Böcker i Blackwell Introductions to the Classical World-serien

* A accessible one--volume survey of the literature of Greece and Rome. * Covers the period between Homer around 700 BC and Augustine around AD 410. * Highlights what is important historically and of continuing interest and value in classical literature.

Ancient epics remain a fount of inspiration for poets, dramatists, and musicians not only because they tell good stories in an aesthetically beautiful way, but also because they speak to contemporary hearts and minds still wrestling with timeless issues of human limitation, passion, violence, and uses and abuses of power.

Introduces readers to the ancient rhetorical tradition by investigating key questions about the origins, nature and importance of rhetoric. This book explores the role of the orator, especially the two greatest figures of the tradition, Demosthenes and Cicero. It also investigates the place of rhetoric at the center of ancient education.

Assuming no prior knowledge of Greek, this book supplies all the background information necessary to understand the earliest and greatest works of Greek literature - Homer's great epic poems, "The Iliad" and "The Odyssey".

This book introduces students to the chief disciplines, methods and sources employed in "doing" ancient history, as opposed to "reading" it.

Greek Tragedy sets ancient tragedy into its original theatrical, political and ritual context and applies modern critical approaches to understanding why tragedy continues to interest modern audiences.

This compact and critically up-to-date introduction to Roman satire examines the development of the genre, focusing particularly on the literary and social functionality of satire. It considers why it was important to the Romans and why it still matters. Provides a compact and critically up-to-date introduction to Roman satire.

Virgil offers undergraduates, graduate students and general readers a comprehensive and carefully balanced introduction to the works and literary reception of Virgil. Offering a fresh, comprehensive introduction to Virgil in translation, this book traces the poet's literary influence on later authors and his impact on the arts.

The first general introduction to Ovid written in English in over 20 years, this book provides a unique and accessible introduction to the complete works of Ovid. Using a thematic approach, Volk lays out what we know about Ovid's life, presents the author's works within their poetic genres, and discusses central Ovidian themes.

Catullus is one of the liveliest and most appealing Roman poets. His emotion, charm, and apparent spontaneity resonate with readers as strongly today as in antiquity. This sophisticated literary and historical introduction brings Catullus to life for the modern reader and presents his poetry in all its variety of emotions, subjects, and styles.

Roman Historiography presents a comprehensive introduction to the development of Roman historical writings in the ancient world. Rooting his survey in the context of its Greek predecessors, and within the broader framework of Roman literature and society, Mehl discusses every historical writer of significance in the ancient Roman era.

This volume provides an accessible, comprehensive, and up-to-date survey of the ancient Greek genre of historical writing from its origins before Herodotus to the Greek historians of the Roman imperial era, seven centuries later.