This is a shortened and rearranged version of The Songs of Homer, Professor Kirk’s vivid and comprehensive account of the background and development of the Homeric poems and of their quality as literature. His purpose remains the same: to develop a comprehensive and unified view of the nature of the Iliad and the Odyssey, of their relation to the oral heroic poetry of the Greek Dark Age, and of their creation as poems by two great singers in the eighth century BC. The essential attitudes and arguments of the earlier work have been retained, but the whole has been reduced in detail by some two-fifths. The sections on the historical background, the possibilities of Achaean and Aeolic epic, and the technical aspects of the language have been abbreviated most, and those dealing with oral poetry and the Iliad and Odyssey as literature least of all. Professor Kirk has also changed the order and increased the number of chapters. Almost all the Greek is translated, and the new version can be more easily used by those who are primarily interested in classics in translation, comparative literature, oral poetry, or the epic in general.

This work provides a text and an extended study of those fragments of Heraclitus' philosophical utterances whose subject is the world as a whole rather than man and his part in it. Professor Kirk discusses fully the fragments which he finds genuine and treats in passing others that were generally accepted as genuine but here considered paraphrased or spurious. In securing his text, Professor Kirk has taken into account all the ancient testimonies, and in his critical work he attached particular importance to the context in which each fragment is set. To each he gives a selective apparatus, a literal translation and and an extended commentary in which problems of textual and philosophical criticism are discussed. Ancient accounts of Heraclitus were inadequate and misleading, and as Kirk wrote, understanding was often hindered by excessive dogmatism and a selective use of the fragments. Professor Kirk's method is critical and objective, and his 1954 work marks a significant advance in the study of Presocratic thought.

This prose translation of the The Odyssey is so successful that is has taken its place as on the few really outstanding version of Homer's famous epic poem. It is the story of the return of Odysseus from the siege of Troy to his home in Ithaca, and of the vengeance he takes on the suitors of his wife Penelope. Odysseus' account of his adventures since leaving Troy includes his encounter with the huntress Circe, his visit to the Underworld, and the lure of the Sirens as he sails between Scylla and Charybdis.
About the Series: 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.

The Songs of Homer (Cambridge University Press, 1962) was a major contribution to Homeric studies, establishing important theories about the composition, structure and transmission of the monumental poems. In this 1976 volume, Geoffrey Kirk returns to Homer, but the themes are largely different. He considers in particular the nature of oral and epic poetry, and the meaning of an oral tradition. There are problems here of interest not only to classicists and Homeric specialists but also to students of English and comparative literature, and to anthropologists concerned with the literature of traditional societies. Those pieces that were previously published were revised and unified for the volume. The longest section, on 'the oral and the literary epic', is derived from the J. H. Gray Lectures, which Professor Kirk delivered in Cambridge in 1974 and which had not been previously published in any form.

The literature of the western world begins with one of its greatest achievements. The stories of the wrath of Achilles and its consequences, and of the wanderings of Odysseus, have been admired from ancient times to the present day. The two great epics can be read and enjoyed, unreflectingly, as tales of adventure; or they can be studied as literature, yielding, as insight and understanding grow, a deeper and more permanent pleasure. Professor Kirk's book is the means to this pleasure. It is a vivid and comprehensive account of the background and development of the Homeric poems and of their quality as literature. The epics are seen primarily as oral poetry, sung for centuries by illiterate singers; and from this view rises discussion of the problems of authorship and transmission. The historical, archaeological and linguistic evidence is also examined; and the possible contributions of the Mycenaean period and of the subsequent Dark Age are shown in a fresh light.

This is the third volume in the major six-volume Commentary on Homer's Iliad prepared under the General Editorship of Professor G. S. Kirk. It opens with two introductory chapters: the first on Homeric diction (on which emphasis is maintained throughout the Commentary); the second on the contributions that comparative studies have made to seeing the Homeric epics in sharper perspective. In the commentary Dr Hainsworth confronts in an intentionally even-handed manner the serious problems posed by the ninth, tenth and twelfth books of The Iliad, seeking by means of a succinct discussion and a brief bibliography of recent contributions to furnish the user with a point of entry into the often voluminous scholarship devoted to these questions. The Greek text is not included.

