This volume collects the most recent essays of Richard Hunter, one of the world's leading experts in the field of Greek and Latin literature. The essays range across all periods of ancient literature from Homer to late antiquity, with a particular focus not just on the texts in their original contexts, but also on how they were interpreted and exploited for both literary and more broadly cultural purposes later in antiquity. Taken together, the essays sketch a picture of a continuous tradition of critical and historical engagement with the literature of the past from the period of Aristophanes and then Plato and Aristotle in classical Athens to the rich prose literature of the Second Sophistic. Richard Hunter's earlier essays are collected in On Coming After (Berlin 2008).

This volume is a collection of fifteen papers written by a team of international experts in the field of Hellenistic literature. In an attempt to reassess methods such as the detection of intertextual allusions or the general notion of neoteric poetics, the authors combine current critical trends (narratology, genre-theory, aesthetics, cultural studies) with a close reading of Hellenistic texts. Contributions address a wealth of topics in a variety of texts which include not only poems by the major Alexandrians but also prose works, epigrams, epigraphic material and scholia. Perspectives range from linguistic analysis to interdisciplinary studies, whereas post-classical literature is also seen against the background of the cultural and ideological contexts of the era. Besides reviewing preconceptions of Hellenistic scholarship, this volume aims at providing fresh insights into Hellenistic literature and aesthetics.

Plutarch's essay 'How to Study Poetry' offers a set of reading practices intended to remove the potential damage that poetry can do to the moral health of young readers. It opens a window on to a world of ancient education and scholarship which can seem rather alien to those brought up in the highly sophisticated world of modern literary theory and criticism. The full Introduction and Commentary, by two of the world's leading scholars in the field, trace the origins and intellectual affiliations of Plutarch's method and fully illustrate the background to each of his examples. As such this book may serve as an introduction to the whole subject of ancient reading practices and literary criticism. The Commentary also pays particular attention to grammar, syntax and style, and sets this essay within the context of Plutarch's thought and writing more generally.

Thousands of Greek verse epitaphs, covering a millennium of history, survive inscribed or painted on stone. These largely anonymous poems shed rich light on areas such as ancient moral values, religious ideas, gender relations and attitudes, as well as on the transmission and reception of 'canonical' poetry; many of these poems are of very high literary quality. This is the first modern commentary on a selection of these poems. Problems of syntax, metre and language are fully explained, accompanied by sophisticated literary discussion of the poems. There is a full introduction to the nature of these poems and to their context within Greek ideas of death and the afterlife. This comprehensive edition will be of interest to advanced undergraduates and graduate students studying Greek literature, as well as to scholars.

Thousands of Greek verse epitaphs, covering a millennium of history, survive inscribed or painted on stone. These largely anonymous poems shed rich light on areas such as ancient moral values, religious ideas, gender relations and attitudes, as well as on the transmission and reception of 'canonical' poetry; many of these poems are of very high literary quality. This is the first modern commentary on a selection of these poems. Problems of syntax, metre and language are fully explained, accompanied by sophisticated literary discussion of the poems. There is a full introduction to the nature of these poems and to their context within Greek ideas of death and the afterlife. This comprehensive edition will be of interest to advanced undergraduates and graduate students studying Greek literature, as well as to scholars.

This book offers a series of studies of the idea and practice of reperformance as it affects ancient lyric poetry and drama. Special attention is paid to the range of phenomena which fall under the heading 'reperformance', to how poets use both the reality and the 'imaginary' of reperformance to create a deep temporal sense in their work and to how audiences use their knowledge of reperformance conditions to interpret what they see and hear. The studies range in scope from Pindar and fifth-century tragedy and comedy to the choral performances and reconstructions of the Imperial Age. All chapters are informed by recent developments in performance studies, and all Greek and Latin is translated.

Euripides' Cyclops is the only example of Attic satyr-drama which survives intact. It is a brilliant dramatisation of the famous story from Homer's Odyssey of how Odysseus blinded the Cyclops after making him drunk. The play has much to teach us, not just about satyr-drama, but also about the reception and adaptation of Homer in classical Athens; the brutal savagery of the Homeric monster is here replaced by an ironised presentation of Athenian social custom. Problems of syntax, metre and language are fully explained, and there is a sophisticated literary discussion of the play. This edition will be of interest to advanced undergraduates and graduate students studying Greek literature, as well as to scholars.

