The sixth-century BC Greek poet Stesichorus was highly esteemed in antiquity; but by about AD 400 his works had been almost completely lost. Over recent decades, however, the recovery of substantial portions of his poetry has enabled a reassessment of his significance. These essays by leading scholars analyse different aspects of his oeuvre: the relationship between Stesichorus and epic, particularly his response to the Homeric poems; his narrative technique and his handling of erotic themes; and his influence and reception in fifth-century Athens, in Hellenistic scholarship and poetry, in the Renaissance, and in poetry today. The volume as a whole - the first dedicated to this author - amply demonstrates the extraordinary creativity and continuing vitality of the poet from Himera.

Sophocles' Ajax describes the fall of a mighty warrior denied the honour which he believed was his due. This new edition of the play presents a text and critical apparatus which take full advantage of recent advances in our understanding of Sophoclean manuscripts and scholarship. The introduction and commentary scrutinise all important aspects of the drama from detailed analysis of style, language and metre to consideration of wider issues such as ethics, rhetoric and characterisation. Notorious dramaturgical problems, including the staging of Ajax's suicide, receive particular attention; so too do questions of literary history, such as the date of the play and Sophocles' creative interaction with previous accounts of the myth. The translation which accompanies the commentary ensures that this edition will be accessible to Hellenists of all levels of experience, as well as to readers with a general interest in the history of drama."

No ancient poet has a wider following today than Sappho; her status as the most famous woman poet from Greco-Roman antiquity, and as one of the most prominent lesbian voices in history, has ensured a continuing fascination with her work down the centuries. The Cambridge Companion to Sappho provides an up-to-date survey of this remarkable, inspiring, and mysterious Greek writer, whose poetic corpus has been significantly expanded in recent years thanks to the discovery of new papyrus sources. Containing an introduction, prologue and thirty-three chapters, the book examines Sappho's historical, social, and literary contexts, the nature of her poetic achievement, the transmission, loss, and rediscovery of her poetry, and the reception of that poetry in cultures far removed from ancient Greece, including Latin America, India, China, and Japan. All Greek is translated, making the volume accessible to everyone interested in one of the most significant creative artists of all time.

Sophocles' Ajax describes the fall of a mighty warrior denied the honour which he believed was his due. This new edition of the play presents a text and critical apparatus which take full advantage of recent advances in our understanding of Sophoclean manuscripts and scholarship. The introduction and commentary scrutinise all important aspects of the drama from detailed analysis of style, language and metre to consideration of wider issues such as ethics, rhetoric and characterisation. Notorious dramaturgical problems, including the staging of Ajax's suicide, receive particular attention; so too do questions of literary history, such as the date of the play and Sophocles' creative interaction with previous accounts of the myth. The translation which accompanies the commentary ensures that this edition will be accessible to Hellenists of all levels of experience, as well as to readers with a general interest in the history of drama."

For centuries the myth of Oedipus, the man who unwittingly killed his father and married his mother, has exerted a powerful hold on the human imagination; but no retelling of that myth has ever come close, in passion, drama, and menace to the one that we find in Sophocles' Oedipus the King. This new full-scale edition of that classic play - the first in any language since 1883 - offers a freshly constituted text based on consultation of manuscripts ancient and mediaeval. The Introduction explores the play's dating and production, its creative engagement with pre-Sophoclean versions, its major themes, and its reception during antiquity. The Commentary offers a detailed analysis, line by line and scene by scene, of the play's language, staging, and dramatic impact. The translation incorporated into the commentary ensures that the book will be accessible to all readers interested in what is arguably the greatest Greek tragedy of all.

How were women represented in Greek tragedy? This question lies at the heart of much modern scholarship on ancient drama, yet it has typically been approached using evidence drawn only from the thirty-two tragedies that survive complete - neglecting tragic fragments, especially those recently discovered and often very substantial fragmentary papyri from plays that had been thought lost. Drawing on the latest research on both gender in tragedy and on tragic fragments, the essays in this volume examine this question from a fresh perspective, shedding light on important mythological characters such as Pasiphae, Hypsipyle, and Europa, on themes such as violence, sisterhood, vengeance, and sex, and on the methodology of a discipline which needs to take fragmentary evidence to heart in order to gain a fuller understanding of ancient tragedy. All Greek is translated to ensure wide accessibility.

