The Unexpected Mourner

The Roman Mourner

To date, mourning has not featured prominently in studies of ancient Roman society, and this book redresses this by presenting a comprehensive analysis of who mourners were and what mourners did, as well as investigating the social, cultural and ritual significance of mourning. It brings together varied evidence, ranging from literature and art to epigraphy, which helps to illustrate the rituals of mourning. Valerie M. Hope addresses fundamental questions about how mourning was expressed, displayed, performed and experienced via the body, and in turn what mourning can reveal about Roman society. In previous literature on the topic, roles played by mourners in funeral rituals and commemorative acts may be acknowledged, but there has been little engagement with the varied emotional and physical behaviours of mourners. When mourning has been considered, the emphasis has predominantly fallen on gender and specific literary genres. There have hitherto been few attempts to unite the diverse evidence for Roman mourning to consider different literary genres simultaneously or to evaluate how mourning was presented through material culture. The evaluation of social expectations, legal regulations and idealised roles, across a diverse evidence base and time frame, make this volume the first full and systematic study of mourning in the Roman world.

A Commentary on Quintus of Smyrna, Posthomerica V

The Posthomerica of Quintus of Smyrna is the only surviving Greek epic that gives a full narrative of the Trojan War between the Iliad and the Odyssey. Book V covers the contest between Ajax and Odysseus over the armour of Achilles, leading to Ajax' madness, suicide and funeral. The book gives balanced treatment to matters of text, language, literary qualities and sources. An introduction discusses the poem's main features. The commentary is punctuated by introductions to sections. There are indexes of subjects, ancient and mediaeval literature and Greek words. The work's major areas of interest are: influence of the Homeric epics, Quintus' use of later sources, the Trojan War in Greek and Latin literature, and Greek cultural history under the Roman Empire. This is the first full-length commentary on the book.

The Mourner's Friend, Or Consolation and Advice Offered to Christian Parents in the Death of Their Little Children ... a Sermon [on Sam. Xii. 23], Preached Dec. 7, 1792