Although ancient hope has attracted much scholarly attention in the past this is the first
book-length discussion of the topic. The introduction offers a systematic discussion of the
semantics of Greek elpis and Latin spes and addresses the difficult question of whether hope
-ancient and modern- is an emotion. On the other hand the 16 contributions deal with specific
aspects of hope in Greek and Latin literature history and art including Pindar's poetry
Greek tragedy Thucydides Virgil's epic and Tacitus' Historiae. The volume also explores from
a historical perspective the hopes of slaves in antiquity the importance of hope for the
enhancement of stereotypes about the barbarians and the depiction of hope in visual culture
providing thereby a useful tool not only for classicist but also for philosophers cultural
historians and political scientists.
