Friendship in the Classical World [Hardcover]

An examination of the nature of friendship in Greece and Rome from Homer to the Christian Roman Empire of fourth century AD.This book is a history of friendship in Greece and Rome, from the warrior society of the Homeric epics to the time of the Christian Roman Empire. It demonstrates how ancient friendship resembles modern conceptions, and how it evolves in different social contexts. The book sheds new light on such questions as friendship and democracy, the importance of friends in government and in philosophic communities, women's friendships, and the transformation of friendship under the influence of Christian ideas of brotherhood.This book is a history of friendship in Greece and Rome, from the warrior society of the Homeric epics to the time of the Christian Roman Empire. It demonstrates how ancient friendship resembles modern conceptions, and how it evolves in different social contexts. The book sheds new light on such questions as friendship and democracy, the importance of friends in government and in philosophic communities, women's friendships, and the transformation of friendship under the influence of Christian ideas of brotherhood.This book is a history of friendship in Greece and Rome, from the warrior society of the Homeric epics to the time of the Christian Roman Empire. It demonstrates how ancient friendship resembles modern conceptions, and how it evolves in different social contexts. The book sheds new light on such questions as friendship and democracy, the importance of friends in government and in philosophical communities, women's friendships, and the transformation of friendship under the influence of Christian ideas of brotherhood.Introduction; 1. Archaic Greece; 2. The classical city; 3. The Hellenistic world; 4. Rome; 5. Christian and pagan; Bibliography; Index. ...this is a valuable study of interest to such diverse groups as the ancient historian, the moral theologian or the philosopher with an interest in the virtues. Alicia Battelƒ0