Hybris: A Study in the Values of Honour and Shame in Ancient Greece.

As is acknowledged in the Preface, we have had to wait some time for this monumental consideration of hybris or |the deliberate infliction of shame and dishonour' (p. 493), and pre-publication notices, over the years, have suggested an ever increasing length. Certainly the result is something much to be savoured but, for all its outstanding qualities, questions of presentation remain - Do we need every single example to be examined? Is an excessive effort expended on refuting or modifying the opinions of others? Is the danger of repetition always avoided? If such questions are put, it is for a particular reason: I think it crucial that Hybris be widely purchased and, even more, widely read, and I wonder …