No ancient poet has a wider following today than Sappho; her status as the most famous woman poet from Greco-Roman antiquity, and as one of the most prominent lesbian voices in history, has ensured a continuing fascination with her work down the centuries. The Cambridge Companion to Sappho provides an up-to-date survey of this remarkable, inspiring, and mysterious Greek writer, whose poetic corpus has been significantly expanded in recent years thanks to the discovery of new papyrus sources. Containing an introduction, prologue and thirty-three chapters, the book examines Sappho's historical, social, and literary contexts, the nature of her poetic achievement, the transmission, loss, and rediscovery of her poetry, and the reception of that poetry in cultures far removed from ancient Greece, including Latin America, India, China, and Japan. All Greek is translated, making the volume accessible to everyone interested in one of the most significant creative artists of all time.

How were women represented in Greek tragedy? This question lies at the heart of much modern scholarship on ancient drama, yet it has typically been approached using evidence drawn only from the thirty-two tragedies that survive complete - neglecting tragic fragments, especially those recently discovered and often very substantial fragmentary papyri from plays that had been thought lost. Drawing on the latest research on both gender in tragedy and on tragic fragments, the essays in this volume examine this question from a fresh perspective, shedding light on important mythological characters such as Pasiphae, Hypsipyle, and Europa, on themes such as violence, sisterhood, vengeance, and sex, and on the methodology of a discipline which needs to take fragmentary evidence to heart in order to gain a fuller understanding of ancient tragedy. All Greek is translated to ensure wide accessibility.

The sixth-century BC Greek poet Stesichorus was highly esteemed in antiquity; but by about AD 400 his works had been almost completely lost. Over recent decades, however, the recovery of substantial portions of his poetry has enabled a reassessment of his significance. These essays by leading scholars analyse different aspects of his oeuvre: the relationship between Stesichorus and epic, particularly his response to the Homeric poems; his narrative technique and his handling of erotic themes; and his influence and reception in fifth-century Athens, in Hellenistic scholarship and poetry, in the Renaissance, and in poetry today. The volume as a whole - the first dedicated to this author - amply demonstrates the extraordinary creativity and continuing vitality of the poet from Himera.

Stesichorus' lyric poetry vividly recreates the most dramatic episodes of Greek myth: the labours of Heracles, the sack of Troy, the vengeance of Orestes, and more besides. It can be appreciated today as never before, thanks to the recent discovery of ancient manuscripts buried for some two millennia in the sands of Egypt. This fresh edition of Stesichorus' poems presents the first full-scale analysis of all his surviving works. The detailed introduction and commentary investigate a wide range of key issues, such as Stesichorus' imagery and style, his narrative technique, and his mythological innovations. The controversial question of how Stesichorus' poems were originally performed receives careful scrutiny; particular attention is paid to the fascinating story of the transmission, disappearance, and recovery of his work. A translation integrated with the commentary renders this book accessible to all readers with an interest in early Greek poetry and its legacy.

Stesichorus' lyric poetry vividly recreates the most dramatic episodes of Greek myth: the labours of Heracles, the sack of Troy, the vengeance of Orestes, and more besides. It can be appreciated today as never before, thanks to the recent discovery of ancient manuscripts buried for some two millennia in the sands of Egypt. This fresh edition of Stesichorus' poems presents the first full-scale analysis of all his surviving works. The detailed introduction and commentary investigate a wide range of key issues, such as Stesichorus' imagery and style, his narrative technique, and his mythological innovations. The controversial question of how Stesichorus' poems were originally performed receives careful scrutiny; particular attention is paid to the fascinating story of the transmission, disappearance, and recovery of his work. A translation integrated with the commentary renders this book accessible to all readers with an interest in early Greek poetry and its legacy.