This is the sixth and final volume of the major Commentary on Homer's Iliad now being prepared under the General Editorship of Professor G. S. Kirk. It discusses the last four books of the poem in detail, and its main purpose is to help readers to appreciate the poetic and narrative qualities of the work. There is no other study comparable to this in scale and detail in English. The introduction also discusses the structure and main themes of the poem, its relationship to the Odyssey, and the way in which the Homeric poems were interpreted in antiquity. The Greek text is not included. This volume contains a consolidated index of the Greek words in all six volumes.

This, the fourth volume in the six-volume Commentary on the Iliad being prepared under the General Editorship of Professor G. S. Kirk, covers Books 13-16, including the Battle for the Ships, the Deception of Zeus and the Death of Patroklos. Three introductory essays discuss the role of Homer's gods in his poetry; the origins and development of the epic diction; and the transmission of the text, from the bard's lips to our own manuscripts. It is now widely recognized that the first masterpiece of Western literature is an oral poem; Professor Janko's detailed commentary aims to show how this recognition can clarify many linguistic and textual problems, entailing a radical reassessment of the work of Homer's Alexandrian editors. The commentary also explores the poet's subtle creativity in adapting traditional materials, whether formulae, typical scenes, mythology, or imagery, so as best to move, inspire, and entertain his audience, ancient and modern alike. Discussion of the poem's literary qualities and structure is, where possible, kept separate from that of more technical matters.

This is the fifth volume in the major six-volume Commentary on Homer's Iliad now being prepared under the general- editorship of Professor G. S. Kirk. Volume I was published in 1985, Volume II in 1990; both were edited by Professor Kirk himself. Like its predecessors, the present volume (the first to appear from the hand of one of Professor Kirk's four collaborators) consists of four introductory essays (including discussions of similes and other features of narrative style) followed by the Commentary. The Greek text is not included. This project is the first large-scale commentary on The Iliad, for nearly one hundred years, and takes special account of language, style and thematic structure as well as of the complex social and cultural background to the work. The Commentary is an essential reference work for all students of Greek literature, and archaeologists and historians will also find that it contains matters of relevance to them.

This is the second volume in the major six-volume commentary on the Iliad now being prepared under Professor Kirk's direction. The volume consists of four introductory essays followed by the commentary itself (the Greek text is not included). This project is the first large-scale commentary on the Iliad for nearly 100 years, and takes special account of language, style, and thematic structure while examining the complex social and cultural background of Homer's epic.

This is the second volume in the major six-volume commentary on The Iliad now being prepared under the general editorship of Professor Kirk. Volume I was published in 1985. As before the volume consists of four introductory essays followed by the commentary itself. The Greek text is not included. This project is the first large-scale commentary on The Iliad for nearly 100 years, and takes special account of language, style and thematic structure as well as of the complex social and cultural background to the work.

The first volume of a projected six-volume commentary on Homer's Iliad. Four introductory chapters, dealing in particular with rhythm and formular techniques, are followed by the detailed commentary.

The Bacchae is the last and greatest of Euripides' plays. Its theme of the cost of resisting the gods who reside in human nature itself is still of immediate interest to audiences and readers and has inspired modern interpretations. Professor Kirk has made a translation which is both accurate and readable. This he supports with an analytic commentary and a substantial introductory essay which provide the Greek-less reader with essential background information and offer interpretation of a kind usually found only in Greek editions. This is a translation for students of Greek tragedy, particularly in courses on classics in translations or classical civilisation. It will also be useful for students of drama and of English and other literatures.

Beginning with a revised introduction surveying the predecessors of the Presocratics, this new edition traces the intellectual revolution initiated by Thales in the early 6th century B.C. to its culmination in the metaphysics of Parmenides and the physical theories of Anaxagoras and the Atomists of the fifth century.

'Fitzgerald has solved virtually every problem that has plagued translators of Homer.' Atlantic Monthly The Iliad is the story of a few days' fighting in the tenth year of the legendary war between the Greeks and the Trojans, which broke out when Paris, son of King Priam of Troy, abducted the fabulously beautiful Helen, wife of King Menelaus of Sparta. After a quarrel between the Greek commander, Agamemnon, and the greatest of the Greek warriors, Achilles, the gods become more closely involved in the action. Their intervention leads to the tragic death of Hector, the Trojan leader, and to the final defeat of the Trojans. But the Iliad is much more than a series of battle scenes. It is a work of extraordinary pathos and profundity that concerns itself with issues as fundamental as the meaning of life and death. Even the heroic ethic itself - with its emphasis on pride, honour, prowess in battle, and submission to the inexorable will of the gods - is not left unquestioned. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range 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, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.