Heart of Achilles: Characterization and Personal Ethics in the Iliad

InThe Heart of Achilles,Graham Zanker addresses the task of reconstructing the ethical thought-world in which the characters of theIliadlive and move. It is only against this background, Zanker argues, that we can convincingly place the ethical status of the heroes and their actions. This in turn helps us to form a comprehensive view of theIliad'scharacterization of its people, especially that of Achilles, by examining all his responses to the question of allegiance, the value of heroic prowess, and of life itself. "[Zanker] investigates altruistic behavior in the epic with professional sophistication but in a way that makes his investigation available to a wide audience from undergraduates to advanced scholars. . . . [A] very useful interpretative study." --Choice Graham Zanker is Senior Lecturer in Classics, University of Canterbury, New Zealand.Zanker, Graham is the author of 'Heart of Achilles: Characterization and Personal Ethics in the Iliad', published 1994 under ISBN 9780472105144 and ISBN 0472105140.