Unveiling Emotions

This volume presents the first results of research conducted on ‘The Social and Cultural Construction of Emotions: The Greek Paradigm’ by a research group in Oxford funded by the European Research Council. The project aims at contributing to a better understanding of the social and cultural factors that determine the manifestation of emotions in texts (papyri, inscriptions, literary sources) and in the material evidence from the Greek and Greek-speaking world (c. 800 BCE – c. 600 CE). The four introductory chapters address problems in the study of emotions in antiquity. They are followed by ten case-studies in which the manifestation and arousal of emotions (fear, anger, envy, grief, hope) are studied in various contexts (religion, litigation, political life, art, private life) and in connection with a variety of media (narratives of miracles, dedications, curses, acclamations, petitions, condolence letters, forensic oratory, architecture, images).