This is a series of innovative studies in the textual and literary criticism of Latin literature, exploring how these two branches of the discipline are mutually supportive. The contributors include many leading scholars in the field. Individual essays are devoted to Catullus, Cicero, Horace, Lucretius, Ovid, Tacitus and Virgil, and there are also essays on the Renaissance reception of Virgil and on principles of editorial practice. The collection celebrates the extraordinary contribution which Michael Reeve has made and continues to make to Latin studies.

Through a series of innovative critical readings Richard Hunter builds a picture of how the ancients discussed the meaning of literary works and their importance in society. He pays particular attention to the interplay of criticism and creativity by not treating criticism in isolation from the works which the critics discussed. Attention is given both to the development of a history of criticism, as far as our sources allow, and to the constant recurrence of similar themes across the centuries. At the head of the book stands the contest of Aeschylus and Euripides in Aristophanes' Frogs which foreshadows more of the subsequent critical tradition than is often realised. Other chapters are devoted to ancient reflection on Greek and Roman comedy, to the Augustan critic Dionysius of Halicarnassus, to 'Longinus', On the Sublime, and to Plutarch. All Greek and Latin is translated.

Homer was the greatest and most influential Greek poet. In this book, Richard Hunter explores central themes in the poems' reception in antiquity, paying particular attention to Homer's importance in shaping ancient culture. Subjects include the geographical and educational breadth of Homeric reception, the literary and theological influence of Homer's depiction of the gods, Homeric poetry and sympotic culture, scholarly and rhetorical approaches to Homer, Homer in the satires of Plutarch and Lucian, and how Homer shaped ideas about the power of music and song. This is a major and innovative contribution to the study of the dominant literary force in Greek culture and of the Greek literary engagement with the past. Through the study of their influence and reception, this book also sheds rich light on the Homeric poems themselves. All Greek and Latin are translated.

This book selects central texts illustrating the literary reception of Hesiod's Works and Days in antiquity and considers how these moments were crucial in fashioning the idea of 'didactic literature'. A central chapter considers the development of ancient ideas about didactic poetry, relying not so much on explicit critical theory as on how Hesiod was read and used from the earliest period of reception onwards. Other chapters consider Hesiodic reception in the archaic poetry of Alcaeus and Simonides, in the classical prose of Plato, Xenophon and Isocrates, in the Aesopic tradition, and in the imperial prose of Dio Chrysostom and Lucian; there is also a groundbreaking study of Plutarch's extensive commentary on the Works and Days and an account of ancient ideas of Hesiod's linguistic style. This is a major and innovative contribution to the study of Hesiod's remarkable poem and to the Greek literary engagement with the past.

Apollonius' epic, the Argonautica, is not just a masterpiece of Hellenistic poetry drawing on the entire tradition of previous Greek literature, but was enormously influential on Latin epic, especially Virgil's Aeneid. Book IV tells the story of the Argonauts' return to Greece with the Golden Fleece, their nightmarish trips through the uncharted rivers of central Europe and the desert wastes of North Africa, the terrible killing of Medea's brother, and the anguish of the young girl which foreshadows her bloody future. This is the first modern commentary in English. Problems of syntax and language are fully explained, and there is a sophisticated discussion of the poem as literature. It will be useful for advanced undergraduates and graduate students studying Greek poetry, as well as of interest to scholars.

Apollonius' epic, the Argonautica, is not just a masterpiece of Hellenistic poetry drawing on the entire tradition of previous Greek literature, but was enormously influential on Latin epic, especially Virgil's Aeneid. Book IV tells the story of the Argonauts' return to Greece with the Golden Fleece, their nightmarish trips through the uncharted rivers of central Europe and the desert wastes of North Africa, the terrible killing of Medea's brother, and the anguish of the young girl which foreshadows her bloody future. This is the first modern commentary in English. Problems of syntax and language are fully explained, and there is a sophisticated discussion of the poem as literature. It will be useful for advanced undergraduates and graduate students studying Greek poetry, as well as of interest to scholars.

