The Rhetoric of Manhood : Masculinity in the Attic Orators

The concept of manhood was immensely important in ancient Athens, shaping its political, social, legal, and ethical systems. This book, a groundbreaking study of manhood in fourth-century Athens, is the first to provide a comprehensive examination of notions about masculinity found in the Attic orators, who represent one of the most important sources for understanding the social history of this period. While previous studies have assumed a uniform ideology about manhood, Joseph Roisman finds that Athenians had quite varied opinions about what constituted manly values and conduct. He situates the evidence for ideas about manhood found in the Attic orators in its historical, ideological, and theoretical contexts to explore various manifestations of Athenian masculinity as well as the rhetoric that both articulated and questioned it. Roisman focuses on topics such as the nexus between manhood and age; on Athenian men in their roles as family members, friends, and lovers; on the concept of masculine shame; on relations between social and economic status and manhood; on manhood in the military and politics; on the manly virtue of self-control; and on what men feared. "The concept of manhood was immensely important in ancient Athens, shaping its political, social, legal, and value systems. This book, a study of manhood in fourth century Athens, is the first to provide a comprehensive examination of notions about masculinity found in the Attic orators, who represent one of the single most important sources for understanding the social history of this period. Whereas previous studies have assumed a uniform ideology about manhood, Joseph Roisman finds that Athenians had quite varied opinions about what constituted manly values and conduct. Roisman situates the evidence for ideas about manhood found in the Attic orators in historical, ideological, and theoretical contexts to explore various manifestations of Athenian masculinity as well as the rhetoric that both articulated and questioned it." "Roisman illuminates masculine notions, activities, and discourse by focusing on topics such as the nexus between manhood and age; Athenian men in their roles as family members, friends, and lovers; the concept of masculine shame; relations between social and economic status and manhood; manhood in the military and politics; the manly virtue of self-control; and what men feared. Throughout, he considers both the variety of forms of Athenian manhood as well as the challenges men faced in achieving masculine archetypes."--BOOK JACKET

The concept of manhood was immensely important in ancient Athens, shaping its political, social, legal, and ethical systems. This book, a groundbreaking study of manhood in fourth-century Athens, is the first to provide a comprehensive examination of notions about masculinity found in the Attic orators, who represent one of the most important sources for understanding the social history of this period. While previous studies have assumed a uniform ideology about manhood, Joseph Roisman finds that Athenians had quite varied opinions about what constituted manly values and conduct. He situates the evidence for ideas about manhood found in the Attic orators in its historical, ideological, and theoretical contexts to explore various manifestations of Athenian masculinity as well as the rhetoric that both articulated and questioned it.
Roisman focuses on topics such as the nexus between manhood and age; on Athenian men in their roles as family members, friends, and lovers; on the concept of masculine shame; on relations between social and economic status and manhood; on manhood in the military and politics; on the manly virtue of self-control; and on what men feared.

Preface......Page 14 Abbreviations......Page 16 Introduction......Page 18 1 Manly Youth......Page 28 2 The Roles and Responsibilities of the Adult Male: Kurios, Husband, Son, Kinsman, Friend, and Citizen......Page 43 3 Manly Shame......Page 81 4 Manhood and Social Standing......Page 101 5 Men in the Military......Page 122 6 The Struggle over Power......Page 147 7 Men, Desires, and Self-Control......Page 180 8 What Men Fear......Page 203 Conclusion: Old Age and Manipulating Manhood......Page 222 Works Cited......Page 232 General Index......Page 268 Index Locorum......Page 276 From the age of thirty on, free adult males stood at the pinnacle of the social and political hierarchy of Athens; younger adults ranked lower, as did older men.