'Cowboy Classics is a straight-talking study in cultural reception. Day's analyses of Golden Age western films in light of Homer and Virgil are nuanced and deeply persuasive. Her work has much to teach us about heroism, gender and the shaping of cultural identity, in both the present and the past.' Geoff Bakewell, L. Palmer Brown Professor of Interdisciplinary Humanities, Rhodes College An exploration of ancient epic and American Western film as parallel foundational cultural narratives Cowboy Classics looks at the remarkably intimate connection between Western film and Greek and Roman epic, each of which focuses on a mythic-historical period from the past where our societal notions of what constitutes heroism, masculinity and honour were first forged. Through her insightful analysis of Red River, High Noon, Shane, The Searchers and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence, Kirsten Day illustrates the parallels between these seemingly disparate yet closely related genres, allowing us to see each through a new lens while gaining insight into the persistence of these concepts in our world today. Kirsten Day is Associate Professor of Classics at Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois. Cover image: The Searchers, John Ford, 1956 (c) Warner Bros/The Kobal Collection Cover design: [EUP logo] edinburghuniversitypress.com [please note new web address] ISBN 978-1-4744-0246-0 Barcode