The editor: Douglas Cairns is Professor
of Classics in the University of Edinburgh. He has published widely
on Greek literature and thought, especially on the emotions. His publications
include Aidos: The psychology and ethics of honour and shame in Greek
literature (1993) and (ed.) Oxford Readings in Homer's Iliad (2001).
For the Classical Press of Wales he has edited (with R.A. Knox) Law,
Rhetoric, and Comedy: Essays in honour of D.M. MacDowell (2004) and
(with V. Liapis) Dionysalexandros: Essays ... in honour of A. F. Garvie
(2006).
A distinguished cast of scholars discusses models of gesture and
non-verbal communication as they apply to Greek and Roman culture,
literature and art. Topics include dress and costume in the Homeric
poems; the importance of looking, eye-contact, and face-to-face
orientation in Greek society; the construction of facial expression
in Greek and Roman epic; the significance of gesture and body language
in the visual meaning of ancient sculpture; the evidence for gesture
and performance style in the texts of ancient drama; the erotic
significance of feet and footprints; and the role of gesture in
Roman law. The volume seeks to apply a sense of history as well
as of theory in interpreting non-verbal communication. It looks
both at the cross-cultural and at the culturally specific in its
treatment of this important but long-neglected aspect of Classical
Studies.
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