Salt and Olives
Morality and Custom in Ancient Greece
Published on 26. July 2004
Book
Hardback
256 pages
978-0-7486-1618-3 (ISBN)
Description
John Dillon's exploration of Athenian society vividly brings to life how the ancient Greeks behaved towards each other. How did husbands treat their wives and parents their children? What were the rights enjoyed, and the perils faced, by a courtesan? What were the obligations of love and friendship between men and men, men and women, and men and boys? He shows how slaves were to be treated and what it was like to be a slave or a slave's child; and asks how, when and why duties to the Gods were fulfilled. The problems of inheritance and the position of widows, daughters and sons are also examined. In each chapter two or more stories drawn from ancient sources give contrasting perspectives on the Greeks' attitudes and beliefs, and to discussions of the works of literature, history, and philosophy they used to beguile and guide their lives. This thoughtful and entertaining book shows the practical outcomes of ancient Greek thought and literature and how the strange and familiar are mixed in the customs and habits of people living two and half thousand years ago.
Reviews / Votes
Dillon seamlessly weaves the primary texts into an exposition of case studies in a way that allows him to delight and entertain with topics ranging from family issues to slavery and religion. The treatment of the primary texts and the stories surrounding them display not only an impressive erudition, as one would expect, but a penetrating method, as Dillon distills and reasons through the evidence methodologically ... Salt and Olives is a text that should delight and engage students in the kind of course from which it evolved, is an entertaining read for scholars and is accessible to general readers ... wonderfully. - Times Higher Education Supplement -- - Times Higher Education Supplement Dillon seamlessly weaves the primary texts into an exposition of case studies in a way that allows him to delight and entertain with topics ranging from family issues to slavery and religion. The treatment of the primary texts and the stories surrounding them display not only an impressive erudition, as one would expect, but a penetrating method, as Dillon distills and reasons through the evidence methodologically ... Salt and Olives is a text that should delight and engage students in the kind of course from which it evolved, is an entertaining read for scholars and is accessible to general readers ... wonderfully. - Times Higher Education SupplementMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
Edinburgh
United Kingdom
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
Weight
512 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-7486-1618-3 (9780748616183)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
07/2019
Edinburgh University Press
€0.00
Available for download
Person
John M Dillon is Regius Professor of Greek at Trinity College Dublin and is director of the Centre for the Study of the Platonic Tradition.
Content
Contents; Chapter 1; The Family; Chapter 2; Women Beyond the Pale: the Non-Citizen Women; Chapter 3; The Woes of Inheritance; Chapter 4; The Best of Friends and Enemies; Chapter 5; Homosexual Etiquette; Chapter 6; Slaves and Slave-Masters; Chapter 7; Dealing with the Gods; Chapter 8; Anecdote in Athenian Self-Image; Further Reading; Bibliography; Index.