Beauty: The Fortunes of an Ancient Greek Idea

281 Pages·2014·16.304 MB·English

by  David Konstan

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Beauty: The Fortunes of an Ancient Greek Idea
David Konstan

Frontispiece: Aphrodite’s beauty attracts the erotic gaze of Pan.
National Archaeological Museum, Athens, Greece.
Credit: Marie Mauzy / Art Resource, NY.
B e au t y
THE FORTUNES OF AN
ANCIENT GREEK IDEA
David Konstan
1
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CONT ENTS
Preface and Acknowledgments xi
1. The Problem with Beauty 1
I. Beauty and History 1
II. Did the Ancient Greeks Recognize Art? 3
III. Did the Ancient Greeks Recognize Beauty? 5
IV. Beauty, Sex, and Virtue 8
V. Beauty in Art and Life 21
2. Beauty in Greek 31
I. Is There a Greek Word for Beauty? 31
II. Beauty: The Earliest Evidence 35
III. Beauty in Archaic Poetry 43
IV. The Classical Period 50
3. The Nature of Beauty 62
I. Beauty and Desire 62
II. Beauty and Gender: Women, Boys, and
Effeminate Men 72