Ancient, classical and medieval texts Books
Princeton University Press Gods and Mortals
Book SynopsisTrade Review"[A] superb retelling. . . . Nuanced, sympathetic and deeply moving."---Michael Dirda, Washington Post"Sarah Iles Johnston brings exceptional verve and scholarship to Gods and Mortals: Ancient Greek Myths for Modern Readers, a comprehensive volume. . . . [Johnston] restores the lustiness of tales that other writers have made bloodless. . . . Armchair enthusiasts may find some surprises."---Meghan Cox Gurdon, Wall Street Journal"[The] gods make Game of Thrones look like a pastoral idyll…this book is a delight and a ‘must have.’"---Roger Barnes, Classics for All"[Gods and Mortals] can almost be read as a novel…if you’re at all interested in the Greek myths and why they are still relevant to us in our modern world, you’ll want one on your bookshelf that you can keep and dip into over and again."---Terry Potter, The Letterpress Project"Lively, engaging, and well researched." * Choice Reviews *"Enjoyable."---Kathleen Fleming, Journal of Folklore Research Review
£27.00
University of California Press Texts from the Middle
Book SynopsisTexts from the Middle is a companion primary source reader to the textbook The Sea in the Middle. It can be used alone or in conjunction with the textbook, providing an original history of the Middle Ages that places the Mediterranean at the geographical center of the study of the period from 650 to 1650. Building on the textbook's unique approach, these sources center on the Mediterranean and emphasize the role played by peoples and cultures of Africa, Asia, and Europe in an age when Christians, Muslims, and Jews of various denominations engaged with each other in both conflict and collaboration. The supplementary reader mirrors the main text's fifteen-chapter structure, providing six sources per chapter. The two texts pair together to provide a framework and materials that guide students through this complex but essential historyone that will appeal to the diverse student bodies of today. Table of ContentsContents List of Texts Acknowledgments Introduction PART I. The Helleno-Islamic Mediterranean (650–1050 CE) 1 The Legacy of Empire 1. The Battle of Siffin (657 CE) 2. The Battle of Tours (732 CE) 3. Legends of Women and the Conquest of al-Andalus 4. Toda of Navarre and ꞌAbd al-Rahman III 5. The Emperor, the Caliph, and the Elephant 6. Basil Lakapenos: A Mighty Eunuch 2 Mediterranean Connections 1. Harald Hardradi: A Viking in the Mediterranean 2. Religious Relations in Fatimid Cairo 3. The Calendar of Córdoba 4. Jewish Traders’ Letters from the Cairo Geniza 5. Ibn Fadlan at the Frontiers of the Mediterranean World 3 Conversion and the Consolidation of Identiies 1. Christian Arabization in Muslim Lands 2. Byzantine Iconoclasm 3. The Donation of Constantine 4. Jews in Early Medieval Europe 5. Jewish Communities and Muslim Authorities in the Cairo Geniza 4 Peoples of the Book Reading Their Books 1. Which Is the Bible? Which Is the Qurꞌan? 2. The Problem of Scriptural Translation 3. Studying in Eleventh-Century Iraq and France 4. Hadiths on Fasting, Charity, and the Hajj 5. A Christian and a Muslim Interpret Their Scriptures 6. Plotinus on Beauty and the One 7. Ibn Hazm Critiques the Christian Gospels and Explores the Nature of Love PART II. An Age of Conflict and Collaboration (1050–1350 CE) 5 Holy and Unholy War 1. The Fall of Yusuf ibn Naghrilla 2. The Trial of Philip of Mahdia 3. Franks and Muslims in Crusade-Era Palestine and Syria 4. Latin-Byzantium Relations 5. Papacy and Power 6. The Almohad Revolution 6 A Connected Sea 1. The Power of Negotiation 2. Visions of the East 3. A Rough Guide to Pilgrimage 4. A Pilgrim at Sea 5. Collaboration and Credit 7 Mediterranean Societies 1. Morality in the Marketplace 2. The Limits of Legitimacy 3. Keeping It Clean 4. Power and Piety 5. The Challenge of Heresy 6. Pride and Prejudice 8 Reading Each Others’ Books 1. The Disciplina Clericalis of Petrus Alfonsi, 1062–1140 CE 2. The Muslim and Christian Buddhas 3. Mixed-Blood Greek Border Lords 4. The Muslim Jesus 5. The Latin-Christian Encounter with the Talmud 6. The Book of the Covenant by Joseph Kimhi 7. Ibn Taymiyya Critiques Christianity—and Others 9 A Sea of Technology, Science, and Philosophy 1. Hacking the Astrolabe across the Mediterranean 2. The Life of a Scientific Translator: Gerard of Cremona (ca. 1114–1187 CE) 3. Learning Medicine, Finding Medicines 4. Thomas Aquinas’s Third Way 5. Gregory Palamas on the Dangers of Philosophy 6. Nonrationalism Thrives! PART III. The Contest for the Mediterranean (1350–1650 CE) 10 Imperial Rivalry and Sectarian Strife 1. Islamic Discourses of Legitimacy 2. Christian Views of the Fall of Constantinople 3. Fernando II of Aragon and Spanish Imperial Expansion 4. Machiavelli’s Views on Politics 5. Fighting Sectarian Enemies 11 Minorities and Diasporas 1. The Spanish Inquisition and the Expulsion of the Jews 2. Oppression and Expulsion of the Moriscos 3. Jews and Ghettos in Renaissance Italy 4. Christians under Mamluk and Ottoman Rule 5. Responses to Expulsion and Exile 12 Slavery and Captivity 1. Slave Soldiers in the Muslim World 2. Early Medieval Europe and the Slave Trade 3. Slave Life in Late Medieval Mediterranean Europe 4. Crusaders, Corsairs, and Captives 5. Perceptions of Black Africans in the Early Modern Mediterranean 13 Mystical Messiahs and Converts, Humanists and Armorers 1. Describing Muslim and Jewish Mystics 2. A Morisco Prophecy of Turkish Triumph 3. Conversion in Public 4. Sixteenth-Century Latin-Christian Views of Islamic Science and Medicine 5. Building and Firing the Bombards 14 Family, Gender, and Honor 1. Contracting Marriage 2. Women in the Economy 3. Women in Power 4. Women’s Spirituality 5. Sexual Transgressions and the Law 15 Mediterranean Economies and Societies in a Widening World 1. Responses to the Plague 2. Social Rebellion 3. Muslim-Christian Commercial Agreements 4. Private and Public Charity 5. Climate Change, War, and Discontent Bibliography Index
£27.00
Harvard University Press Risalo
Book SynopsisShah Abdul Latif’s Risalo is acknowledged as the greatest classic of Sindhi literature. In this collection of Sufi verses, composed for musical performance, the poet creates a vast imaginative world of interlocking references to Islamic themes of mystical and divine love and the scenery, society, and legends of the Sindh region.