One of Sophocles' more accomplished dramas, the Electra has always generated a good deal of scholarly debate. This 2007 edition, the first full-scale commentary on any play of Sophocles since the nineteenth century, explores afresh long-standing controversies such as the moral status of the killing of Clytemnestra, while also investigating many subjects which have traditionally attracted less attention, such as the place of rhetoric within the drama, the use of typical scenes, and allusions to epinician poetry. It provides original metrical analyses of the lyrical sections of the play and a revised Greek text. Research on the papyri, mediaeval manuscripts and printed editions has led to a more accurate apparatus criticus than ever before, with many conjectures attributed to their rightful owners.

Pindar's Pythian Eleven is a miniature masterpiece: a poem praising a young athlete which presents a vivid and important account of the Agamemnon legend. Yet it contains so many difficulties (of text, metre, dating and interpretation) that even Wilamowitz regarded it as one of Pindar's most obscure poems. This 2007 edition (the first full-scale treatment that the poem had ever received) provides answers to the problems that have prevented proper appreciation of the work. In addition to the full introduction and commentary, the book also has a text based on re-examination of the manuscripts, detailed metrical discussion, and a translation.

Pindar's Pythian Eleven is a miniature masterpiece: a poem praising a young athlete which presents a vivid and important account of the Agamemnon legend. Yet it contains so many difficulties (of text, metre, dating and interpretation) that even Wilamowitz regarded it as one of Pindar's most obscure poems. This 2007 edition (the first full-scale treatment that the poem had ever received) provides answers to the problems that have prevented proper appreciation of the work. In addition to the full introduction and commentary, the book also has a text based on re-examination of the manuscripts, detailed metrical discussion, and a translation.

For centuries the myth of Oedipus, the man who unwittingly killed his father and married his mother, has exerted a powerful hold on the human imagination; but no retelling of that myth has ever come close, in passion, drama, and menace to the one that we find in Sophocles' Oedipus the King. This new full-scale edition of that classic play - the first in any language since 1883 - offers a freshly constituted text based on consultation of manuscripts ancient and mediaeval. The Introduction explores the play's dating and production, its creative engagement with pre-Sophoclean versions, its major themes, and its reception during antiquity. The Commentary offers a detailed analysis, line by line and scene by scene, of the play's language, staging, and dramatic impact. The translation incorporated into the commentary ensures that the book will be accessible to all readers interested in what is arguably the greatest Greek tragedy of all.

Produced in Athens during the fifth century BC, the tragedies of Sophocles are a high point in world literature, vividly depicting unforgettable characters confronted with emotional crises, moral dilemmas, and the inscrutable ways of the gods. This volume examines Sophocles' reputation as a dramatic poet both in his own day and later in antiquity, considering how it was that some of his plays survived from his time to ours. It investigates the qualities of those plays, focusing on key aspects of Sophoclean dramaturgy such as stagecraft, narrative, rhetoric, and heroism. And it incorporates within its discussion not just the seven plays that survive in full, but those major fragments discovered in recent years which shed so much light on Sophocles' extraordinary ability as a poet and a dramatist. All Greek is translated, making this volume accessible to anyone with an interest in one of the greatest playwrights of all time.

One of Sophocles' more accomplished dramas, the Electra has always generated a good deal of scholarly debate. This 2007 edition, the first full-scale commentary on any play of Sophocles since the nineteenth century, explores afresh long-standing controversies such as the moral status of the killing of Clytemnestra, while also investigating many subjects which have traditionally attracted less attention, such as the place of rhetoric within the drama, the use of typical scenes, and allusions to epinician poetry. It provides original metrical analyses of the lyrical sections of the play and a revised Greek text. Research on the papyri, mediaeval manuscripts and printed editions has led to a more accurate apparatus criticus than ever before, with many conjectures attributed to their rightful owners.

Martin West is widely recognized as one of the most significant classicists of all time. Over nearly half a century his publications have transformed our understanding of Greek poetry. This volume celebrates his achievement with twenty-five papers on different areas of the subject which he has illuminated, written by distinguished scholars from four continents. It also includes West's Balzan Prize acceptance speech, 'Forward into the Past', in which he explains his approach to literary scholarship, and a complete bibliography of his academic publications.