Potent kings and antisocial heroes: lion symbolism and elite masculinity in ancient Mesopotamia and Greece

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Micheál Geoghegan
Keyword(s):  
Social Isolation ◽  
Greek Myth ◽  
Potential Equation ◽  
Art And Literature ◽  
Western Asia ◽  
Greek Tradition ◽  
Ancient Mesopotamia ◽  
Greek Art

Abstract In the great kingdoms of ancient Mesopotamia, the king’s power was often evoked by means of lion symbolism. This has led scholars to conclude that lion motifs, and especially that of the lion-slaying hero, in early Greek art and literature were cultural borrowings from the more populous and urbanised civilisations to the east. Yet it is also notable that the Greek tradition, at least from the time of the Homeric poems, tended to problematise the ethics of the leonine man. This article explores the function of lion imagery in narratives of elite masculinity in western Asia and early Greece respectively. It will argue that Greek myth and epic reflect on and problematise any potential equation between lions and kingly prestige, power and masculinity, instead drawing attention to the savagery and social isolation of the lion-like man-of-power, and his difficulty in conforming to the expectations of civilised society.

Greek Art and Literature, 530-400 B.C.

1939 ◽  
Vol 33 (5) ◽  
pp. 51
Author(s):  
Walter R. Agard ◽  
T. B. L. Webster
Keyword(s):  
Art And Literature ◽  
Greek Art

The Interplay of Greek Art and Literature

1951 ◽  
Vol 44 (8) ◽  
pp. 125
Author(s):  
Joseph Fontenrose ◽  
T. B. L. Webster
Keyword(s):  
Art And Literature ◽  
Greek Art

Oriental Motifs in the Alexander Romance

Antichthon ◽  
1992 ◽  
Vol 26 ◽  
pp. 95-113 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Stoneman
Keyword(s):  
Direct Influence ◽  
Greek Literature ◽  
Alexander The Great ◽  
Near Eastern ◽  
Art And Literature ◽  
Greek Tradition ◽  
Alexander Romance

Over the centuries, the fabulous adventures of Alexander the Great have become as prominent in art and literature as his historical achievements. Medieval artists in particular are frequent sources of depictions of the hero in such adventures as the search for the water of life, the flight into the air in a basket borne by eagles, the descent into the sea in a diving bell, the interview with the talking trees of India and the visit to the dwellings of the gods. Familiar as these episodes are—or were—it is easy for us to forget how completely new a thing they represent in the tradition of Greek prose writing. With the decipherments of cuneiform some one hundred years ago, a number of scholars concluded that they could not have been developed entirely within the Greek tradition, and posited direct influence from one or more Babylonian or other near eastern sources or traditions to explain the occurrence in Greek literature of these curious tales. Despite the antiquity of these arguments, they have been accepted without examination by many more recent writers on the Alexander Romance.

Greek Art and Literature 700-530 B.C.: The Beginnings of Modern Civilization

1961 ◽  
Vol 54 (7) ◽  
pp. 219
Author(s):  
Frederick M. Combellack ◽  
T. B. L. Webster
Keyword(s):  
Art And Literature ◽  
Greek Art

Greek Art and Literature, 530-400 B.C.T. B. L. Webster

1941 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 191-192
Author(s):  
C. A. Robinson,
Keyword(s):  
Art And Literature ◽  
Greek Art

Achilles' Heel: The Death of Achilles in Ancient Myth

1995 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 217-244 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Burgess
Keyword(s):  
Near East ◽  
Lower Leg ◽  
Comparative Approach ◽  
Hellenistic Period ◽  
Greek Myth ◽  
Early Evidence ◽  
Art And Literature ◽  
Late Origin ◽  
The Temple

This study examines the death of Achilles in ancient myth, focusing on the hero's imperfect invulnerability. It is concluded that this concept is of late origin, perhaps of the Hellenistic period. Early evidence about Achilles' infancy does not suggest that he was made invulnerable, and early evidence concerning his death apparently indicates that Achilles was wounded more than once. The story of Achilles' heel as we know it is therefore late, though it is demonstrable that certain themes and motifs of earlier traditions about Achilles were preserved in later traditions. What caused the concept of Achilles' imperfect invulnerability to emerge, it is proposed, was the late story in which the hero is ambushed in the temple of Thymbraean Apollo. Certainly Achilles was wounded in the lower leg in early Greek myth. An explanation is needed if this does not reflect the story of his imperfect invulnerability, and the arguments of several scholars are surveyed. The theory that the "swift-footed" hero was first immobilized by a lower wound before being slain is ultimately favored, though it is suggested that invulnerable armor and poison may have played a role. A comparative approach to myth and ritual is employed, with attention given to evidence from various areas (e.g., Scythia, the Near East) and ages (Proto-Indo-European to modern) in an effort to illuminate stories about the infancy and death of Achilles. The study also assesses two alleged reflections in the Iliad of Achilles' death, the death of Patroclus in Book 16 and the wounding of Diomedes in Book 11. The evidence in ancient art and literature about the death of Achilles is often obscure, but this exploration of continuity and innovation in myth about Achilles should assist our understanding of it.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document