£26.96
Hackett Publishing Co, Inc The Tale of Cupid and Psyche
Book SynopsisIs "Cupid and Psyche" a romance, a folktale, a Platonic allegory of the nature of the soul, a Jungian tale of individuation, or an archetypal dream? This book provides a translation of this best known section of "Apuleius' Golden Ass".Trade Review"Joel Relihan's playful and exuberant translation of Apuleius' Golden Ass has already won admiration for its ability to give an English-reading audience some sense of what it's like to experience this often astonishing writer in the original Latin. By presenting The Tale of Cupid and Psyche with its narrative frame and by supplementing it with key passages from other writers, he here provides the reader with the materials needed for an informed and complex engagement with this text; his carefully nuanced 'Afterthoughts' enrich that process further. This volume will appeal to anyone with interests in myth, religion, and folklore, and will surely find its place in a wide range of courses." --James B. Rives, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill"Relihan's edition, containing his lively translation of Cupid and Psyche, along with succinct and illuminating discussion of its background and reception, is a do-it-yourself kit for appreciating Apuleius' splendid tale in its philosophical and intellectual context." --Catherine Connors, University of Washington"Simply beautiful. . . presents background information essential for the overall understanding of the work. The translation is a sweet adventure into the beauty of the work." --Dr. Michael J. Lynch, University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff
£12.34
Harvard University Press Greek and Latin Poetry
Book SynopsisAngelo Poliziano (14541494) was one of the great scholar-poets of the Renaissance and a leading figure in the Florence during the Age of the Medici. This I Tatti edition contains all of his Greek and Latin poetry (with the exception of the Silvae in ITRL 14) translated into English for the first time.Trade ReviewKnox’s first-rate talent as a translator remains in evidence on every page, even and especially when the text of more than a few poems is unapologetically risqué. Kudos to Peter Knox for pulling no punches. And plaudits to him for superb work all around. -- William J. Kennedy * Renaissance Quarterly *
£26.96
Harvard University Press Nemesis Alcibiades and the Fall of Athens
Book SynopsisAlcibiades was one of the most dazzling figures of Athens's Golden Age. A friend of Socrates, he was spectacularly rich, bewitchingly handsome and charismatic, a skilled general, and a ruthless politician. He was also a serial traitor. David Stuttard tells a spellbinding story of Alcibiades's life and the turbulent world he set out to conquer.Trade ReviewAlcibiades will always be remembered as one of the slipperiest statesmen in history…Nemesis is a rich and rewarding biography, as thorough as it is bracing and as measured as it is entertaining. Stuttard is to be praised for capturing the complexity of both the man and the world he lived in with such sensitivity and clarity. -- Daisy Dunn * New Criterion *Stuttard is skilled at drawing together background information that adds context to his characters’ actions, seamlessly smuggling exposition of Greek and Persian society and customs into his narrative. Nemesis demonstrates how readable and entertaining popular narrative ancient history can be. -- Carol Atack * Times Literary Supplement *Stuttard’s new life of Alcibiades is a lively, fast-paced and eminently readable attempt to bring the insolent young monster back to life. -- Peter Thonemann * Literary Review *[A] robust new biography of Alcibiades. -- Thomas W. Hodgkinson * Spectator *It’s quite the tale, told with rare gusto and precision by David Stuttard—an astute inquisitor of the conflicting sources with an eye for the telling anecdote. -- Jonathan Wright * Catholic Herald *Stuttard’s work is laudable especially in its depth and its use of available sources. -- Samuel Ortencio Flores * Bryn Mawr Classical Review *As an entertaining biography of a scoundrel, Nemesis is superb…Stuttard eloquently tells the reader of the rise and fall of a man and his city, who both angered the gods through their acts and attitudes. * Choice *No one before has come anything like as near as David Stuttard to penetrating the inner recesses of the mainsprings of Alcibiades’ often outrageous, sometimes statesmanlike, always commanding public performances. Dr. Stuttard’s mastery of the ancient sources and his narrative exposition are dazzling throughout, bringing to singing life the mercurial, magnetic, passionate, and persuasive personality of this still hugely controversial Athenian aristocrat of the fifth century BC. -- Paul Cartledge, author of Democracy: A LifeDavid