Overview

An authoritative commentary on the surviving fragments of Greek lyric poetry up to the death of Aristotle. No comparable work exists, partly because these fragments are usually small, textually corrupt and difficult to interpret. But they cast light on several aspects of Greek culture: for example, religion and prayer formulae (many of them take the form of hymns), the symposium (they include a collection of scolia), and the development of the so-called 'New School' of poetry and music. They also include fragments of poems by Telesilla and Praxilla, two of the rare band of female poets of antiquity other than Sappho, and Philoxenus' Deipnon, which puts into dactylo-epitrite metre the contents of an imaginary banquet, including long list of different types of food. Our knowledge of Euripides and Aristotle is expanded by the preservation of a quotation from a victory ode the former wrote for Alcibiades, and of an entire lyric eulogy for a dead friend composed by the latter. Also extended is our knowledge of that tantalising and in many ways baffling period of Greek literature between the death of Sophocles and the death of Aristotle. Nor should one forget the scurrilous verse of Timocreon, which extends our awareness of the capabilities of fifth century literary invective, and its capacity for parody and inversion of the topoi of praise poetry.

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9780198860501

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A readable and highly desirable commentary on poetry accessible only in single monographs. * Francesca D'Alfonso, Universita Di Trieste *

With this commentary, Malcolm Davies has provided us with an invaluable instrument for studying the fragments of several of the poets included in Denys Page's Poetae Melici Graeci (nos. 696ff.), sometimes with testimonia, in an accompanying volume as is stated in the preface to this work. The commentary is extremely learned and provides the reader with a wealth of information and references to pertinent discussions in recent and older literature that enhance our appreciation of these fragments...it is clear that this is a work that any serious student of Greek lyric poetry will need to consult. * Athanassios Vergados, Religious Studies Review * A readable and highly desirable commentary on poetry accessible only in single monographs. * Francesca D'Alfonso, Universita Di Trieste * This book represents a detailed philological commentary on a gallery of numerous poets who are already classified as 'lesser' in the title and who have not yet received any in-depth analysis...The present volume deserves the credit of having taken a notable step in this direction - of course only for the cognoscenti to whom the book is aimed. * ExClass *

With this commentary, Malcolm Davies has provided us with an invaluable instrument for studying the fragments of several of the poets included in Denys Page's Poetae Melici Graeci (nos. 696ff.), sometimes with testimonia, in an accompanying volume as is stated in the preface to this work. The commentary is extremely learned and provides the reader with a wealth of information and references to pertinent discussions in recent and older literature that enhance our appreciation of these fragments...it is clear that this is a work that any serious student of Greek lyric poetry will need to consult. * Athanassios Vergados, Religious Studies Review * A readable and highly desirable commentary on poetry accessible only in single monographs. * Francesca D'Alfonso, Universita Di Trieste *

With this commentary, Malcolm Davies has provided us with an invaluable instrument for studying the fragments of several of the poets included in Denys Page's Poetae Melici Graeci (nos. 696ff.), sometimes with testimonia, in an accompanying volume as is stated in the preface to this work. The commentary is extremely learned and provides the reader with a wealth of information and references to pertinent discussions in recent and older literature that enhance our appreciation of these fragments...it is clear that this is a work that any serious student of Greek lyric poetry will need to consult. * Athanassios Vergados, Religious Studies Review * A readable and highly desirable commentary on poetry accessible only in single monographs. * Francesca D'Alfonso, Universita Di Trieste *

Author Information

Malcolm Davies is Professor of Greek and Latin Literature at St John's College, Oxford. His publications include Poetarum Melicorum Graecorum Fragmenta, Volume I (OUP, 1991) and Sophocles' 'Trachiniae' (OUP, 1991).

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