Classics

The Cambridge Companion to Homer is a guide to the essential aspects of Homeric criticism and scholarship, including the reception of the poems in ancient and modern times. Written by an international team of scholars, it is intended to be the first port of call for students at all levels, with introductions to important subjects and suggestions for further exploration. Alongside traditional topics like the Homeric Question, the divine apparatus of the poems, the formulae, the characters and the archaeological background, there are detailed discussions of similes, speeches, the poet as story-teller and the genre of epic both within Greece and worldwide. The reception chapters include assessments of ancient Greek and Roman readings as well as selected modern interpretations from the eighteenth century to the present day. Chapters on Homer in English translation and 'Homer' in the history of ideas round out the collection.

This volume is the first English-language survey of Homeric studies to appear for more than a generation, and the first such work to attempt to cover all fields comprehensively. Thirty leading scholars from Europe and America provide short, authoritative overviews of the state of knowledge and current controversies in the many specialist divisions in Homeric studies. The chapters pay equal attention to literary, mythological, linguistic, historical, and archaeological topics, ranging from such long-established problems as the "Homeric Question" to newer issues like the relevance of narratology and computer-assisted quantification. The collection, the third publication in Brill's handbook series, The Classical Tradition, will be valuable at every level of study - from the general student of literature to the Homeric specialist seeking a general understanding of the latest developments across the whole range of Homeric scholarship.

Plato, mathematician, philosopher and founder of the Academy in Athens, is, together with his teacher, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, universally considered to have laid the foundations of Western philosophy. The Bloomsbury Companion to Plato provides a comprehensive and accessible study guide to Plato's thought. Written by a team of leading experts in the field of ancient philosophy, this companion covers five major areas;- Plato's life and his historical, philosophical and literary context- synopses of all the dialogues attributed to Plato- the most important features of the dialogues- the key themes and topics apparent in the dialogues- Plato's enduring influence and the various interpretative approaches applied to his thought throughout the history of philosophyCovering every aspect of Plato's thought in over 140 entries, The Bloomsbury Companion to Plato is an engaging introduction to Plato and an essential resource for anyone working in the field of ancient philosophy.

Drawing on the growing interest in Near Eastern literature and culture, and applying the insights of both traditional classical philology and the study of oral cultures, this companion offers a wide-ranging, update and comprehensive panorama of the current state of Hesiodic studies.

This collection of essays on Ovid's life, works, and influence is intended to serve as a vade-mecum for all interested in the Roman World's most versatile literary genius. The broad range of subjects and perspectives represented by the Companion's fourteen contributors offers readers the best in contemporary classical scholarship.

A Companion to Vergil's Aeneid and its Tradition presents a collection of original interpretive essays that represent an innovative addition to the body of Vergil scholarship. Provides fresh approaches to traditional Vergil scholarship and new insights into unfamiliar aspects of Vergil's textual history Features contributions by an international team of the most distinguished scholars Represents a distinctively original approach to Vergil scholarship.

This volume centres on a detailed analysis of the whole corpus of Horace's work. It is preceeded by an account of Horace's life and work and followed by two appendices on the transmission of the text and style and metre.

The Introduction contextualizes the study in terms of existing scholarship on Tacitus, cultural memory theory, and the study of Roman religion. Roman paganism, with its emphasis on exact repetition of rituals as they have been performed for centuries, is particularly fruitful when analyzed using cultural memory theory as developed by scholars such as Jan Assmann, Maurice Halbwachs, and Pierre Nora: religious ritual is viewed as a key component in any society’s efforts to create a lived version of the past that helps define cultural identity in the present. Tacitus’ own background as a quindecimvir, one of the most important priestly colleges in the Roman state cult, as well as the conventions surrounding the treatment of religion in Roman historiography, are likely to have informed his interest in religious material.