Stuttard is a recognized expert at making the ancient Greek world come alive for modern audiences. In Nemesis, he conveys the horror and the glory of the years of Athens’ greatness and decline. Central to these processes was the flamboyant Alcibiades, and Stuttard, wearing his learning lightly, gives us a hugely entertaining biography that is simultaneously an exciting adventure story and a pithy history of the period. -- Robin Waterfield, author of Creators, Conquerors, and Citizens: A History of Ancient GreeceStuttard has offered us a colorful, lively, engaging analysis of one of ancient Greece’s most fascinating and slippery characters: Alcibiades. With deft skill, Stuttard navigates the ancient sources to offer the portrait not simply of a hero, or a villain, but of a man with equal talents and failings who managed to captivate the attention of the ancient world. -- Michael Scott, author of Ancient Worlds: An Epic History of East and West
£22.46
Focus Publishing/R Pullins & Co Aeneid 8
Book Synopsis
£17.09
Indiana University Press Lucretius The Way Things Are
Book Synopsis. . . [captures] the relentless urgency of Lucretius' didacticism, his passionate conviction and proselytizing fervour.' The Classical ReviewTable of ContentsA Foreword by the TranslatorIntroductionText of the PoemBook IBook IIBook IIIBook IVBook VBook VISynopses and Notes
£11.39
University of California Press Dionysiaca
£32.30
Chartwell Books Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
Book Synopsis
£13.49
Union Square & Co. Meditations
Book SynopsisA compendium of ruminations and reflections by the second-century Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, a staunch adherent to the Stoic philosophy.
£17.10
Chartwell Books Sense and Sensibility
Book Synopsis
£13.49
Penguin Books Ltd The Penguin Book of Dragons Penguin Classics
Book SynopsisTwo thousand years of legend and lore about the menace and majesty of dragons, which have breathed fire into our imaginations from ancient Rome to Game of ThronesA Penguin ClassicThe most popular mythological creature in the human imagination, dragons have provoked fear and fascination for their lethal venom and crushing coils, and as avatars of the Antichrist, servants of Satan, couriers of the damned to Hell, portents of disaster, and harbingers of the last days. Here are accounts spanning millennia and continents of these monsters that mark the boundary between the known and the unknown, including: their origins in the deserts of Africa; their struggles with their mortal enemies, elephants, in the jungles of South Asia; their fear of lightning; the world’s first dragon slayer, in an ancient collection of Sanskrit hymns; the colossal sea monster Leviathan; the seven-headed “great red dragon” of the Book of Revelation; the Loch NeTrade ReviewI love the way Scott Bruce has scoured so much ancient lore to bring us this treasury of dragon-related information, and I shall turn to it frequently -- Philip PullmanScholarly and thrilling. By collecting some of the foundational - and also most surprising - historical sources on these guardians of the 'boundary between the known and unknown', Scott Bruce has created the new indispensable resource for anyone who cares about dragons -- Adam Gidwitz, New York Times bestselling author of A Tale Dark and Grimm and The Inquisitor’s Tale
£11.69
HarperCollins Publishers Republic
Book SynopsisHarperCollins is proud to present its incredible range of best-loved, essential classics.
£5.62
Penguin Books Ltd On Living and Dying Well
Book SynopsisIn the first century BCE, Marcus Tullius Cicero, orator, statesman, and defender of republican values, created these philosophical treatises on such diverse topics as friendship, religion, death, fate and scientific inquiry. A pragmatist at heart, Cicero''s philosophies were frequently personal and ethical, drawn not from abstract reasoning but through careful observation of the world. The resulting works remind us of the importance of social ties, the questions of free will, and the justification of any creative endeavour.This lively, lucid new translation from Thomas Habinek, editor of Classical Antiquity and the Classics and Contemporary Thought book series, makes Cicero''s influential ideas accessible to every reader. This edition also includes additional materials by Siobhán McElduff.
£10.44
The University of Chicago Press The Iliad of Homer
Book Synopsis
£15.00
Chiltern Publishing The Art of War: Chiltern Edition
Book SynopsisChiltern Publishing creates the most beautiful editions of the World's finest literature. Your favourite classic titles in a way you have never seen them before; the tactile embossed layers, fine details and beautiful colours of these remarkable covers make these titles feel extra special and will look striking on any shelf.
