Game of Thrones - A View From the Humanities Vol. 2 : Heroes, Villains and Pulsions

This book focuses on the characters that populate the Game of Thrones universe and on one of the most salient features of their interaction: violence and warfare. It analyses these questions from a multidisciplinary perspective that is chiefly based on Classical Studies. The book is divided into two sections. The first section explores Martin’s characters as the mainstay of both the novels and the TV series, since the author has peopled his universe with three-dimensional intriguing characters that resonate with the reader/audience. The second section is devoted to violence and warfare, both pervasive in the Game of Thrones universe. In particular, the TV series’ depiction of violence is explicit, going beyond the limits that have seldom been traversed in primetime television i.e. the execution of Ned Stark, the “Red Wedding” and “Battle of the Bastards”. In the Game of Thrones universe, violence is not only restricted to warfare but is an everyday occurrence, a result of the social and gender inequalities characterising the world created by Martin. About this Book Contents Notes on Contributors List of Figures Chapter 1: Heroes, Villains, War and Violence in Game of Thrones Bibliography Part I: “The Things I do for Love”: Heroes, Villains and None of the Above Chapter 2: Scheming in the Shadow of Tyrants: The ‘Littlefinger’ Type in Roman Historiography 1 From Syracuse to King’s Landing 2 Roman ‘Littlefingers’ 3 Aelius Sejanus 4 Curio 5 ‘Positive’ Littlefingers Bibliography Chapter 3: Parallel Lives: Connections Between the Lannisters and Historical Dynasties 1 Introduction: The Lion’s Den 2 In the Shadow of the Iron Throne: Tywin Lannister 3 Two Siblings, One Love: Lannister and Borgia 4 Old King Log: Tyrion and Claudius Bibliography Chapter 4: The Tragedy of Eddard Stark: Greek Tragedy in A Song of Ice and Fire 1 The Tragic Hero 2 Peripeteia and Anagnorisis 3 The Tragic Error 4 Catharsis 5 Conclusion Bibliography Chapter 5: “Was it a God, a Demon, a Sorcerous Trick?”. Magic, Performative Rituals, and Moral Standards in A Song of Ice and Fire and Game of Thrones 1 Who Practices Magic? Otherness in Westeros and Classical Greece 2 What Is Magic? Blood, Fire, Spells, and Charisma 3 The Forms of Magic: Illusions, Soul-projection, and Ghostly Assistants 4 Why Magic? Prophecy, Resurrection, Targeted Killings, and Battles 5 Magic as Religion or Magic Versus Religion? An Intradiegetic Debate 6 Morals as a Criterion for Distinguishing Between Magic and Religion? Bibliography Part II: “Some Allies are More Dangerous than Enemies”: Warfare and Violence Chapter 6: Juggling “a Hundred Balls in the Air”: Reflections of the Year of the Four Emperors in the War of the Five Kings 1 Introduction: Politics and Fantasy 2 “Mixed and Matched” References to the 68–70 CE Civil War: Power, Legitimacy and Spatialisation Parallels with the Year of the Four Emperors Circulation of the Information and Dramatisation of the Narrative 3 From the Legitimacy to the Exercise of Power: Martin’s Political Pessimism? Legitimate, but not Wise: Joffrey, Viserys and Suetonius’ Tyrants Legitimate, Wise, but Corrupted Anyway: Ned and Tacitus’ Galba/Piso 4 Conclusion Bibliography Chapter 7: The Punic Wars in the World of A Song of Ice and Fire 1 Romans and Valyrians Against Carthaginians and Ghiscari The Principal Sources The Name of the Wars and Their Number The Geography The Ghiscari Cities and Forms of Government The Forms of Combat The Armed Conflict The Subsequent Expansion The Idea of Translatio imperii 2 Conclusion Bibliography Chapter 8: The “Battle of the Bastards”: A Tactical Iconic Narrative Bibliography Chapter 9: Some Heads Are Gonna Roll: Punishments and Executions in G. R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire and in HBO’s TV Series 1 Some Heads Are Gonna Roll 2 The Death Penalty Decapitation Crucifixion Hurling Crematio Other Methods: Slitting the Throat and the damnatio ad bestias 3 Conclusions: Timeo danaos et dona ferentis Bibliography Chapter 10: From Greek Tragic