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Tracking Hermes, Pursuing Mercury

Jenny Strauss Clay editor John F Miller editor

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Oxford University Press

Published:11th Mar '19

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Tracking Hermes, Pursuing Mercury cover

Of all the divinities of classical antiquity, the Greek Hermes (Mercury in his Roman alter ego) is the most versatile, enigmatic, complex, and ambiguous. The runt of the Olympian litter, he is the god of lies and tricks, yet is also kindly towards mankind and a bringer of luck. His functions embrace both the marking of boundaries and their transgression, but also extend to commerce, lucre, and theft, as well as rhetoric and practical jokes. In another guise, he plays the role of mediator between all realms of human and divine activity, embracing heaven, earth, and the netherworld. Pursuing this elusive divinity requires a truly multidisciplinary approach, reflecting his prismatic nature, and the twenty contributions to this volume draw on a wide range of fields to achieve this, from Greek and Roman literature (epic, lyric, and drama), epigraphy, cult, and religion, to vase painting and sculpture. In offering an overview of the myriad aspects of Hermes/Mercury-including his origins, patronage of the gymnasium, and relation to other trickster figures-the volume attempts to track the god's footprints across the many domains in which he partakes. Moreover, in keeping with his deep connection to exchange, commerce, and dialogue, it aims to exemplify and further encourage discourse between Latinists and Hellenists, as well as between scholars of literary and material cultures.

The individual chapters are all of high quality. In their totality, they provide a comprehensive review of existing scholarship, and also to varying extents strike out on their own. As such, this book represents a major advance in scholarship. * Andrew Faulkner, University of Waterloo, Canada, Religious Studies Review *
The volume covers an impressive chronological and geographical range and is the first sustained, interdisciplinary study of Hermes/Mercury, from which one emerges with an expanded view of the multifaceted god... The individual chapters are all of high quality. In their totality, they provide a comprehensive review of existing scholarship, and also to varying extents strike out on their own. As such, this book represents a major advance in scholarship. * Andrew Faulkner, University of Waterloo, Canada, Religious Studies Review *
The contributions within the volume complement one another, drawing illuminating parallels between far-flung manifestations of this ever-wandering god. The collection has already become a standard reference work for all those studying Hermes/Mercury, opening many a fascinating research avenue to pursue this elusive god. * Maciej Paprocki, Bryn Mawr Classical Review *

ISBN: 9780198777342

Dimensions: 240mm x 164mm x 28mm

Weight: 872g

404 pages