Sanctified Violence in Homeric Society: Oath-Making Rituals in the Iliad
Cambridge University Press, 11/7/2005
EAN 9780521855297, ISBN10: 0521855292
Hardcover, 258 pages, 22.9 x 15.2 x 1.9 cm
Language: English
In Sanctified Violence in Homeric Society, Margo Kitts focuses on oath-making narratives found in the Iliad through which she articulates a theory of ritualized violence. She analyzes ritual paradigms, metaphors, fictions, and poetic registers as oath-making principles, which she then traces through Homeric references and texts from the ancient New East. Discussing ritual features that are common to acts of religious violence throughout the world, Kitts makes use of the theory of ritual performance as communication.
Introduction
why another treatment of Greek sacrifice?
1. Epics, rituals, and rituals in epic
methodological considerations
2. Premises and principles of oath-making in the Iliad
3. Ritual scenes and epic themes of oath-sacrifice
4. Homeric battlefield theophanies, in light of the ancient Near East
Conclusion.