Scholarship on the emotions in classical antiquity has focused almost entirely on negative emotions, but that is not because the Greeks and Romans had little to say about positive emotions. The chapters in this collection show that there are representations of positive emotions—considered here under the headings of “hope,” “joy,” and “affection”—extending from archaic Greek poetry, through the philosophical schools of the Epicureans and Stoics, to the Christianity of Augustine, and while many of the literary representations give expression to positive emotion but also describe its loss, the ph ... More

Scholarship on the emotions in classical antiquity has focused almost entirely on negative emotions, but that is not because the Greeks and Romans had little to say about positive emotions. The chapters in this collection show that there are representations of positive emotions—considered here under the headings of “hope,” “joy,” and “affection”—extending from archaic Greek poetry, through the philosophical schools of the Epicureans and Stoics, to the Christianity of Augustine, and while many of the literary representations give expression to positive emotion but also describe its loss, the philosophers offer a more optimistic assessment of the possibilities of attaining joy or contentment in this life. The positive emotions show some of the same features that all emotions do, but positive emotions tend to be harder to articulate. Hence the interest of the present study, which considers how positive emotions are described, their relationship to other emotions, the ways in which they are provoked or upset by circumstances, how they complicate and enrich our relationships with other people, and which kinds of positive emotion we should seek to integrate. The ancient works have a great deal to say about all of these topics, and for that reason deserve more study, both for our understanding of antiquity and for our understanding of the positive emotions in general. In attempting to break new ground, this collection is also meant to honor the distinguished work of a pioneer in the study of the emotions in antiquity, David Konstan.