Images of eternal beauty in funerary verse inscriptions of the Hellenistic and Greco-Roman periods / / Andrzej Wypustek.

• Author: Wypustek, Andrzej.
• Place / Publishing House: Boston : : Brill,, 2013.
• Year of Publication: 2013
• Language: English
• Series: Mnemosyne, Supplements 352.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (258 pages)
• Notes: Description based upon print version of record.

In 'Images of Eternal Beauty in Funerary Verse Inscriptions of the Hellenistic and Greco-Roman Periods Andrzej Wypustek provides a study of various forms of poetic heroization that became increasingly widespread in Greek funerary epigram. The deceased were presented as eternally young heroes, oblivious of old age and death, as stars shining with an eternal brightness in heavens or in Ether, or as the ones chosen by the gods, abducted by them to their home in the heavens or married to them in the other world (following the examples of Ganymede, Adonis, Hylas and Persephone). The author demonstrates that, for all their diversity, the common feature of these verse inscriptions was the praise of beauty of the dead.

Table of Contents

Preliminary Material -- Introduction -- Eschatological Themes in Epigrams -- The Dead As Gods -- The Dead As Heroes -- Marriages with the Gods -- The Deceased As the Chosen Ones and the Lovers of Deities -- The Deceased As the Charges of Deities -- Overview and Conclusions -- Bibliography -- Index of Ancient Names -- Index of Subjects -- Index of Notable Greek Terms.