Homer on the Gods and Human Virtue
Creating the Foundations of Classical Civilization

This book seeks to restore Homer to his rightful place among the principal figures in political and moral philosophy.

Peter J. Ahrensdorf (Author)

9780521193887, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 22 September 2014

278 pages
23.5 x 16 x 2.4 cm, 0.6 kg

'To call Peter J. Ahrensdorf's book on Homer 'thought-provoking' would be an understatement, as the length and substance of this review might convince you. It is a book to be read and reread, enjoyed and argued with, a book that will, with its swift pace and disarming forthrightness, whisk you through it in a few sittings.' Robert Goldberg, Interpretation: A Journal of Political Philosophy

This book seeks to restore Homer to his rightful place among the principal figures in the history of political and moral philosophy. Through this fresh and provocative analysis of the Iliad and the Odyssey, Peter J. Ahrensdorf examines Homer's understanding of the best life, the nature of the divine, and the nature of human excellence. According to Ahrensdorf, Homer teaches that human greatness eclipses that of the gods, that the contemplative and compassionate singer ultimately surpasses the heroic warrior in grandeur, and that it is the courageously questioning Achilles, not the loyal Hector or even the wily Odysseus, who comes closest to the humane wisdom of Homer himself. Thanks to Homer, two of the distinctive features of Greek civilization are its extraordinary celebration of human excellence, as can be seen in Greek athletics, sculpture, and nudity, and its singular questioning of the divine, as can be seen in Greek philosophy.

Introduction
1. The theology of Homer
2. Achilles and Hector
3. Achilles and the limits of virtue
4. Odysseus and Achilles.

Subject Areas: Western philosophy: Ancient, to c 500 [HPCA], Classical history / classical civilisation [HBLA1], Literary studies: classical, early & medieval [DSBB]