Combat Trauma and the Ancient Greeks

The effects of what we now term 'combat trauma' are well represented in the literature of the Ancient Greeks: the madness of Heracles, the rage of Achilles, the suicide of Ajax, the isolation of Philoctetes, and the trials of Odysseus, to name a few. Much of the narrative of the Greek world, particularly Athens, reflects a preoccupation with the consequences of violence and war. In this book, a diverse group of scholars, who specialize in different aspects of ancient Greek culture, explore how the Greeks responded to war and the various manifestations of 'post-traumatic stress' and 'combat stress injury' in ancient Greek culture.

Peter Meineck is Associate Professor of Classics at New York University, USA and Honorary Professor of Classics at the University of Nottingham, UK. He is the founding director of New York's Aquila Theatre and has directed and/or produced over 60 professional stage productions. He has published widely on ancient performance and the application of cognitive studies to theatre in antiquity.

David Konstan is Professor of Classics at New York University and Professor Emeritus of Classics and Comparative Literature at Brown University, USA. His research focuses on ancient Greek and Latin literature, especially comedy and the novel, and classical philosophy. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Introduction: Combat Trauma: The Missing Diagnosis in Ancient Greece?; David Konstan
1. War and the City: The Brutality of War and Its Impact on the Community; Kurt A. Raaflaub
2. Phaeacian Therapy in Homer's Odyssey; William H. Race
3. Women After War: Weaving Nostos in Homeric Epic and in the Twenty-First Century; Corinne Pache
4. "Ravished Minds" in the Ancient World; Lawrence A. Tritle
5. Beyond the Universal Soldier: Combat Trauma in Classical Antiquity; Jason Crowley
6. Socrates in Combat: Trauma and Resilience in Plato's Political Theory; S. Sara Monoson
7. The Memory of Greek Battle: Material Culture as Narratives of Combat; Juan Sebastian De Vivo
8. Women and War in Tragedy; Nancy Sorkin Rabinowitz
9. "He gave me his hand but took my bow": Trust and Trustworthiness in the Philoctetes and Our Wars; Nancy Sherman
10. Combat Trauma in Athenian Comedy: The Dog That Didn't Bark; Alan H. Sommerstein
11. The Battered Shield: Survivor Guilt and Family Trauma in Menander's Aspis; Sharon L. James
12. When War Is Performed, What Do Soldiers and Veterans Want to Hear and See and Why?; Thomas G. Palaima
13. Performing Memory: In the Mind and on the Public Stage; Paul Woodruff