Overview

Pindar and the Cult of Heroes combines a study of Greek culture and religion (hero cult) with a literary-critical study of Pindar's epinician poetry. It looks at hero cult generally, but focuses especially on heroization in the 5th century BC. There are individual chapters on the heroization of war dead, of athletes, and on the religious treatment of the living in the 5th century. Hero cult, Bruno Currie argues, could be anticipated, in different ways, in a person's lifetime. Epinician poetry too should be interpreted in the light of this cultural context; fundamentally, this genre explores the patron's religious status. The book features extensive studies of Pindar's Pythians 2, 3, 5, Isthmian 7, and Nemean 7.

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9780199586707

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Reviews

Review from previous edition In this stimulating first book, Bruno Currie presents a well-defined, well-informed and not uncontroversial study. Deborah Boedeker, Journal of Hellenic Studies ...any study, which questions traditional scholarly notions of what went on in Greek religion, is refreshing...Currie's study has certainly opened up new ways of thinking about both the purpose and the institution of hero-cults, which will hopefully stimulate yet further work on Greek heroes. Gunnel Ekroth, Kernos

Author Information

Bruno Currie is Fellow and Tutor in Greek and Latin Languages and Literature, Oriel College, Oxford University

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