£16.00
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC OCR Classical Civilisation AS and A Level
Book SynopsisThis textbook is endorsed by OCR and supports the specifications for AS and A-Level Classical Civilisation (first teaching September 2017). It covers all three options for Component 11: World of the Hero (Homer's Iliad, Homer's Odyssey and Virgil's Aeneid). Why does the Trojan War continue to fascinate us? What makes Odysseus a hero? What links can be drawn between the Aeneid and today''s global politics?This book guides AS and A-Level students to a greater understanding of the epics of Homer and Virgil, setting the poems in their cultural context and drawing on the scholarship of leading academics to explore the poetry, characters and underlying philosophies. The colour illustrations, from the Cyclops on a Greek pot to a photograph of protesting Yadizi women, reflect the universal impact and continuing relevance of these classical epics.The ideal preparation for the final examinations, all content is presented by an expert and experienced teacher in a cleTable of ContentsIntroduction How to Use This Book Homer's Iliad Homer's Odyssey Virgil's Aeneid Glossary Index
£14.24
Penguin Books Ltd The Oresteian Trilogy Agamemnon The Choephori The
Book SynopsisAeschylus (525-c.456 bc) set his great trilogy in the immediate aftermath of the Fall of Troy, when King Agamemnon returns to Argos, a victor in war. Agamemnon depicts the hero''s discovery that his family has been destroyed by his wife''s infidelity and ends with his death at her callous hand. Clytemnestra''s crime is repaid in The Choephori when her outraged son Orestes kills both her and her lover. The Eumenides then follows Orestes as he is hounded to Athens by the Furies'' law of vengeance and depicts Athene replacing the bloody cycle of revenge with a system of civil justice. Written in the years after the Battle of Marathon, The Oresteian Trilogy affirmed the deliverance of democratic Athens not only from Persian conquest, but also from its own barbaric past.Table of ContentsThe Oreteian TrilogyIntroductionAgamemnonThe Choephori or The Libation-BearersThe EumenidesNotes to 'Agamemnon'Notes to 'The Choephori'Notes to 'The Eumenides'AppendixSelect BibliographyThe Pronunciation of Greek NamesGenealogical Table of the House of Atreus
£10.44
Penguin Books Ltd The Persians and Other Plays
Book SynopsisAeschylus (525-456 BC) brought a new grandeur and epic sweep to the drama of classical Athens, raising it to the status of high art. The Persians, the only Greek tragedy to deal with events from recent Athenian history, depicts the final defeat of Persia in the battle of Salamis, through the eyes of the Persian court of King Xerxes, becoming a tragic lesson in tyranny. In Prometheus Bound, the defiant Titan Prometheus is brutally punished by Zeus for daring to improve the state of wretchedness and servitude in which mankind is kept. Seven Against Thebes shows the inexorable downfall of the last members of the cursed family of Oedipus, while The Suppliants relates the pursuit of the fifty daughters of Danaus by the fifty sons of Aegyptus, and their final rescue by a heroic king.
£10.99
Penguin Books Ltd The Tale of Princess Fatima Warrior Woman The
Book SynopsisPublished in English for the first time, and the only Arabic epic named for a woman, The Tale of Princess Fatima recounts the thrilling adventures of a legendary medieval warrior universally known throughout the Middle East and long overdue to join world literature's pantheon of female heroes.A Penguin ClassicA fearsome, sword-slinging heroine who defeated countless men in stealth attacks on horseback, Dhat al-Himma, or Princess Fatima, was secretly given away at birth because she wasn't male, only to triumph as the most formidable warrior of her time. Known alternately as she-wolf, woman of high resolve, and calamity of the soul, she lives on in this rousing narrative of female empowerment, in which she leads armies of more than seventy thousand men in clashes between rival tribes and between Muslims and Christians; reconciles with her father after taking him prisoner; and fends off her infatuated cousin, who challenges her to a battle for the right to maTrade ReviewA gift and a wonder, deftly capturing the nuance and flavour of these tales for a new generation. As someone who's waited untold years to read these stories: thank you, thank you, thank you -- Jason Porath, author of Rejected PrincessesThis powerful epic with its all-conquering heroine brings the world of Arab chivalry to blazing life, in a wonderful translation with a very informative introduction. -- Humphrey Davies, award-winning translator of Naguib Mahfouz, Elias Khoury, and Alaa Al-AswanyAn emotive, dynamic rendering that exquisitely captures the spirit of the original text, the variety of its characters, and the versatility of its messages. The Tale of Princess Fatima has much to tell us about what it has meant -- in different times and places -- to be a hero -- Rachel Schine, University of Colorado BoulderThis engaging and reader-friendly translation brings to life a very important moment in world history, capturing through epic proportions the timeless social issues of race, gender, and class -- Heidi Morrison, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse
£10.79
Oxford University Press Wasps and Other Plays
Book Synopsis''No matter which way you look at us, you''ll find that we''re in all respects; Remarkably wasp-like in our habits, in every aspect of our lives.''Aristophanes is the only surviving representative of Greek Old Comedy, an exuberant form of festival drama which flourished in Athens during the fifth century BCE. One of the most original playwrights in the entire Western tradition, his comedies are remarkable for their brilliant combination of fantasy and satire, their constantly inventive manipulation of language, and their use of absurd characters and plots to expose his society''s institutions and values to the bracing challenge of laughter.This is the third and final volume of a new verse translation of the complete plays of Aristophanes. It contains four of his most overtly political plays: Acharnians, in which an Athenian farmer rebels against the city''s war policies; Knights, a biting satire of populist demagogues; Wasps, whose main theme is the Athenian system of lawcourts; and Pe
