Greek Lyric Poetry (Excluding Pindar and Bacchylides Down to 450 Bc)

By Ibycus, Cydias, Apollodorus, et al.

Book Overview

The Greek lyric, elegiac, and iambic poets of the two centuries from 650 to 450 B.C. (Archilochus and Alcman, Sappho and Mimnermus, Anacreon, Simonides, and the rest) produced some of the finest poetry of antiquity--perfect in form, spontaneous in expression, reflecting all the joys and anxieties of their personal lives and of the societies in which they lived. This new poetic translation by a leading expert captures the nuances of meaning and the whole spirit of this poetry as never before. Not merely a selection, it covers all the surviving poems and intelligible fragments, apart from the works of Pindar and Bacchylides, and includes a number of pieces not previously translated. The Introduction gives a brief account of the poets, and explanatory notes on the texts appear at the end.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0198146930
• ISBN13: 9780198146933
• Release Date: September 1993
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, Incorporated
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 0.8" x 6.0"

Customer Reviews

Greek Poetry

M.L. West is one of the finest classicists today dealing with Greek poetry. He knows this subject better than most and you can tell with the selection of poets he chooses to elucidate. The years he covers are not the only years Greek poetry was written, but the poets are among the most famous: Sappho, Alcaeus, Archilocos (my favorite) and many more. I believe this book will give you enough overlay of Greek Lyric poetry that you wouldn't have to read another one. Perfect for the average reader, or the classicist who wishes to experiment in what they are reading.