Exploring both how Plato engaged with existing literary forms and how later literature then created 'classics' out of some of Plato's richest works, this book includes chapters on such subjects as rewritings of the Apology and re-imaginings of Socrates' defence, Plato's high style and the criticisms it attracted, and how Petronius and Apuleius threaded Plato into their wonderfully comic texts. The scene for these case studies is set through a thorough examination of how the tradition constructed the relationship between Plato and Homer, of how Plato adapted poetic forms of imagery to his philosophical project in the Republic, of shared techniques of representation between poet and philosopher and of foreshadowings of later modes of criticism in his Ion. This is a major contribution to Platonic studies, to the history of Platonic reception from the fourth century BC to the third century AD and to the literature of the Second Sophistic.

This book selects central texts illustrating the literary reception of Hesiod's Works and Days in antiquity and considers how these moments were crucial in fashioning the idea of 'didactic literature'. A central chapter considers the development of ancient ideas about didactic poetry, relying not so much on explicit critical theory as on how Hesiod was read and used from the earliest period of reception onwards. Other chapters consider Hesiodic reception in the archaic poetry of Alcaeus and Simonides, in the classical prose of Plato, Xenophon and Isocrates, in the Aesopic tradition, and in the imperial prose of Dio Chrysostom and Lucian; there is also a groundbreaking study of Plutarch's extensive commentary on the Works and Days and an account of ancient ideas of Hesiod's linguistic style. This is a major and innovative contribution to the study of Hesiod's remarkable poem and to the Greek literary engagement with the past.

Exploring both how Plato engaged with existing literary forms and how later literature then created 'classics' out of some of Plato's richest works, this book includes chapters on such subjects as rewritings of the Apology and re-imaginings of Socrates' defence, Plato's high style and the criticisms it attracted, and how Petronius and Apuleius threaded Plato into their wonderfully comic texts. The scene for these case studies is set through a thorough examination of how the tradition constructed the relationship between Plato and Homer, of how Plato adapted poetic forms of imagery to his philosophical project in the Republic, of shared techniques of representation between poet and philosopher and of foreshadowings of later modes of criticism in his Ion. This is a major contribution to Platonic studies, to the history of Platonic reception from the fourth century BC to the third century AD and to the literature of the Second Sophistic.

Plutarch's essay 'How to Study Poetry' offers a set of reading practices intended to remove the potential damage that poetry can do to the moral health of young readers. It opens a window on to a world of ancient education and scholarship which can seem rather alien to those brought up in the highly sophisticated world of modern literary theory and criticism. The full Introduction and Commentary, by two of the world's leading scholars in the field, trace the origins and intellectual affiliations of Plutarch's method and fully illustrate the background to each of his examples. As such this book may serve as an introduction to the whole subject of ancient reading practices and literary criticism. The Commentary also pays particular attention to grammar, syntax and style, and sets this essay within the context of Plutarch's thought and writing more generally.

Through a series of innovative critical readings Richard Hunter builds a picture of how the ancients discussed the meaning of literary works and their importance in society. He pays particular attention to the interplay of criticism and creativity by not treating criticism in isolation from the works which the critics discussed. Attention is given both to the development of a history of criticism, as far as our sources allow, and to the constant recurrence of similar themes across the centuries. At the head of the book stands the contest of Aeschylus and Euripides in Aristophanes' Frogs which foreshadows more of the subsequent critical tradition than is often realised. Other chapters are devoted to ancient reflection on Greek and Roman comedy, to the Augustan critic Dionysius of Halicarnassus, to 'Longinus', On the Sublime, and to Plutarch. All Greek and Latin is translated.