£8.54
Canongate Books Dante's Divine Trilogy
Book SynopsisIn this masterful retelling of one of the greatest works of world literature, Alasdair Gray - in his last work - offers an original translation in prosaic English rhyme. Lyrical and modern, this complete edition brings all three parts of Dante's epic journey through Hell and Purgatory and on to Paradise together in a single volume for the first time.Trade ReviewOne of the brightest intellectual and creative lights Scotland has known in modern times -- NICOLA STURGEONA necessary genius -- ALI SMITHGray is a true original, a twentieth century William Blake * * Observer * *One of the most gifted writers to have put pen to paper in the English language -- IRVINE WELSHPraise for Dante's Divine Trilogy: Alasdair Gray has cast a spell over Dante's Hell, creating (and decorating) a verse translation that is modern, lyrical, yet faithful to the original * * New Statesman * *Lucid, lyrical, imaginative * * Times Literary Supplement * *An ancient masterpiece glistens again as his lyricism takes flight, while keeping one foot balanced on solid ground . . . Gray turns Dante's language into clear English, sometimes with a playful comic turn . . . Remarkable * * i * *No other translator has made the narratives so clear or strong, and the distinctive power of the work lies in the clarity of the storytelling . . . This Hell is a magnificent feat of reimagining of one of the greatest of all human creations * * Herald * *Powerfully conveys the appalling nature of a vision which has terrified and enthralled Western men and women down the centuries * * Times Literary Supplement * *
£13.49
Oxford University Press The Love Poems
Book SynopsisOvid''s love-poetry was typically original and innovative. His witty analysis in the Amores (Loves) of the elegiac relationship develops with relentless irony its essential paradox - love as simultaneously fulfilling and destructive - to its logical conclusion: definitive disestablishment of the poet-lover''s role as presented by Gallus, Tibullus, and Propertius. In its place he went on to offer in the Ars Amatoria (Art of Love) and Remedia Amoris (Cures for Love) an equally brilliant presentation of an alternative and more realistic conception of love as a game at which both sexes can play without getting hurt - providing they stick to Ovid''s rules. Under the surface of Ovid''s wit there runs an undercurrent of serious meaning: the theme of the poet''s complete control of his medium and his art and a proud consciousness of his achievements. His claim to be `the Virgil of elegy'' is arrestingly justified in these extraordinarily accomplished poems. Alan Melville''s accomplished translations match the sophisticated elegance of Ovid''s Latin. Their witty modern idiom is highly entertaining. In this volume he has included the brilliant version of the Art of Love by Moore, published more than fifty years ago and still unequalled; the small revisions he has made will enhance the reader''s admiration for Moore''s achievement. 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.Trade Review'Melville has worked a miracle. It is difficult to imagine that there will ever be an English version so faithful to the Latin, and written in such sound and engaging verse.' The Times.'Melville has worked a miracle ... It is difficult to imagine that there will ever be an English version so faithful to the Latin, and written in such sound and engaging verse.' David West, The Times'a new, faithful yet engaging translation ... Ovid was a brilliant, innovative, elegant, witty and ironic poet, who has entertained readers for thousands of years and this new version will give pleasure to many more.' Day by DayATable of ContentsHistorical sketch; Introduction; Translator's note; elect bibliography; Amores (Books I-III); Cosmetics for ladies; The art of love (Books I-III); The cures for love; Explanatory notes; Glossary and index of names
£10.44
Penguin Books Ltd The Nicomachean Ethics
Book Synopsis
£10.44
Penguin Books Ltd I Hate and I Love
Book SynopsisDazzling modern lyrical poems from Catullus - by turns smutty, abusive, romantic and deeply moving.Introducing Little Black Classics: 80 books for Penguin''s 80th birthday. Little Black Classics celebrate the huge range and diversity of Penguin Classics, with books from around the world and across many centuries. They take us from a balloon ride over Victorian London to a garden of blossom in Japan, from Tierra del Fuego to 16th-century California and the Russian steppe. Here are stories lyrical and savage; poems epic and intimate; essays satirical and inspirational; and ideas that have shaped the lives of millions.Catullus (c.84-54 BCE). Catullus''s The Poems is available in Penguin Classics.
£5.63
University of California Press Sappho
£18.90
Penguin Books Ltd The Metaphysics Penguin Classics
Book SynopsisAristotle's probing inquiry into some of the fundamental problems of philosophy, The Metaphysics is one of the classical Greek foundation-stones of western thought The Metaphysics presents Aristotle's mature rejection of both the Platonic theory that what we perceive is just a pale reflection of reality and the hard-headed view that all processes are ultimately material. He argued instead that the reality or substance of things lies in their concrete forms, and in so doing he probed some of the deepest questions of philosophy: What is existence? How is change possible? And are there certain things that must exist for anything else to exist at all? The seminal notions discussed in The Metaphysics - of 'substance' and associated concepts of matter and form, essence and accident, potentiality and actuality - have had a profound and enduring influence, and laid the foundations for one of the central branches of Western philosophy. In this editionTable of ContentsThe Metaphysics - Aristotle Translated with an Introduction by Hugh Lawson-TancredPrefaceIntroductionTHE METAPHYSICSBook AlphaBook Alpha the LesserBook BetaBook GammaBook DeltaBook EpsilonBook ZetaBook EtaBook ThetaBook IotaBook KappaBook LambdaBook MuBook NuBibliography
£11.69
Reaktion Books Miracula
Book SynopsisAstonishing, humorous and shocking tales from ancient Greece and Rome.
