Others: Positive This is a new translation of the only extant Greek epic poem to bridge the gap between Homer and late antiquity - a major product of the brilliant world of the Ptolemaic court at Alexandria, written by Apollonius of Rhodes in the third century BC. In telling the dramatic story of Jason's quest for the Golden Fleece and his relations with the dangerous Colchian princess, Medea, Apollonius explores many of the fundamental aspects of life in a highly original way: love, deceit, heroism, man's ignorance of the divine, the limits of science. A major critical re-evaluation of the poem - one of Virgil's primary 'sources' for the Aeneid - is now under way among classicists and scholars in the field of comparative literature. This volume offers the first scholarly translation into English for many years, combining readability with accuracy and an attention to detail that will be helpful to readers both with and without Greek. The explanatory notes and accompanying maps provide all necessary background information to enjoy the poem, while a comprehensive introductory essay sites the poem in its cultural and historical context.
Genres: poetry
Lists: …
Theocritus
1545 · 143 pages · 2 reviews
Others: Positive"This is a new annotated translation of the Greek poems of Theocritus of Syracuse (first half of the third century B.C.), the inventor of 'bucolic' or 'pastoral' poetry, the principal model for Virgil in the Eclogues, and hence a major figure in the literary traditions which antiquity bequeathed to Western literature. Although it is the pastoral poems for which he is best known, Theocritus' oeuvre also includes hymns to the gods, brilliant mime depictions of everyday life, and encomia of the great, such as Ptolemy Philadelphus. Theocritus is our best witness to the rich variety of poetic forms which flourished in the Hellenistic age."--BOOK JACKET.
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Pindar
2007 · 240 pages · 1 review
Others: PositiveThe Greek poet Pindar (c. 518-428 BC) composed victory odes for winners in the ancient Games, including the Olympics. He celebrated the victories of athletes competing in foot races, horse races, boxing, wrestling, all-in fighting and the pentathlon, and his Odes are fascinating not only for their poetic qualities, but for what they tell us about the Games. Pindar praises the victor by comparing him to mythical heroes and the gods, but also reminds the athlete of his human limitations. The Odes contain versions of some of the best known Greek myths, such as Jason and the Argonauts, and Perseus and Medusa, and are a valuable source for insights on Greek religion and ethics. Pindar's startling use of language, including striking metaphors, bold syntax, and enigmatic expressions, makes reading his poetry a uniquely rewarding experience. Anthony Verity's lucid translations stay as close as they can to the original Greek, without sacrificing readability. The text is complemented by a succinct introduction by Stephen Instone outlining the essential nature of Pindar's Odes as well as explaining the nature of the Games, the events, and the participants. Explanatory notes help the reader to navigate Pindar's sometimes compressed and allusive expressive technique. About the For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the broadest spectrum of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, voluminous notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.
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Sappho
2002 · 416 pages · 1 review
Others: PositiveA bilingual edition of the work of the Greek poet Sappho, in a new translation by Anne Carson.Sappho lived on the island of Lesbos from about 630 b.c. She was a musical genius who devoted her life to composing and performing songs. Of the nine books of lyrics Sappho is said to have composed, none of the music is extant and only one poem has survived complete. All the rest are fragments. In If Not, Winter Carson presents all of Sappho's fragments in Greek and in English. Brackets and space give the reader a sense of what is absent as well as what is present on the papyrus. Carson's translation illuminates Sappho's reflections on love, desire, marriage, exile, cushions, bees, old age, shame, time, chickpeas and many other aspects of the human situation.From the Hardcover edition.
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Claudia Rankine
2014 · 160 pages · 5 reviews
Others: Overwhelmingly positiveYou take in things you don't want all the time. The second you hear or see some ordinary movement, all its intended targets, all the meanings behind the retreating sounds, as far as you are able to see, come into focus. Hold up, did you just hear, did you just say, did you just see, did you just do that? Then the voice in your head silently tells you to take your foot off your throat because just getting along shouldn't be an ambition. --from back cover "Claudia Rankine's bold new book recounts mounting racial aggressions in ongoing encounters in twenty-first-century daily life and in the media. Some of these encounters are slights, seeming slips of the tongue, and some are intentional offensives in the classroom, at the supermarket, at home, on the tennis court with Serena Williams and the soccer field with Zinedine Zidane, online, on TV -- everywhere, all the time. The accumulative stresses come to bear on a person's ability to speak, perform, and stay alive. Our addressability is tied to the state of our belonging, Rankine argues, as are our assumptions and expectations of citizenship. In essay, image, and poetry, Citizen is a powerful testament to the individual and collective effects of racism in our contemporary, often named 'post-race' society." -- from publisher's description.
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Hesiod
1953 · 87 pages · 2 reviews
Others: PositiveHesiod's straightforward account of family conflict among the gods is the best and earliest evidence of what the ancient Greeks believed about the beginning of the world. Includes Hesiod's "Works and Days", lines 1-201, and material from the Library of Apollodorus.
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Lucretius
1486 · 285 pages · 1 review
Others: PositiveThis is regarded as a seminal text of Epicurean science and philosophy. Epicurians discarded both the idea of immortality and the superstitious worship of wilful gods for a life of serene contentment in the available pleasures of nature. Lucretius (c100-c55BC), in elucidating this belief, steers the reader through an extraordinary breadth of subject matter, ranging from the indestructibility of atoms and the discovery of fire to the folly of romantic love and the phenomena of clouds and rainstorms.
What made the match, strongest first
Loved itI just think it's a really reasonable intriguing story and Jason is quite an interesting hero in comparison to a lot of the heroes in homers work which were earlier epic poems that had a massive influence on the genre because he's a bit useless
