Veronique Dasen here examines dwarfs in myth and everyday life in ancient Egypt and Greece. In both cultures physical beauty was highly admired, even to excess. What happened to those whose appearance did not conform to the `ideal proportion'? The spectacular forms of dwarfism were always afocus of interest, and it is the most depicted disorder in antiquity. In this study Dr Dasen brings together for the first time a whole range of mostly unpublished or little known iconographic, epigraphic, literary, and anthropological evidence. She covers areas such as the history of caricature and the portrait; medical history, in particular the development of theperception of congenital disorders; social history; and history of religion, with questions on the magical and ritual efficacy of the malformed in sacred and theatrical contexts. She considers also the complex relations between mythology and ethnography, as shown, for example, in the Greek myth ofthe Pygmies. This is a fascinating work, with a wealth of insights for anyone interested in the history of medicine or the ancient world. | Dwarfs in Ancient Egypt and Greece by Veronique Dasen, Hardcover | Indigo Chapters