Pindar and the Sublime: Greek Myth, Reception, and Lyric Experience

by Robert L. Fowler

Overview

Pindar-the 'Theban eagle', as Thomas Gray famously called him-has often been taken as the archetype of the sublime poet: soaring into the heavens on wings of language and inspired by visions of eternity. In this much-anticipated new study, Robert Fowler asks in what ways the concept of the sublime can still guide a reading of the greatest of the Greek lyric poets. Working with ancient and modern treatments of the topic, especially the poetry and writings of Friedrich Hölderlin (1770–1843), arguably Pindar's greatest modern reader, he develops the case for an aesthetic appreciation of Pindar's odes as literature.

Building on recent trends in criticism, he shifts the focus away from the first performance and the orality of Greek culture to reception and the experience of Pindar's odes as text. This change of emphasis yields a fresh discussion of many facets of Pindar's astonishing art, including the relation of the poems to their occasions, performativity, the poet's persona, his imagery, and his myths. Consideration of Pindar's views on divinity, transcendence, time, and the limits of language reveals him to be not only a great writer but a great thinker.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781350198142
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date:	01/13/2022
Series:	New Directions in Classics
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	280
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Robert L. Fowler is Wills Professor of Greek Emeritus at the University of Bristol, UK. He is the author of The Nature of Early Greek Lyric: Three Preliminary Studies (1987) and Early Greek Mythography (2 volumes, 2000-2013). He has published widely on Greek poetry, mythology, historiography, reception and the history of Classical scholarship. He is a Fellow of the British Academy.
Robert L. Fowler is Henry Overton Wills Emeritus Professor of Greek at the University of Bristol, UK.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements
Preface

Ch. 1: Sublime Receptions
Ch. 2: Shared Experience
Ch. 3: Exceeding Limits
Epilogue

Notes
Bibliography
Index of Passages
Index of Names and Subject
General Index

Editorial Reviews

This heartfelt study should prompt further debate about the value of Greek lyric and how to read it ... The book's tone and pace clearly emerge from masterful teaching, making it an excellent introduction for students.” —The Classical Review

“Robert Fowler's Pindar and the Sublime: Greek Myth, Reception, and the Lyric Experience is a profound, erudite, and stimulating book.” —Greece and Rome

“A superb introduction to Pindar and his poetry. Fowler argues lucidly and passionately that Pindar's odes are examples of sublime literature which transcend their historical context and can still enthuse and inspire audiences today.” —Ian Rutherford, Professor of Classics, University of Reading, UK

From the Publisher