Greek Laughter

The first book to offer an integrated reading of ancient Greek attitudes to laughter. Taking material from various genres and contexts, the book analyses both the theory and the practice of laughter as a revealing expression of Greek values and mentalities. Greek society developed distinctive institutions for the celebration of laughter as a capacity which could bridge the gap between humans and gods; but it also feared laughter for its power to expose individuals and groups to shame and even violence. Caught between ideas of pleasure and pain, friendship and enmity, laughter became a theme of recurrent interest in various contexts. Employing a sophisticated model of cultural history, Stephen Halliwell traces elaborations of the theme in a series of important texts: ranging far beyond modern accounts of 'humour', he shows how perceptions of laughter helped to shape Greek conceptions of the body, the mind and the meaning of life.

ISBN 0521717744   Pages 632 ISBN13 9780521717748 (What's this?)   Volumes 1 Publisher Cambridge University Press   Weight (grammes) 980 Imprint Cambridge University Press   Published in Cambridge Format Paperback   Height (mm) 228 Publication date 02 Oct 2008   Width (mm) 152 Library of Congress 2008019386   Spine width (mm) 35 DEWEY 152.430938   Academic level Professional / Scholarly DEWEY edition DC21

1		Introduction: Greek laughter in theory and practice		1
2		Inside and outside morality: the laughter of Homeric gods and men		51
3		Sympotic elation and resistance to death		100
4		Ritual laughter and the renewal of life		155
5		Aischrology, shame and Old Comedy		215
6		Greek philosophy and the ethics of ridicule		264
7		Greek laughter and the problem of the absurd		332
8		The intermittencies of laughter in Menander's social world		388
9		Lucian and the laughter of life and death		429
10		Laughter denied, laughter deferred: the antigelastic tendencies of early Christianity		471
App. 1		The Greek (body) language of laughter and smiles		520
App. 2		Gelastic faces in visual art		530
		Bibliography		553
		Index of selected authors and works		603
		Index of selected Greek terms		609
		General index		611

'... a wide survey of Greek laughter from Homer to the early Christians ... the introduction is quite the best brief overview of the role of laughter in any historical period that I have ever read ... some of [Halliwell's] discussions are brilliant ... The highlight is his discussion of Democritus, the fifth-century philosopher and atomist ...' Mary Beard, Times Literary Supplement '... a book of great originality as well as immense range ... it is remarkable how a chronological treatment also has a compelling thematic momentum: this is an exhilarating read.' Anglo-Hellenic Review 'Stephen Halliwell has written a monumental book on the notoriously volatile and elusive phenomenon of laughter. This book is an extraordinary resource. The trouble with laughter - and the delight of it - is that it impinges on practically every socio-cultural dynamic imaginable. Halliwell has given us a rich and remarkable starting point for thinking about such dynamics. That is why every student of the ancient world should attend this book.' Bryn Mawr Classical Review

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Version	Price	Published	Edition
Hardback	£89.00	2008
Electronic Book	£70.00