Drama to Fantastic Terror: Tragic Echoes in A Storm of Swords’ Red Wedding 1 Introduction 2 “So much for guest right”: The Violation of Philia and the Circle of Violence 3 The Tragic Roots of a Spectacular Aesthetic 4 Catelyn Stark, from a Tragic Model to the Archetype of the Suffering of Women 5 Conclusion Bibliography Index "This is, to our knowledge, the most extraordinary collection of varied and fascinating academic consideration on Game of Thrones ever put to press. By bringing together an international gathering of scholars who come from a wide array of disciplines, Game of Thrones: A View from the Humanities has made a real contribution to the study of popular culture and shown the value of humane inquiry into modern works of fiction." --Elio M. García Jr. and Linda Antonsson, co-authors with G.R.R. Martin of The World of Ice & Fire "A humanistic approach to GOT. Finding bare and reasonable resemblances between Westeros, Essos and the civilizations of the ancient world." --Aurora López Güeto, University Pablo de Olavide, Seville, Spain This volume focuses on the characters that populate the Game of Thrones universe and on one of the most salient features of their interaction: violence and warfare. It analyses these questions from a multidisciplinary perspective that is chiefly based on Classical Studies. The book is divided into two sections. The first section explores Martin's characters, the mainstay of both the novels and the TV series, since the author has peopled his universe with three-dimensional intriguing characters that resonate with the reader/audience. The second section is devoted to violence and warfare, both pervasive in the Game of Thrones universe. Alfonso Álvarez-Ossorio is Professor of Ancient History at the University of Seville, Spain. He has co-edited The Present of Antiquity: Reception, Recovery, Reinvention of the Ancient World in Current Popular Culture (2019). Fernando Lozano is Professor of Ancient History at the University of Seville, Spain. His research focuses on the study of Roman religion during the Empire and, specifically, on the imperial cult, as well as Reception studies. Rosario Moreno Soldevila is Professor of Latin at Pablo de Olavide University, Seville, Spain. She has authored or co-authored ten monographs on Latin literature, including A Prosopography to Martial's Epigrams (2019). Cristina Rosillo-López is Professor of Ancient History at Pablo de Olavide University, Seville, Spain. She has authored and edited several monographs, including Political Conversations in Late Republican Rome (2022) This volume focuses on the characters that populate the Game of Thrones universe and on one of the most salient features of their interaction: violence and warfare. It analyses these questions from a multidisciplinary perspective that is chiefly based on Classical Studies. The book is divided into two sections. The first section explores Martins characters, the mainstay of both the novels and the TV series, since the author has peopled his universe with three-dimensional intriguing characters that resonate with the reader/audience. The second section is devoted to violence and warfare, both pervasive in the Game of Thrones universe. Alfonso Alvarez-Ossorio is Professor of Ancient History at the University of Seville, Spain. He has co-edited The Present of Antiquity: Reception, Recovery, Reinvention of the Ancient World in Current Popular Culture (2019). Fernando Lozano is Professor of Ancient History at the University of Seville, Spain. His research focuses on the study of Roman religion during the Empire and, specifically, on the imperial cult, as well as Reception studies. Rosario Moreno Soldevila is Professor of Latin at Pablo de Olavide University, Seville, Spain. She has authored or co-authored ten monographs on Latin literature, including A Prosopography to Martials Epigrams (2019). Cristina Rosillo-Lopez is Professor of Ancient History at Pablo de Olavide University, Seville, Spain. She has authored and edited several monographs, including Political Conversations in Late Republican Rome (2022)