Game of Thrones - A View from the Humanities Vol. 2: Heroes, Villains and Pulsions

About this Book
Contents
Notes on Contributors
List of Figures
Chapter 1: Heroes, Villains, War and Violence in Game of Thrones
	Bibliography
Part I: “The Things I do for Love”: Heroes, Villains and None of the Above
	Chapter 2: Scheming in the Shadow of Tyrants: The ‘Littlefinger’ Type in Roman Historiography
		1 From Syracuse to King’s Landing
		2 Roman ‘Littlefingers’
		3 Aelius Sejanus
		4 Curio
		5 ‘Positive’ Littlefingers
		Bibliography
	Chapter 3: Parallel Lives: Connections Between the Lannisters and Historical Dynasties
		1 Introduction: The Lion’s Den
		2 In the Shadow of the Iron Throne: Tywin Lannister
		3 Two Siblings, One Love: Lannister and Borgia
		4 Old King Log: Tyrion and Claudius
		Bibliography
	Chapter 4: The Tragedy of Eddard Stark: Greek Tragedy in A Song of Ice and Fire
		1 The Tragic Hero
		2 Peripeteia and Anagnorisis
		3 The Tragic Error
		4 Catharsis
		5 Conclusion
		Bibliography
	Chapter 5: “Was it a God, a Demon, a Sorcerous Trick?”. Magic, Performative Rituals, and Moral Standards in A Song of Ice and Fire and Game of Thrones
		1 Who Practices Magic? Otherness in Westeros and Classical Greece
		2 What Is Magic? Blood, Fire, Spells, and Charisma
		3 The Forms of Magic: Illusions, Soul-projection, and Ghostly Assistants
		4 Why Magic? Prophecy, Resurrection, Targeted Killings, and Battles
		5 Magic as Religion or Magic Versus Religion? An Intradiegetic Debate
		6 Morals as a Criterion for Distinguishing Between Magic and Religion?
		Bibliography
Part II: “Some Allies are More Dangerous than Enemies”: Warfare and Violence
	Chapter 6: Juggling “a Hundred Balls in the Air”: Reflections of the Year of the Four Emperors in the War of the Five Kings
		1 Introduction: Politics and Fantasy
		2 “Mixed and Matched” References to the 68–70 CE Civil War: Power, Legitimacy and Spatialisation
			Parallels with the Year of the Four Emperors
			Circulation of the Information and Dramatisation of the Narrative
		3 From the Legitimacy to the Exercise of Power: Martin’s Political Pessimism?
			Legitimate, but not Wise: Joffrey, Viserys and Suetonius’ Tyrants
			Legitimate, Wise, but Corrupted Anyway: Ned and Tacitus’ Galba/Piso
		4 Conclusion
		Bibliography
	Chapter 7: The Punic Wars in the World of A Song of Ice and Fire
		1 Romans and Valyrians Against Carthaginians and Ghiscari
			The Principal Sources
			The Name of the Wars and Their Number
			The Geography
			The Ghiscari Cities and Forms of Government
			The Forms of Combat
			The Armed Conflict
			The Subsequent Expansion
			The Idea of Translatio imperii
		2 Conclusion
		Bibliography
	Chapter 8: The “Battle of the Bastards”: A Tactical Iconic Narrative
		Bibliography
	Chapter 9: Some Heads Are Gonna Roll: Punishments and Executions in G. R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire and in HBO’s TV Series
		1 Some Heads Are Gonna Roll
		2 The Death Penalty
			Decapitation
			Crucifixion
			Hurling
			Crematio
			Other Methods: Slitting the Throat and the damnatio ad bestias
		3 Conclusions: Timeo danaos et dona ferentis
		Bibliography
	Chapter 10: From Greek Tragic Drama to Fantastic Terror: Tragic Echoes in A Storm of Swords’ Red Wedding
		1 Introduction
		2 “So much for guest right”: The Violation of Philia and the Circle of Violence
		3 The Tragic Roots of a Spectacular Aesthetic
		4 Catelyn Stark, from a Tragic Model to the Archetype of the Suffering of Women
		5 Conclusion
		Bibliography
Index