From Library Journal

In this comprehensive exploration of anger and self-understanding in the classical world, Harris (Columbia Univ.; Ancient Literacy) endeavors to show that ancient discourses on anger control were responses to political and social conditions. Since the Iliad, the oldest work in Western literature, has as its theme the anger of Achilles, Harris has astutely hit upon a fascinating theme. Following a cogent effort to reconcile ancient and modern terminology, Harris catalogs the authors who wrote treatises on anger control. He then attempts to find the political elements that inspired so much writing on the subject. Looking through a lens defined by anger and rage, Harris examines the philosophies of Aristotle, Plato, and Seneca and the histories of Polybius and Plutarch, among others. This includes examining the control of anger in light of the patriarchal family structure and issues of civility in the volatile relationship of slaves and masters. He concludes by pursuing the evolution of these thoughts in the early Christian traditions. Highly recommended for faculty and graduate students of classical antiquity. Clay Williams, Hunter Coll., New York
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Review

In this comprehensive exploration of anger and self-understanding in the classical world, Harris...endeavors to show that ancient discourses on anger control were responses to political and social conditions. Since the Iliad, the oldest work in Western literature, has as its theme the anger of Achilles, Harris has astutely hit upon a fascinating theme...Highly recommended. (Clay Williams Library Journal )

Harris is known for ground-breaking books on Roman imperialism and on literacy in the ancient world. His new book, a vastly ambitious attempt to cover nearly every aspect of anger in antiquity from Homer to early Christianity, breaks fresh ground again. (M. F. Burnyeat London Review of Books )

Why did the ancient Greeks and Romans find fault with anger? Why did they so insistently advocate the reining in or the elimination of angry emotions? Rather than offering a mere analysis of arguments presented in our primary texts, Harris's study undertakes to provide an answer from a social-anthropological perspective, taking due cognizance of the groups whose interests were served by the discourse of anger control in Greco-Roman antiquity. Most importantly, he demonstrates the relevance of his historical enquiry by relating it to discussions on the subject in our contemporary culture. (Johan Strijdom Scholia Reviews )

Harris's thoughtful, massively docoumented book is a major contribution to our understanding of the classical world...Harris is excellent on the kinds of therapy that ancient thinkers proposed and applied to excessive rage...His book will be a major resource for anyone concerned with the history of the emotions, whether in antiquity or beyond. It is a great achievement. (David Konstan American Historical Review )