The Masters of Truth in Archaic Greece

by Marcel Detienne, Pierre Vidal-Naquet (Foreword by), Janet Lloyd (Translator)

Overview

The Masters of Truth in Archaic Greece traces the odyssey of “truth,” Aletheia, from mythoreligious to philosophical thought in archaic Greece. Marcel Detienne’s starting point is a simple observation: In archaic Greece, three figures — the diviner, the bard, and the king — all share the privilege of dispensing truth by virtue of the religious power of divine memory, which provides them with knowledge, both oracular and inspired, of the present, past, and future. Beginning with this definition of the prerational meaning of truth, Detienne proceeds to elaborate the complex conceptual and historical contexts from which emerges the philosophical notion of truth still influencing Western philosophy today.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780942299861
Publisher:	Zone Books
Publication date:	01/12/1999
Series:	Zone Books
Edition description:	Revised ed.
Pages:	232
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Janet Lloyd is a translator and writer living in England.


Pierre Vidal-Naquet is Director of Studies and Professor of Sociology at the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes in Paris.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“Marcel Detienne undertakes a new and daring intellectual project with both rigor and erudition….A fascinating study which is essential reading for sociologists of religion and historians of philosophy alike.”— Jean-Pierre Vernant

Endorsement

Marcel Detienne undertakes a new and daring intellectual project with both rigor and erudition.... A fascinating study which is essential reading for sociologists of religion and historians of philosophy alike.

—Jean-Pierre Vernant

Jean-Pierre Vernant

Marcel Detienne undertakes a new and daring intellectual project with both rigor and erudition.... A fascinating study which is essential reading for sociologists of religion and historians of philosophy alike.

Editorial Reviews

"Richly suggestive and written with verve and wit, this important study is highly recommended for all students of early Greek thought."

Choice

A penetrating study of the meaning of 'truth' in archaic Greece.

—Parabola

Reviews

A penetrating study of the meaning of 'truth' in archaic Greece.

Parabola

Richly suggestive and written with verve and wit...

—Choice

A penetrating study of the meaning of 'truth' in archaic Greece.

—Parabola

From the Publisher