£15.15
D. S. Brewer Saxo Grammaticus The History of the Danes Book
Book SynopsisA major source for the heroic and mythological traditions of northern Europe. '[The translation] is a masterpiece . . . the [Commentary] will doubtless prove of the greatest interest to historians.' ENGLISH HISTORICAL REVIEWTrade Review'In the early years of the 13th century the Danish writer Saxo Grammaticus provided his people with a dignified and ambitious Latin account of their glorious past from the mythical past to the historical present - [He] collected the legends of Scandinavian gods and heroes, and arranged their exploits in a series of 'biographies' which ostensibly formed an unbroken sequence. He took his tales from a variety of sources, and readers will find his collection of myths, folklore and fabulous history fascinating - An accurate and readable translation of the nine mythological books based on the best scholarly edition'. -- RUTH MORSE * BRITISH BOOK NEWS. *
£37.99
Aiora Press Myths Behind Words: Greek Mythology In English
Book SynopsisLike the constellations in the sky, words such as aphrodisiac, hubris, museum, galaxy and mentor each contain within them a story, if only you knew to look closely. This collection retells the myths behind common words and expressions in English, bringing to life the heroes, monsters and gods whose deeds and battles have left a hidden mark on our language. Compiling more than seventy-five myths, the stories in this book feature well-known figures such as Zeus, Athena, Apollo, Hercules, Achilles, the Amazons, Medusa and the Minotaur. The entries are supplemented with original illustration reproductions of scenes from ancient pottery, and include translations from Ancient Greek epics such as the Iliad, the Odyssey, the Argonautica and Theogony.Table of ContentsIntroduction; Cosmogony; Immortals; Hades; Heroes; The Iliad & The Odyssey; Endnotes; Index of entries; General index
£12.34
HarperCollins Publishers The Canterbury Tales
Book SynopsisHarperCollins is proud to present its range of best-loved, essential classics.
£5.94
HarperCollins Publishers Three Rings A Tale of Exile Narrative and Fate
Book SynopsisWinner of the 2020 Prix du Meilleur Livre Etranger, France''s best foreign book of the year.Astounding' Sebastian BarryA masterpiece' Ayad AkhtarThis little book is ruminative, humane, and gorgeously precise'Jonathan LethemIn this genre-defying book, best-selling memoirist and critic Daniel Mendelsohn explores the mysterious links between the randomness of the lives we lead and the artfulness of the stories we tell.Combining memoir, biography, history, and literary criticism, Three Rings weaves together the stories of three exiled writers who turned to the classics of the past to create masterpieces of their own-works that pondered the nature of narrative itself.Erich Auerbach, the Jewish philologist who fled Hitler''s Germany and wrote his classic study of Western literature, Mimesis, in Istanbul.Francois Fenelon, the seventeenth-century French archbishop whose ingenious sequel to the Odyssey,The Adventures of Telemachus a veiled critique of the Sun King and the best-selling book in Trade Review‘Exquisite … Ornate and oneiric, the results are well worth circling and circling back to’New York Times Book Review ‘As always, the author's voice blends authority with considerable warmth and charm, luring readers into his complex intellectual enthusiasms … Three Rings, a short but profoundly moving work, clings with tenacity to a belief in the regenerative power of literature’Wall Street Journal ‘Spectacular … The reader feels the flow of a strong narrative, trusts the author’s seafaring skills and embarks on a brilliant journey … Three Rings is a glorious celebration of multiplicity, diversity, journeys, transformations and our common humanity’Times Literary Supplement ‘Contained in the interwoven circles of this slim, labyrinthine book is a vision that encompasses the world. Part dirge, part memoir, part exegesis, all rhapsody Mendelsohn's anatomy of literature's subtlest pleasures is itself that subtlest of literary pleasures: a masterpiece’Ayad Akhtar, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Homeland Elegies ‘An astounding Borgesian document of clarity and brilliance. A book about telling stories that wanders down the seeming two roads of the Hebrew tradition and the classical, which, like Proust's two ways, might turn out to be one way after all. Three Rings has the keeled force of a long poem’Sebastian Barry ‘Classicist, historian, memoirist, cultural critic, with consummate skill and the sharp, sympathetic eye of the poet, Daniel Mendelsohn brilliantly combines these roles. Three Rings is a masterly exegesis and demonstration of digression as a high art’Joyce Carol Oates ‘Daniel Mendelsohn's Three Rings is erudition, essayism, and memoir … This little book is ruminative, humane, and gorgeously precise’Jonathan Lethem
£8.54
Penguin Publishing Group The Golden Ass
Book SynopsisAn enchanting story that has inspired generations of writers, including Boccaccio, Shakespeare, Cervantes and Keats Written towards the end of the second century AD, The Golden Ass tells the story of the many adventures of a young man whose fascination with witchcraft leads him to be transformed into a donkey. The bewitched Lucius passes from owner to owner - encountering a desperate gang of robbers and being forced to perform lewd 'human' tricks on stage - until the Goddess Isis finally breaks the spell and initiates Lucius into her cult. It has long been disputed whether Apuleius meant this last-minute conversion seriously or as a final comic surprise, and the challenge of interpretation continues to keep readers fascinated. Apuleius' enchanting story has inspired generations of writers such as Boccaccio, Shakespeare, Cervantes and Keats with its dazzling combination of allegory, satire, bawdiness and sheer exuberance, and The Golden Ass remains the
£11.69
Penguin Books Ltd Daphnis and Chloe Penguin Classics
Book SynopsisA masterpiece among early Greek romancesA tender novel describing eager and inept young love, Daphnis and Chloe tells the story of a baby boy and girl who are discovered separately, two years apart, alone and exposed on a Greek mountainside. Taken in by a goatherd and a shepherd respectively, and raised near the town of Mytilene, they grow to maturity unaware of one another's existence - until the mischievous god of love, Eros, creates in them a sudden overpowering desire for one another. A masterpiece among early Greek romances, attracting both high praise and moral disapproval, this work has proved an enduringly fertile source of inspiration for musicians, writers and artists from Henry Fielding to Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot and Maurice Ravel. Longus transforms familiar themes from the romance genre - including pirates, dreams, and the supernatural - into a virtuoso love story that is rich in insight, humorous and ironical in its treatment of human sexual experience.<
