Stesichorus: The Poems

Stesichorus' lyric poetry vividly recreates the most dramatic episodes of Greek myth: the labours of Heracles, the sack of Troy, the vengeance of Orestes, and more besides. It can be appreciated today as never before, thanks to the recent discovery of ancient manuscripts buried for some two millennia in the sands of Egypt. This fresh edition of Stesichorus' poems presents the first full-scale analysis of all his surviving works. The detailed introduction and commentary investigate a wide range of key issues, such as Stesichorus' imagery and style, his narrative technique, and his mythological innovations. The controversial question of how Stesichorus' poems were originally performed receives careful scrutiny; particular attention is paid to the fascinating story of the transmission, disappearance, and recovery of his work. A translation integrated with the commentary renders this book accessible to all readers with an interest in early Greek poetry and its legacy.

Author: Stesichorus
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 12/11/2014
Pages: 706
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 2.50lbs
Size: 8.50h x 5.60w x 1.50d
ISBN: 9781107078345

About the Author
Finglass, P. J.: - P. J. Finglass is Professor of Greek and Head of the Department of Classics, University of Nottingham, and Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford. He has published editions of Sophocles' Electra and Ajax, and Pindar's Pythian Eleven with Cambridge, as well as many articles on archaic and classical Greek literature. In 2012 he was awarded a Philip Leverhulme Prize by the Leverhulme Trust. His research for this book was funded by an Early Career Fellowship awarded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council.Davies, M.: - M. Davies is Associate Professor of Classical Languages and Literature, and Fellow of St John's College, Oxford. He has published a study of the Theban epics, editions of the fragments of Greek epic and lyric poetry, a commentary on Sophocles' Trachiniae, and (with J. Kathirithamby) a book on Greek insects, as well as many articles on Greek poetry, especially its interactions with folk-tale and other mythological traditions.