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Oxford University Press, USA
In the Orbit of Love: Affection in Ancient Greece and Rome
In the Orbit of Love: Affection in Ancient Greece and Rome
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This book is about love in the classical world - not erotic passion but the kind of love that binds together intimate members of a family and very close friends, but which may also be extended to include a wider range of individuals for whom we care deeply. The book begins with a discussion
of friendship, focusing particularly on the Greek notion that in friendship the identities of two friends all but merge into one. The book then turns to the question of loyalty, and why loyalty seems not to have achieved the status of a virtue in classical thought. The next chapter considers love
in relation to generosity, favors, and gratitude. There follows a discussion of grief, which is a symptom of the loss of a loved one. The final chapter treats love as the basis of civic solidarity. In each case, love is at the basis of the relations under examination. In this, the book departs
from the more usual analysis of these affective ties in terms of reciprocity, which in one way or another involves an expectation of return. Seen this way, such relationships seem to have a selfish or at least self-centered dimension, as distinct from truly other-regarding attitudes. While it is
true that the ancient sources sometimes describe these relations, including friendship, as forms of mutual obligation, there is also a counter strand that emphasizes genuine altruism, and it is this aspect that the book seeks to bring out. A close look at how love drew into its orbit the various
relations examined in this book may shed light on some central features not only of ancient habits of thought but also, it is to be hoped, our own.
Author: David Konstan
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Published: 07/16/2018
Pages: 232
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.85lbs
Size: 8.30h x 5.70w x 0.80d
ISBN: 9780190887872
Review Citation(s):
Choice 06/01/2019
of friendship, focusing particularly on the Greek notion that in friendship the identities of two friends all but merge into one. The book then turns to the question of loyalty, and why loyalty seems not to have achieved the status of a virtue in classical thought. The next chapter considers love
in relation to generosity, favors, and gratitude. There follows a discussion of grief, which is a symptom of the loss of a loved one. The final chapter treats love as the basis of civic solidarity. In each case, love is at the basis of the relations under examination. In this, the book departs
from the more usual analysis of these affective ties in terms of reciprocity, which in one way or another involves an expectation of return. Seen this way, such relationships seem to have a selfish or at least self-centered dimension, as distinct from truly other-regarding attitudes. While it is
true that the ancient sources sometimes describe these relations, including friendship, as forms of mutual obligation, there is also a counter strand that emphasizes genuine altruism, and it is this aspect that the book seeks to bring out. A close look at how love drew into its orbit the various
relations examined in this book may shed light on some central features not only of ancient habits of thought but also, it is to be hoped, our own.
Author: David Konstan
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Published: 07/16/2018
Pages: 232
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.85lbs
Size: 8.30h x 5.70w x 0.80d
ISBN: 9780190887872
Review Citation(s):
Choice 06/01/2019
About the Author
David Konstan is Professor of Classics at New York University. Among his books are Pity Transformed (2001); The Emotions of the Ancient Greeks (2006); Before Forgiveness: The Origins of a Moral Idea (2010); and Beauty: The Fortunes of an Ancient Greek Idea (2014). He is a past president of the
American Philological Association, a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and an honorary fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities.
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