Utopias in Ancient Thought - (Beiträge Zur Altertumskunde) by Pierre Destrée & Jan Opsomer & Geert Roskam (Hardcover)

About the Book

This collection deals with utopias in the Greek and Roman worlds, both in philosophy (with chapters on Plato, Aristotle, the Cynics, Stoics and Cicero), and in other literary genres such as comedy (Aristophanes) and parody (Lucian) as well as histor

Book Synopsis

This collection deals with utopias in the Greek and Roman worlds. Plato is the first and foremost name that comes to mind and, accordingly, 3 chapters (J. Annas; D. El Murr; A. Hazistavrou) are devoted to his various approaches to utopia in the Republic, Timaeus and Laws. But this volume's central vocation and originality comes from our taking on that theme in many other philosophical authors and literary genres. The philosophers include Aristotle (Ch. Horn) but also Cynics (S. Husson), Stoics (G. Reydams-Schils) and Cicero (S. McConnell). Other literary genres include comedic works from Aristophanes up to Lucian (G. Sissa; S. Kidd; N.I. Kuin) and history from Herodotus up to Diodorus Siculus (T. Lockwood; C. Atack; I. Sulimani). A last comparative chapter is devoted to utopias in Ancient China (D. Engels).

Review Quotes

"In sum, this is a fine collection, offering novel approaches to the idea of utopia and shedding new light on a variety of classical instances." Marília P. Futre-Pinheiro in: H-Soz-Kult, 08.04.2024, https: //www.hsozkult.de/publicationreview/id/reb-113213 (16.12.2024)

About the Author

Pierre Destrée, Jan Opsomer and Geert Roskam, KU Leuven, Belgium.