£10.44
Penguin Publishing Group The Rope and Other Plays Penguin Classics
Book SynopsisBrilliantly adapting Greek New Comedy for Roman audiences, the sublime comedies of Plautus (c. 254-184 BC) are the earliest surviving complete works of Latin literature. The four plays collected here reveal a playwright in his prime, exploring classic themes and developing standard characters that were to influence the comedies of Shakespeare, Molière and many others. In The Ghost, a dissolute son who has squandered his father's money is thrown into disarray when he returns from abroad, a theme that is explored further in the comedy of errors A Three-Dollar Day. In The Rope—regarded by many as the best of Plautus' plays—the shipwreck of a pimp and his slaves leads to the touching reunion of a father and his daughter, while Amphitryo, Plautus's only excursion into divine mythology, offers a cheerful account of how Jupiter became father to Hercules.For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in Table of ContentsThe Rope and Other PlaysIntroductionThe Ghost MostellariaThe Rope RudensA Three-Dollar Day TrinummusAmphitryo
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Penguin Books Ltd On the Good Life Penguin Classics
Book SynopsisFor the great Roman orator and statesman Cicero, 'the good life' was at once a life of contentment and one of moral virtue - and the two were inescapably intertwined. This volume brings together a wide range of his reflections upon the importance of moral integrity in the search for happiness. In essays that are articulate, meditative and inspirational, Cicero presents his views upon the significance of friendship and duty to state and family, and outlines a clear system of practical ethics that is at once simple and universal. These works offer a timeless reflection upon the human condition, and a fascinating insight into the mind of one of the greatest thinkers of Ancient Rome.For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provideTable of ContentsIntroductionList of Greek and Latin Terms1. Discussions at Tusculum (V)2. On Duties (II)3. Laelius: On Friendship4. On the Orator (I)5. The Dream of ScipioAppendicesI. The Philosophical Works of CiceroII. The Rhetorical Works of CiceroIII. Principal DatesIV. Some Books about CiceroGenealogical TablesMapsIndex
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Penguin Books Ltd The Nature of the Gods Penguin Classics
Book SynopsisTowards the end of his life, Cicero turned away from his oratorical and political career and looked instead to matters of philosophy and religion. The dialogue The Nature of the Gods both explores his own views on these subjects, as a monotheist and member of the Academic School, and considers the opinion of other philosophical schools of the Hellenistic age through the figures of Velleius the Epicurean and Balbus the Stoic. Eloquent, clearly argued and surprisingly modern, it focuses upon a series of fundamental religious questions including: is there a God? If so, does he answer prayers, or intervene in human affairs? Does he know the future? Does morality need the support of religion? Profoundly influential on later thinkers, such as Saint Augustine and Thomas Aquinas, this is a fascinating consideration of fundamental issues of faith and philosophical thought.
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Penguin Books Ltd The Georgics
Book SynopsisVirgil (70-19BC) studied rhetoric and philosophy in Rome where he became a court poet. As well as The Aeneid, his Eclogues earned him the reputation as the finest Latin poet.
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Penguin Publishing Group Theaetetus Penguin Classics
Book SynopsisSet immediately prior to the trial and execution of Socrates in 399 BC, Theaetetus shows the great philosopher considering the nature of knowledge itself, in a debate with the geometrician Theodorus and his young follower Theaetetus. Their dialogue covers many questions, such as: is knowledge purely subjective, composed of the ever-changing flow of impressions we receive from the outside world? Is it better thought of as true belief? Or is it, as many modern philosophers argue, justified true belief, in which the belief is supported by argument or evidence? With skill and eloquence, Socrates guides the debate, drawing out the implications of these theories and subjecting them to merciless and mesmerising criticism. One of the founding works of epistemology, this profound discussion of the problem of knowledge continues to intrigue and inspire.For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1Table of ContentsTheaetetus - Plato PrefaceMapTheaetetus EssayBibliography
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Penguin Books Ltd Hippocratic Writings
Book SynopsisThis work is a sampling of the Hippocratic Corpus, a collection of ancient Greek medical works. At the beginning, and interspersed throughout, there are discussions on the philosophy of being a physician. There is a large section about how to treat limb fractures, and the section called The Nature of Man describes the physiological theories of the time. The book ends with a discussion of embryology and a brief anatomical description of the heart.For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.Table of ContentsHippocratic Writings - Edited with an Introduction by G. E. R. Lloyd Preface IntroductionMedicineTranslated by J. Chadwick and W. N. MannTranslators' IntroductionThe OathThe CanonTradition in MedicineEpidemics, Book IEpidemics, Book IIIThe Science of MedicineAirs, Waters, PlacesPrognosisRegimen in Acute DiseasesAphorismsThe Sacred DiseaseDreams (Regimen IV)The Nature of ManA Regimen for HealthSurgeryTranslated by E. T. WithingtonFracturesEmbryology and AnatomyTranslated by I. M. LonieThe Seed and The Nature of the ChildThe HeartNotes on the Translation of Some Hippocratic TermsBibliographyGlossary of NamesIndices
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Penguin Publishing Group Plays and Fragments Penguin Classics
