Black Doves Speak Paperback by Rosaria Munson

Product Details

• Publisher: Harvard University Press (2005-08-02)
• Language: English
• Paperback: 0 pages
• ISBN-13: 9780674017900
• Item Weight: 368.55 grams
• Dimensions: 0.0 x 0.0 x 0.0 cm

In Greek thought, barbaroi are utterers of unintelligible or inarticulate sounds. What importance does the text of Herodotus's Histories attribute to language as a criterion of ethnic identity? The answer to this question illuminates the empirical foundations of Herodotus's pluralistic worldview. The first translator of cultures also translates, describes, and evaluates foreign speech to a degree unparalleled by other Greek ancient authors. For Herodotus, language is an area of interesting but surprisingly unproblematic difference, which he offers to his audience as a model for coming to terms in a neutral way with other, more emotionally charged, cultural differences.

About the Author

Rosaria Munson is Professor of Classics at Swarthmore College.