Body Language in the Greek and Roman Worlds

A distinguished international cast of scholars discusses models of gesture and non-verbal communication as they apply to Greek and Roman culture, literature and art. Topics include dress and costume in the Homeric poems; the importance of looking, eye-contact, and face-to-face orientation in Greek society; the construction of facial expression in Greek and Roman epic; the significance of gesture and body language in the visual meaning of ancient sculpture; the evidence for gesture and performance style in the texts of ancient drama; the erotic significance of feet and footprints; and the role of gesture in Roman law. The volume seeks to apply a sense of history as well as of theory in interpreting non-verbal communication. It looks both at the cross-cultural and at the culturally specific in its treatment of this important but long-neglected aspect of Classical Studies.

Douglas Cairns is Professor of Classics in the University of Edinburgh. He has published widely on Greek literature and thought, especially on the emotions. His publications include Aidos: The psychology and ethics of honour and shame in Greek literature (1993) and (ed.) Oxford Readings in Homer's Iliad (2001). For the Classical Press of Wales he has edited (with R.A. Knox) Law, Rhetoric, and Comedy: Essays in honour of D.M. MacDowell (2004) and (with V. Liapis) Dionysalexandros: Essays ... in honour of A. F. Garvie (2006).