Greek Laughter and Tears: Antiquity and After (Edinburgh Leventis Studies)

What makes us laugh and cry, sometimes at the same time? How do these two primal, seemingly discrete and non-verbal modes of expression intersect in everyday life and ritual, and what range of emotions do they evoke? How may they be voiced, shaped and coloured in literature and liturgy, art and music? Bringing together scholars from diverse periods and disciplines of Hellenic and Byzantine studies, this volume explores the shifting shapes and functions of laughter and tears. With a focus on the tragic, the comic and the tragicomic dimensions of laughter and tears in art, literature and performance, as well as on their emotional, socio-cultural and religious significance, it breaks new ground in the study of ancient and Byzantine affectivity. Bringing Together Scholars From Diverse Periods And Disciplines Of Hellenic And Byzantine Studies, This Volume Explores The Shifting Shapes And Functions Of Laughter And Tears, With Consideration Given To Visual, Performative And Musical Arts, As Well As To Written Records. It Looks Back And Forward From Focal Points At The Transitions From Late Antiquity To Byzantium And From Byzantium To The Renaissance And Showcases The Variety, Audacity And Quality Of The Finest Byzantine Works. 1. Introduction / Margaret Alexiou And Douglas Cairns -- Part I. Ancient Keynotes : From Homer To Lucian. 2. Laughter And Tears In Early Greek Literature / Richard Seaford -- 3. Imaging Divine Laughter In Homer And Lucian / Stephen Halliwell -- 4. Parody, Symbol And The Literary Past In Lucian / Calum Maciver -- Part 2. Ancient Models, Byzantine Collections : Epigrams, Riddles And Jokes. 5. 'tantalus Ever In Tears': The Greek Anthology As A Source Of Emotions In Late Antiquity / Judith Herrin -- 6. 'do You Think You're Clever? Solve This Riddle, Then!' The Comic Side Of Byzantine Enigmatic Poetry / Simone Beta -- 7. Philogelos : An Anti-intellectual Joke-book / Stephen West -- Part 3. Byzantine Perspectives : Tears And Laughter, Theory And Praxis. 9. 'messages Of The Soul' : Tears, Smiles, Laughter And Emotions Expressed By Them In Byzantine Literature / Martin Hinterberger 9. Towards A Byzantine Theory Of The Comic? / Aglae Pizzone -- 10. Staging Laughter And Tears : Libanius, Chrysostom And The Riot Of The Statues / Jan R. Stenger -- 11. Lamenting For The Fall Of Jerusalem In The Seventh Century Ce / Ioannis Papadogiannakis -- 12. Guiding Grief : Liturgical Poetry And Ritual Lamentation In Early Byzantium / Susan Harvey -- Part 4. Laughter, Power And Subversion. 13. Mime And The Dangers Of Laughter In Late Antiquity / Ruth Webb -- 14. Laughter On Display : Mimic Performances And The Danger Of Laughing In Byzantium / Przemeslaw Marciniak -- 15. The Power Of Amusement And The Amusement Of Power : The Princely Frescoes Of St. Sophia, Kiev, And Their Connections To The Byzantine World / Elena Boeck -- 16. Laughing At Eros And Aphrodite : Sexual Inversion And Its Resolution In The Classicising Arts Of Medieval Byzantium / Alicia Walker -- Part 5. Gender, Genre And Language : Loss And Survival. 17. Comforting Tears And Suggestive Smiles : To Laugh And Cry In The Komnenian Novel / Ingela Nilsson -- 18. Do Brothers Weep? Male Grief, Mourning, Lament And Tears In Eleventh- And Twelfth-century Byzantium / Margaret Mullett -- 19. Laments By Nicetas Choniates And Others For The Fall Of Constantinople In 1204 / Michael Angold -- 20. 'words Filled With Tears' : Amorous Discourse As Lamentation In The Palaiologan Romances / Panagiotis Agapitos -- 21. The Tragic, The Comic And Tragi-comic In Cretan Renaissance Literature / David Holton -- 22. Belisarius In The Shadow Theatre : The Private Calvary Of A Legendary General / Anna Stavrakopoulou -- 23. Afterword / Roderick Beaton -- Appendix. Chyrogles, Or The Girl With Two Husbands. Edited By Margaret Alexiou And Douglas Cairns. The Papers Presented In This Volume Represent The Completely Revised And Rewritten Record Of The Eighth A. G. Leventis Conference In Greek, Edinburgh, 7-10 November 2013.--page Xi. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 420-471) And Index. English Text With Selections In Greek With Parallel English Translations. FM......Page 1 CONTENTS......Page 5 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS......Page 8 PREFACE......Page 11 NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS......Page 15 INTRODUCTION......Page 19 LAUGHTER AND TEARS IN EARLY GREEK LITERATURE......Page 43 IMAGINING DIVINE LAUGHTER IN HOMER AND LUCIAN......Page 52 PARODY, SYMBOL AND THE LITERARY PAST IN LUCIAN......Page 70 ‘TANTALUS EVER IN TEARS’: THE GREEK ANTHOLOGY AS A SOURCE OF EMOTIONS IN LATE ANTIQUITY......Page 89 ‘DO YOU THINK YOU’RE CLEVER? SOLVE THIS RIDDLE, THEN!’ THE COMIC SIDE OF BYZANTINE ENIGMATIC POETRY......Page 101 PHILOGELOS: AN ANTI-INTELLECTUAL JOKE-BOOK......Page 118 ‘MESSAGES OF THE SOUL’: TEARS, SMILES, LAUGHTER AND EMOTIONS EXPRESSED BY THEM IN BYZANTINE LITERATURE......Page 137 TOWARDS A BYZANTINE THEORY OF THE COMIC?......Page 158 STAGING LAUGHTER AND TEARS: LIBANIUS, CHRYSOSTOM AND THE RIOT OF THE STATUES......Page 178 LAMENTING FOR THE FALL OF JERUSALEM IN THE SEVENTH CENTURY CE......Page 199 GUIDING GRIEF: LITURGICAL POETRY AND RITUAL LAMENTATION IN EARLY BYZANTIUM......Page 211 MIME AND THE DANGERS OF LAUGHTER IN LATE ANTIQUITY......Page 229 LAUGHTER ON DISPLAY: MIMIC PERFORMANCES AND THE DANGER OF LAUGHING IN BYZANTIUM......Page 242 THE POWER OF AMUSEMENT AND THE AMUSEMENT OF POWER: THE PRINCELY FRESCOES OF ST SOPHIA, KIEV, AND THEIR CONNECTIONS TO THE BYZANTINE WORLD......Page 253 LAUGHING AT EROS AND APHRODITE: SEXUAL INVERSION AND ITS RESOLUTION IN THE CLASSICISING ARTS OF MEDIEVAL BYZANTIUM......Page 273 COMFORTING TEARS AND SUGGESTIVE SMILES: TO LAUGH AND CRY IN THE KOMNENIAN NOVEL......Page 299 DO BROTHERS WEEP? MALE GRIEF, MOURNING, LAMENT AND TEARS IN ELEVENTH- AND TWELFTH-CENTURY BYZANTIUM......Page 320 LAMENTS BY NICETAS CHONIATES AND OTHERS FOR THE FALL OF CONSTANTINOPLE IN 1204......Page 346 ‘WORDS FILLED WITH TEARS’: AMOROUS DISCOURSE AS LAMENTATION IN THE PALAIOLOGAN ROMANCES......Page 361 THE TRAGIC, THE COMIC AND THE TRAGICOMIC IN CRETAN RENAISSANCE LITERATURE......Page 383 BELISARIUS IN THE SHADOW THEATRE: THE PRIVATE CALVARY OF A LEGENDARY GENERAL......Page 398 AFTERWORD......Page 411 APPENDIX: CHYROGLES, OR THE GIRL WITH TWO HUSBANDS......Page 421 BIBLIOGRAPHY......Page 428 INDEX LOCORUM......Page 480 INDEX RERUM......Page 490 Explores the range and complexity of human emotions and their transmission across cultural traditionsWhat makes us laugh and cry, sometimes at the same time? How do these two primal, seemingly discrete and non-verbal modes of expression intersect in everyday life and ritual, and what range of emotions do they evoke? How may they be voiced, shaped and coloured in literature and liturgy, art and music?Bringing together scholars from diverse periods and disciplines of Hellenic and Byzantine studies, this volume explores the shifting shapes and functions of laughter and tears. With a focus on the tragic, the comic and the tragicomic dimensions of laughter and tears in art, literature and performance, as well as on their emotional, socio-cultural and religious significance, it breaks new ground in the study of ancient and Byzantine affectivity.Key featuresIncludes an international cast of 25 distinguished contributors Prominence is given to performative arts and to interactions with other cultures Transitions from Late Antiquity to Byzantium, and from Byzantium to the Renaissance, form focal points from which contributors look backwards, forwards and sidewaysHighlights the variety, audacity and quality of the finest Byzantine works and the extent to which they anticipated the renaissance This volume brings together an international team of scholars to explore the shifting shapes and functions of laughter and tears in the history, religion, art and literature of Greek communities from Antiquity to Byzantium and beyond. What makes us laugh and cry, sometimes at the same time? How do these two primal, seemingly discrete and non-verbal modes of expression intersect in the everyday life and ritual of Greek communities, and what range of emotions do they entail? How may they be voiced, shaped and coloured in literature and liturgy, art and music? What happens when laughter and tears slip into each other and back again? What can we learn about human emotions and communicative modes across the ages, genres and cultures of Hellenic civilisation? The book breaks new ground in tracing the emotional, socio-cultural, religious and literary aspects of laughter and tears in a range of different artistic, cultural and historical contexts, across the longue durée of Greek civilisation. It brings students of ancient and Byzantine emotion into dialogue and shows how much is to be gained by collaborating across the disciplinary and chronological boundaries that demarcate the historical study of the Greek world