The Lindian Chronicle and the Greek Creation of their Past - Tapa dura

Review from other book by this author'A definitive study of enjambement in the Homeric poems will find its place on every Homerist's shelves of reference, and whoever refers to Dr Higbie's monograph in the proper place will find plenty of tables (most elegantly set out by OUP) to consult, but they will also soon find themselves actually reading the text.' The Classical Review

'Her book is much to be welcomed, and not only because it helps to fill an important gap in the literature; it is well written and free from jargon, and sets out the argument in a methodical and persuasive manner.'J.T. Hooker, University College of London, The Journal of Hellenic Studies, Vol. CXII, 1992

Carolyn Higbie uses an inscription of the first century BC from Lindos to study the ancient Greeks and their past. The inscription contains two inventories. The first catalogues some forty objects given to Athena Lindia by figures from the mythological past (including Heracles, Helen, and Menelaus) and the historical past (including Alexander the Great and Hellenistic figures). The second catalogues three epiphanies of Athena Lindia to the townspeople when they were in need of her assistance. By drawing on anthropological approaches as well as archaeological and literary evidence, this book explores what was important to the Greeks about their past, how they reconstructed it, and how they made use of it in their present.