: The Life and Works of Rabbi Jehiel Jacob Weinberg, 1884-1966

Marc B. Shapiro

The span of Rabbi Jehiel Jacob Weinberg's life (1884–1966) illuminates the religious and intellectual dilemmas that traditional Jewry has faced over the past century. Rabbi Weinberg became a central ... More

The span of Rabbi Jehiel Jacob Weinberg's life (1884–1966) illuminates the religious and intellectual dilemmas that traditional Jewry has faced over the past century. Rabbi Weinberg became a central ideologue of modern Orthodoxy because of his positive attitude to secular studies and Zionism and his willingness to respond to social change in interpreting the halakhah. But Weinberg was an unusual man: even at a time when he was defending the traditional yeshiva against all attempts at reform, he always maintained an interest in the wider world. He left Lithuania for Germany at the beginning of the First World War, attended the University of Giessen, and increasingly identified with the Berlin school of German Orthodoxy. He was soon recognized as German Orthodoxy's most eminent halakhic authority in its efforts to maintain religious tradition in the face of Nazi persecution. His approach derived from the conviction that the attempt to shore up Orthodoxy by increased religious stringency would only reduce its popular appeal. This book discusses many aspects of Weinberg's life. It elucidates many institutional and intellectual phenomena of the Jewish world: the yeshivas of Lithuania; the state of the Lithuanian rabbinate; the musar movement; the Jews of eastern Europe in Weimar Germany; the Torah im Derekh Eretz movement and its variants; Orthodox Jewish attitudes towards Wissenschaft des Judentums; and the special problems of Orthodox Jews in Nazi Germany. Throughout, the book shows the complex nature of Weinberg's character and the inner struggles of a man being pulled in different directions.Less

Beyond Reasonable Doubt

Louis Jacobs

More than forty years have passed since the author first put forward the argument that traditionally observant Jews have no reason to take issue with the results obtained by the historical critics in ... More

More than forty years have passed since the author first put forward the argument that traditionally observant Jews have no reason to take issue with the results obtained by the historical critics in their investigation into the Bible and the other classical sources of Judaism. The author has argued that the traditional doctrine which claims that ‘the Torah is from Heaven’ can and should be maintained — provided that the word ‘from’ is understood in a non-fundamentalist way to denote that there is a human as well as a divine element in the Torah: God revealing His will not only to but through the Jewish people in their historical experiences as they reached out to Him. As a result of these views, which were first published in the still-controversial text We Have Reason to Believe, the Anglo-Jewish Orthodox hierarchy banned the author from serving as an Orthodox rabbi. This was the cause of the notorious ‘Jacobs affair’, which culminated in the creation of the New London Synagogue and, eventually, in the establishment of the Masorti movement in the UK with strong affinities with Conservative Judaism in the United States. This book examines afresh all the issues involved. It does so objectively, meeting the objections put forward by critics from the various trends within the Jewish world, both Orthodox and Reform, and inviting readers to follow the argument and make up their own minds.Less

Biology and Manners: Essays on the Worlds and Works of Lois McMaster Bujold

Regina Yung Lee and Una McCormack (eds)

This volume is a new collection of scholarly essays on the US science fiction and fantasy writer Lois McMaster Bujold. The collection argues for the significant contributions Bujold’s works make to ... More

This volume is a new collection of scholarly essays on the US science fiction and fantasy writer Lois McMaster Bujold. The collection argues for the significant contributions Bujold’s works make to feminist and queer thought, disability studies, and fan studies. In addition, it suggests the importance of Bujold to contemporary American literature. The volume continues the establishment of Bujold as an important author of contemporary science fiction and fantasy. It argues that her corpus spans the distance between two full arcs of US feminism and has anticipated or responded to several of its current concerns in ways that invite or even require theoretical exploration. As well as papers on earlier work in the main series (the Vorkosigan Saga and the ‘Worlds of the Five Gods’ novels The Curse of Chalion and Paladin of Souls), the collection also presents work on recent publications such as The Sharing Knife sequence; the ‘Penric and Desdemona’ novellas; and the recent Vorkosigan Saga novel Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen. The collection deepens feminist research in Bujold studies by incorporating queer and disability studies perspectives; and includes historiographic retracing of scholarship on Bujold’s work.Less

Black Sunday

Martyn Conterio

Despite its reputation as one of the greatest and most influential of all horror films, there is surprisingly little literature dedicated to Mario Bava's Black Sunday (1960), and this work is the ... More

Despite its reputation as one of the greatest and most influential of all horror films, there is surprisingly little literature dedicated to Mario Bava's Black Sunday (1960), and this work is the first single book dedicated to it. This book places the film in the historical context of being one of the first sound Italian horror films and how its success kick-started the Italian horror boom. It considers the particularly Italian perspective on the gothic that the film pioneered and its fresh and pioneering approach to horror tropes such as the vampire and the witch and considers how the casting of British 'Scream Queen' Barbara Steele was crucial to the film's effectiveness and success.Less

Blade Runner

Sean Redmond

Ridley Scott's 1982 film Blade Runner is now widely recognized as an undisputed masterwork of science-fiction cinema and one of the most influential films released in the last forty years. Yet on its ... More

Ridley Scott's 1982 film Blade Runner is now widely recognized as an undisputed masterwork of science-fiction cinema and one of the most influential films released in the last forty years. Yet on its original release, it was both a critical and commercial failure, criticized for its perceived prioritizing of style over content and a narrative that did not deliver the anticipated high-octane action that its star casting and large budget normally promise. How did a film that was removed from circulation within a month of its premiere come to mean so much to modern audiences and provide such a rich seam of material for film and media studies? This book excavates the many significances of the film — its breakthrough use of special effects as a narrative tool; its revolutionary representation of the future city; its treatment of racial and sexual politics; and its unique status as a text whose meaning was fundamentally altered in its re-released Director's Cut form, then further revised in a Final Cut in 2007, and what this means in an institutional context.Less