Book SynopsisMenander (c. 341-291 BC) was the foremost innovator of Greek New Comedy, a dramatic style that moved away from the fantastical to focus upon the problems of ordinary Athenians. This collection contains the full text of 'Old Cantankerous' (Dyskolos), the only surviving complete example of New Comedy, as well as fragments from works including 'The Girl from Samos' and 'The Rape of the Locks', all of which are concerned with domestic catastrophes, the hazards of love and the trials of family life. Written in a poetic style regarded by the ancients as second only to Homer, these polished works - profoundly influential upon both Roman playwrights such as Plautus and Terence, and the wider Western tradition - may be regarded as the first true comedies of manners.Table of ContentsPlays and FragmentsPrefaceIntroductionFurther ReadingOld CantankerousThe Girl from SamosThe ArbitrationThe Rape of the LocksThe ShieldThe SikyonianThe Man She HatedThe Double Deceiver and The Two Bacchises by PlautusThe FarmerThe ToadyThe HarpistThe HeroThe PhantomThe Girl PossessedThe Girl from PerinthosTitle UnknownSome Longer FragmentsSome Fragments Doubtfully Attributed to MenanderNotes
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Penguin Books Ltd Classical Literary Criticism Penguin Classics
Book SynopsisThis anthology brings together core classical texts for understanding literature. The selections from Plato illustrate the poetic philosopher's surprising exclusion of poets from his ideal republic. In his response, Poetics, Aristotle draws on the works of the great Greek playwrights to defend the value of the art. Horace's The Art of Poetry is a vivid practitioner's guide that promotes a style of poetic craftsmanship rooted in wisdom, ethical insight, and decorum. Longinus's On the Sublime explores the nature of inspiration in poetry and prose. This volume is a work of great value and interest to classicists, students, and writers.In her Introduction, Penelope Murray compares and contrasts the viewpoints of these formidable critics as well as their impact on the Western tradition. This edition also includes a new bibliography and chronology and comprehensive notes to each of the texts.For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisTable of ContentsIntroduction1. Homer and the Early Greek Poets2. Aristophanes3. Gorgias and the Sophists4. Plato5. Aristotle6. The Alexandrians7. Horace8. Longinus9. EpilogueFurther ReadingLiterary ChronologyPlatoIonRepublic 2Republic 3Republic 10AristotlePoeticsHoraceThe Art of PoetryLonginusOn the SublimeNotes
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Penguin Books Ltd Guide to Greece Southern Greece 2
Book SynopsisThe second volume of the time-honored travel book about Greece, written 2,000 years agoWritten by a Greek traveller in the second century ad for a principally Roman audience, Pausanias' Guide to Greece is a comprehensive, extraordinarily literate and well-informed guidebook for tourists of the age. Concentrating on buildings, tombs and statues, it also describes in detail the myths, religious beliefs and historical background behind the monuments considered. In doing so, it preserves Greek legends, quotes classical literature and poetry that would otherwise have been lost, and offers a fascinating depiction of the glory of classical Greece immediately before its third-century decline. This, the second of two volumes, explores Southern Greece including Sparta, Arkadia, Bassae and the games at Olympia. An inspiration to travellers and writers across the ages, including Byron and Shelley, it remains one of the most influential of all travel books.For more than sevenTable of ContentsGuide to Greece Volume 2: Southern GreeceList of FiguresAcknowledgmentsIntroductionBook III: LakoniaBook IV: MessinaBook V: Eleia IBook VI: Eleia IIBook VIII: ArkadiaSelect BibliographyIndex
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Penguin Books Ltd Classical Comedy
Book SynopsisLittle is known about Aristophanes' life (c. 445BC-c.386BC), but there is a portrait of him in Plato's Symposium. His first comedy was produced when he was 20 and he wrote 40 plays in the course of his life.Erich Segal has taught Classics at Harvard, Yale and Princeton and is currently an Honorary Fellow at Wolfson College, Oxford. He has published widely on Greek and Roman Comedy, his latest book, The Death of Comedy, was published in 2001. He is also the author of nine best-selling novels.
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Archaeopress A Bestiary of Monsters in Greek Mythology
Book SynopsisGreek myths abound in images of beauty and perfection: charming gods, attractive goddesses, and handsome heroes, all of them standards of physical and spiritual flawlessness. However, the ancient Greeks were not fond of absolutes. No god or hero is shown without blemishes in character and ethics, and some are even physically imperfect, like Hephaestus, who is ugly and lame. Another element that dominates Greek mythology is the idea of balance. Good and evil, light and darkness, hubris and punishment. What could not be missing from this world is the image of reversed beauty: monstrosity. The aim of this book is to explore the realm of the imaginary world of Greek mythology and present the reader with a categorization of monstrosity, referring to some of the most noted examples in each category.Table of ContentsPreface ; Introduction, by Richard Buxton ; Introduction ; Chapter 1 Humanoid Monsters ; Chapter 2 Serpentine Creatures ; Chapter 3 Partly Human ; Chapter 4 Monstrous Animals ; Chapter 5 Ghosts and Daemons ; Works Cited
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Penguin Books Ltd Piers the Ploughman
Book SynopsisWritten by a fourteenth-century cleric, this spiritual allegory explores man in relation to his ultimate destiny against the background of teeming, colorful medieval life.
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Penguin Books Ltd Heracles and Other Plays
Book SynopsisHeracles/ Iphigenia Among the Taurians/ Helen/ Ion/ Cyclops: Of these plays, only ''Heracles'' truly belongs in the tragic sphere with its presentation of underserved suffering and divine malignity. The other plays flirt with comedy and comic themes. Their plots are ironic and complex with deception and elusion eventually leading to reconciliation between mother and son in ''Ion'', brother and sister in ''Iphigenia'', and husband and wife in ''Helen''. The comic vein is even stronger in the satyric''Cyclops'' in which the giant''s inebriation and subsequent violence are treated as humorous. Together, these plays demonstrate Euripides'' challenge to the generic boundaries of Athenian drama.
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