Explores the range and complexity of human emotions and their transmission across cultural traditionsWhat makes us laugh and cry, sometimes at the same time? How do these two primal, seemingly discrete and non-verbal modes of expression intersect in everyday life and ritual, and what range of emotions do they evoke? How may they be voiced, shaped and coloured in literature and liturgy, art and music? This volume brings together scholars from diverse periods and disciplines of Hellenic and Byzantine studies to explore the shifting shapes and functions of laughter and tears, with consideration given to visual, performative and musical arts, as well as to written records. It provides rich insights into the range and complexity of human emotions and interactions, and their transmission across cultural traditions.