Peace and Reconciliation in the Classical World

E. P. Moloney, Michael Stuart Williams

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2017
• ISBN:
  9781317082866
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Historia
• Subtopic: Historia antigua

Warfare has long been central to a proper understanding of ancient Greece and Rome, worlds where war was, as the philosopher Heraclitus observed, 'both king and father of all'. More recently, however, the understanding of Classical antiquity solely in such terms has been challenged; it is recognised that while war was pervasive, and a key concern in the narratives of ancient historians, a concomitant desire for peace was also constant. This volume places peace in the prime position as a panel of scholars stresses the importance of 'peace' as a positive concept in the ancient world (and not just the absence of, or necessarily even related to, war), and considers examples of conflict resolution, conciliation, and concession from Homer to Augustine. Comparing and contrasting theories and practice across different periods and regions, this collection highlights, first, the open and dynamic nature of peace, and then seeks to review a wide variety of initiatives from across the Classical world.

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Peace and Reconciliation in the Classical World
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• List of Illustrations
• List of Abbreviations
• Notes on Contributors
• 1 Introduction: Imagining, Establishing, and Instituting Peace
• Part I Imagining Peace in the Ancient World
• Part II Establishing Peace in the Ancient World
• Part III Instituting Peace in the Ancient World
• Bibliography
• Index