Combat Trauma and the Ancient Greeks

This ground-breaking book applies trauma studies to the drama and literature of the ancient Greeks. Diverse essays explore how the Greeks responded to war and if what we now term "combat trauma," "post-traumatic stress," or "combat stress injury" can be discerned in ancient Greek culture.

“The volume is immune to the thematic disunity often recurrent in edited volumes and at the same time it offers a collection of different viewpoints on (mainly literary and philosophical) ancient texts. … the book offers stimulating food for thought on the moral and psychological impact of war to classicists and ancient historians as well as interested readers.” (Irene Salvo, sehepunkte, sehepunkte.de, Vol. 17 (11), 2017)

“The result is a generally useful set of discussions that demonstrates the benefits of asking new questions of old evidence while considering various traumas resulting from the conflict in ancient Greece. … Taken as a whole, this is a valuable volume not just for those interested in the traumas of war suffered by soldiers and non-combatants, but also for readers considering the ways in which societies find copying mechanisms for dealing with traumas , societal and personal.” (Lee L. Brice, Classical Journal, August, 2016)

"[These essays] shed considerable light on the suffering of individuals in ancient Greek societies at war. Someone genuinely interested in the effects of America's recent military engagements in Southwest Asia on individual soldiers and their families will find that this book offers a unique perspective which may lead to a more compassionate understanding of those effects." - Eternal Soldier

"The greatest strength of this engaging book is that it does not simply transfer the modern concept of combat trauma wholesale to the ancient world, but truly grapples with the question of whether such a transfer is indeed justified...For scholars and students of Classics, this book provides first-rate snapshots of the current state of ancient Greek trauma studies and shows the way for further research in this exciting new field." - Bryn Mawr Classical Review

"BRAVI TUTTI to this all-star cast and to the editors, Meineck and Konstan! This is a feast of wonderfully written, energetic, and varied pieces addressing the impact of constant wars on mind, society, and spirit in ancient Greece, as voiced in its written and material culture. I foresee interdisciplinary courses being built around this collection with enthusiasm from all the disciplines in play. The authors are suitably cautious in their use of modern mental health concepts in this distant context, without losing the relevance of what is universally human, when hammered by war." - Jonathan Shay, MD, PhD, 2009 General Omar N. Bradley Chair of Strategic Leadership, US Army War College and author of Achilles in Vietnam and Odysseus in America

"This rich collection of informed, probing essays revises, extends, and greatly deepens our understanding of combat trauma both in the classical world and in our own." - Stanley Lombardo, Professor Emeritus of Classics, University of Kansas, USA

"War is the context in which Greek authors composed their works and their audiences received them. To assess the impact of continuous and extremely violent warfare on the minds and souls of the Greeks may be more difficult than to estimate the extent of material destructions. But no study of Greek texts and images can be complete, if it ignores the impact of war trauma. The studies collected in this volume break new ground by addressing selected aspects of this subject, thus contributing not only to a better understanding of Greek literature but also to the history of emotions and the cultural history of ancient warfare." - Angelos Chaniotis, Professor of Ancient History and Classics, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton University, USA

"The use of ancient Greek poetry and drama as therapy for modern sufferers of combat trauma is one of the most unexpected and moving chapters in the history of the classical tradition. The essays in this insightful, thought-provoking collection return to antiquity to uncover the varied ways in which the psychological damage of combat was represented, addressed, and sometimes avoided in a society that knew war as an all-encompassing and inescapable fact of life." - Sheila Murnaghan, Allen Memorial Professor of Greek, University of Pennsylvania, USA

Jason Crowley, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK Juan Sebastian De Vivo, New York University, USA Sharon L. James, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, USA S. Sara Monoson, Northwestern University, USA Corinne Pache, Trinity University, USA Thomas G. Palaima, University of Texas at Austin, USA Nancy Sorkin Rabinowitz, Hamilton College, USA William H. Race, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, USA Kurt A. Raaflaub, Brown University, USA Nancy Sherman, Georgetown University, USA Alan H. Sommerstein, University of Nottingham, UK Lawrence Tritle, Loyola Marymount University, USA Paul Woodruff, University of Texas at Austin, USA.