Play and Aesthetics in Ancient Greece

This book explores the relationship between art and play, drawing on ancient debates by Plato and Aristotle to challenge modern conceptions of play. It suggests that play is not a specific set of activities but a feeling of pleasure that unleashes playful activities, offering new theoretical challenges.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 248 pages
Publication date: 06 April 2023
Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Those seeking insights into the relationship between art and play often turn to modern philosophy for answers, yet as this book reveals, the question was already debated in antiquity by luminaries such as Plato and Aristotle. Spanning eight chapters, this comprehensive exploration contextualizes these ancient debates and highlights their profound relevance to contemporary theoretical concerns. The book delves into various topics, including the ancient child psychology behind the Greek word for play (paidia), the remarkable survival of toys from antiquity, and the conceptual contrast between play and the serious (spoudaios). What emerges is a distinct concept of play that departs significantly from the one inherited from modernity. Play is not a predefined set of activities that elicit a specific sense of pleasure; rather, it is a particular pleasure that triggers the activities we perceive as play. This transformative perspective presents a new set of theoretical challenges that demand our attention.

ISBN-13: 9781108710077