Ancient Memory - (Trends in Classics - Supplementary Volumes) by Katharine Mawford & Eleni Ntanou (Paperback)

About the Book

This volume brings together studies on the workings of memory in Greek and Roman literature, including epic, tragedy, comedy, rhetoric, and historiography, providing a broad, updated view of the topic of memory and commemoration. Memory is explored

Book Synopsis

Although the recent 'memory boom' has led to increasing interdisciplinary interest, there is a significant gap relating to the examination of this topic in Classics. In particular, there is need for a systematic exploration of ancient memory and its use as a critical and methodological tool for delving into ancient literature.

The present volume provides just such an approach, theorising the use and role of memory in Graeco-Roman thought and literature, and building on the background of memory studies. The volume's contributors apply theoretical models such as memoryscapes, civic and cultural memory, and memory loss to a range of authors, from Homeric epic to Senecan drama, and from historiography to Cicero's recollections of performances. The chapters are divided into four sections according to the main perspective taken. These are: 1) the Mechanics of Memory, 2) Collective memory, 3) Female Memory, and 4) Oblivion.

This modern approach to ancient memory will be useful for scholars working across the range of Greek and Roman literature, as well as for students, and a broader interdisciplinary audience interested in the intersection of memory studies and Classics.

About the Author

Katharine Mawford, University of Manchester, UK and Eleni Ntanou, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece.