Overview

The pursuit and love of death has characterized Western culture since Homeric times. Foundations of Violence enters the ancient world of Homer, Plato and Aristotle to explore the genealogy of violence in Western thought. It uncovers the origins of ideas of death from the 'beautiful death' of Homeric heroes through to the gendered misery of war. Jantzen examines the tensions between those who tried to eliminate fear of death by denying its significance, and those like Plotinus who looked to another world for life and beauty.

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9780415290326

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Reviews

'[it] should definitely be published. It is bold. It will be provocative, polemical, generating all sorts of debate and discussion... the book will be hugely popular with a range of readers.' - Pamela Sue Anderson, Regent's Park College, Oxford

'This is one of those books that can change the way people think. It's good training in critical thinking and history of ideas for upper level undergraduates and above, and a fascinating story for the sophisticated general reader.' - Reviews in Religion and Theology

Author Information

Grace M Jantzen is Research Professor of Religion, Culture and Gender at the University of Manchester.

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