Although recent scholarship has focused on the city-state as the context for the production of Greek poetry, for poets and performers travel was more the norm than the exception. This book traces this central aspect of ancient culture from its roots in the near Eastern societies which preceded the Greeks, through the way in which early semi-mythical figures such as Orpheus were imagined, the poets who travelled to the brilliant courts of archaic tyrants, and on into the fluid mobility of imperial and late antique culture. The emphasis is both on why poets travelled, and on how local communities used the skills of these outsiders for their own purposes. Wandering poets are also set within the wider context of ancient networks of exchange, patronage and affiliation between communities and are seen as one particularly powerful manifestation of a feature of ancient life which is too often overlooked.

The Catalogue of Women, ascribed to Hesiod, one of the greatest figures of early hexameter poetry, maps the Greek world, its evolution and its heroic myths through the mortal women who bore children to the gods. In this collection a team of international scholars offers an attempt to explore the poem's meaning, significance and reception. Individual chapters examine the organization and structure of the poem, its social and political context, its relation to other early epic and Hesiodic poetry, its place in the development of a pan-Hellenic consciousness, and attitudes to women. The wider influence of the Catalogue is considered in chapters on Pindar and the lyric tradition, on Hellenistic poetry, and on the poem's reception at Rome. This collection provides a significant approach to the study of the Catalogue.

Through a series of critical readings this book builds a picture of the Roman reaction to, and adoption of, the Greek poetry of the last three pre-Christian centuries. Although the poetry of the greatest figure of Greek poetry after Alexander, Callimachus of Cyrene, and his contemporaries stands at the heart of the book, the individual studies embrace the full scope of what remains of Hellenistic poetry, both high literary productions and the more marginal poetry, such as that in honour of the great goddess Isis. The singularity of the poetry of Catullus and Virgil, of Horace and the elegists, emerges as more rich and complex than has hitherto been appreciated. Individual studies concern the poets' declared attitudes to their own work, the figure of Dionysus/Bacchus and the poetry of world conquest, the creation of similes, and the conversion of Greek bucolic into Latin pastoral.

The poems of Theocritus are our best witness to a brilliant poetic culture that flourished in the first half of the third century BC. This book considers the context from which these poems grew and, in particular, the manner in which they engage with and recreate the poetic forms of the Greek archaic age. The focus is not on the familiar bucolic poems of Theocritus, but on the hymns, mimes and erotic poems of the second half of the corpus. Recent papyri have greatly increased our understanding of how Theocritus read archaic poetry, and these discoveries are fully exploited in a set of readings which will change the way we look at Hellenistic poetry.

The Catalogue of Women, ascribed to Hesiod, one of the greatest figures of early hexameter poetry, maps the Greek world, its evolution and its heroic myths through the mortal women who bore children to the gods. In this collection a team of international scholars offers an attempt to explore the poem's meaning, significance and reception. Individual chapters examine the organization and structure of the poem, its social and political context, its relation to other early epic and Hesiodic poetry, its place in the development of a pan-Hellenic consciousness, and attitudes to women. The wider influence of the Catalogue is considered in chapters on Pindar and the lyric tradition, on Hellenistic poetry, and on the poem's reception at Rome. This collection provides a significant approach to the study of the Catalogue.

Hellenistic poets of the third and second centuries BC were concerned with the need both to mark their continuity with the classical past and to demonstrate their independence from it. In this revised and expanded translation of Muse e modelli: la poesia ellenistica da Alessandro Magno ad Augusto, Greek poetry of the third and second centuries BC and its reception and influence at Rome are explored allowing both sides of this literary practice to be appreciated. Genres as diverse as epic and epigram are considered from a historical perspective, in the full range of their deep-level structures, providing a different perspective on the poetry and its influence at Rome. Some of the most famous poetry of the age such as Callimachus' Aitia and Apollonius' Argonautica is examined. In addition, full attention is paid to the poetry of encomium, in particular the newly published epigrams of Posidippus, and Hellenistic poetics, notably Philodemus.

This book focuses on the hymns, mimes and erotic poems of the Greek poet Theocritus, and examines how Theocritus uses the traditions of earlier Greek poetry to recreate past forms in a way that exploits the new conditions under which poetry was written in the third century BC. Recent papyri have greatly increased our understanding of how Theocritus read archaic poetry, and these new discoveries are fully drawn on in a set of readings that will change the way we look at Hellenistic poetry.