Table of Contents

Preface to the Expanded Edition vii
Preface xi
Acknowledgments xvii
Introduction: Achilles and Hector 3
1. Imitation 30
2. Tragedy 69
3. Our Hero 99
4. Error 128
5. Purification 160
The Gods of the Iliad: An Amplification 225
Notes 249
References 291
Bibliography to the Expanded Edition 299
Index of Greek Words 301
Index 307

Promotional Information

Presents an imaginative perspective not only on the Iliad but also on the whole of Homeric culture

About the Author

James M. Redfield is Howard L. Willett Professor of Social Thought and Classics at the University of Chicago.

Reviews

"A fine reading of the Iliad [and] a pioneering attempt to apply the insights and methods of cultural anthropology to the warrior culture of the poem..." Charles Segal, Harvard University "From time to time there appear Homeric studies that speak to a wide range of readers ... Nature and Culture in the Iliad is in that company. It opened up new perspectives on the poem and its poet and remains as stimulating today as when it first appeared." James Tatum, Dartmouth College "Redfield's memorable study of the literary and cultural values of Homer's Iliad shines with wisdom and humanity on every page. I know of no other work on the epic that so consistently reaches this level of insight and inspiration." Fromma Zeitlin, Princeton University