Books in the Cambridge Greek and Latin Classics series

Plato's Symposium is the most literary of all his works and one which all students of classics are likely to want to read whether or not they are studying Plato's philosophy. But the reader does need help in appreciating both the artistry and the arguments, and in comprehending the social and cultural background against which the 'praise of love' is delivered. Sir Kenneth Dover provides here a sympathetic and modern edition of the kind that is long overdue. It consists of an introduction, the Greek text accompanied by a very abbreviated critical apparatus, and a commentary on the text which is intended to elucidate the Greek, to make the philosophical argument intelligible, and to relate the content of what is said to the concepts and assumptions of contemporary morality and society. An edition for students of Greek in universities and the upper forms of schools.

The twenty-fourth book of the Iliad is one of the masterpieces of world literature, a work of interest to a far wider audience than scholars of ancient Greek. In his introduction Colin Macleod examines Homer's notion of poetry, his style and language and the architecture and meaning of his work.

Propertius' fourth book is his most challenging and innovative. It disrupts genre; dislocates time and order; and meditates on gender, perception and history. This detailed commentary, with introduction and new text, provides much new material for approaching this important work. Both students and scholars will find it valuable.

Offers a detailed literary and cultural analysis of Euripides' Helen, a work which arguably embodies the variety and dynamism of fifth-century Athenian tragedy more than any other surviving play. The Commentary's notes on language and style make the play fully accessible to readers of Greek at all levels.

Although Lucian is one of the most brilliant and wide-ranging writers from antiquity, there are few commentaries for those who wish to read him in his original Greek. This edition includes both more and less well-known works, with full commentaries on each text preceded by literary appraisals.

Horace's first book of Satires is his debut work, a document of one man's self-fashioning on the cusp between republic and empire, and a pivotal text in the history of Roman satire. It wrestles with the problem of how to define and assimilate satire and justifies the poet's own position in a suspicious society. The commentary gives full weight to the dense texture of these poems while helping readers interpret their most cryptic aspects and appreciate their technical finesse. The introduction puts Horace in context as late-Republican newcomer and a vital figure in the development of satire, and discusses the structure and meaning of Satires I, literary and philosophical influences, style, metre, transmission and Horace's rich afterlife. Each poem is followed by an essay offering overall interpretation. This work is designed for upper-level students and scholars of classics but contains much of interest to specialists in later European literature.

Book XII brings Virgil's Aeneid to a close, as the long-delayed single combat between Aeneas and Turnus ends with Turnus' death - a finale that many readers find more unsettling than triumphant. In this, the first detailed single-volume commentary on the book in any language, Professor Tarrant explores Virgil's complex portrayal of the opposing champions, his use and transformation of earlier poetry (Homer's in particular) and his shaping of the narrative in its final phases. In addition to the linguistic and thematic commentary, the volume contains a substantial introduction that discusses the larger literary and historical issues raised by the poem's conclusion; other sections include accounts of Virgil's metre, later treatments of the book's events in art and music, and the transmission of the text. The edition is designed for upper-level undergraduates and graduate students and will also be of interest to scholars of Latin literature.

These delightful narrative poems tell of Apollo's birth and foundation of the Delphic oracle, Hermes' invention of the lyre and theft of Apollo's cattle, and Aphrodite's love affair with Anchises. This edition, designed for upper-level students, helps the reader appreciate them as major works of early Greek poetry.

Provides a varied selection from the attractive corpus of Greek lyric, including well-known as well as some lesser studied poems. The original Greek text is accompanied by a commentary and a detailed introduction. The volume will be of interest to advanced undergraduates and graduate students as well as to scholars.

Euripides' Cyclops is the only example of Attic satyr-drama which survives intact and brilliantly dramatises the famous story from Homer's Odyssey of how Odysseus blinded the Cyclops after making him drunk. This full literary and linguistic commentary on the play is suitable for both advanced students and scholars.

Treats a compelling narrative of two of history's most famous battles, and assists translation and literary and historical appreciation.

The Greek prose writer Lysias is a fascinating source for the study of Athenian law, society and history in the late fifth century BC. Six of his professional legal speeches are selected in this new edition, both for their intrinsic interest and the accessibility of the language.

Full-scale 2007 commentary exploring afresh long-standing controversies such as the moral status of the killing of Clytemnestra, while also investigating subjects such as the place of rhetoric and the use of typical scenes. It provides original metrical analyses of the lyrical sections of the play and a revised Greek text.

This book is, in the editor's words, 'a subtle and sophisticated play about primitive emotions'. Making full use of recent Sphoclean scholarship, Mrs Easterling attempts in her Introduction a detailed literary analysis of Trachiniae, helping the reader to understand better its intricate structure, the treatment of Deianira and Heracles, and the meaning of the final scenes.

Plautus' Casina is a lively and well composed farce. The plot, which concerns the competition of a father and his son for the same girl and the various scurrilous tricks employed in the process, gives full scope to Plautus' inventiveness and richly comic language.

The four private speeches contained in this collection were functional artefacts whose object was to persuade a jury numbered in hundreds by manipulating both the facts of the case and the prejudices, beliefs and attitudes of the Athenian man-in-the-street. A commentary sheds light on their effectiveness.

Plato's Alcibiades represents Socrates, the exemplary philosopher, trying to win for philosophy the youthful Alcibiades, who later became the exemplary man of unscrupulous action. Although the dialogue was widely admired in antiquity as the very best introduction to Plato, this is the first commentary to be published in modern times.

This commentary fulfils the need for a student edition of Horace's literary epistles, which have recently been the subject of renewed scholarly interest. Professor Rudd provides a clear introduction to each of the three poems: the Epistles to Augustus, to Florus, and to the Pisones (the so-called 'Ars Poetica').

Contains the Latin text of most of the surviving parts of Cicero's most elaborate philosophical dialogue.

This is the only commentary to provide a full and detailed interpretation in English of Horace's book of Epodes.

A selection of the work of ten poets with detailed introduction and linguistic, literary and cultural commentary suitable for upper-level undergraduates and graduate students, but also of interest to scholars. Includes some major pieces, such as the recently discovered Plataea elegy of Simonides and Telephus elegy of Archilochus.

In this book Lucan recounts the decisive victory of Julius Caesar over Pompey at the Battle of Pharsalus in 48 BCE. This edition guides students and scholars through the work and offers generous help with appreciating Lucan's sometimes difficult Latin and his poetic achievement.

Book III is one of the most diverse in the Iliad. This edition discusses the historical, literary and religious backgrounds to the work and gives a full historical account of Homeric language. The commentary explores the styles of Homeric narrative as well as providing linguistic and metrical help.

Book 18 of the Iliad is an outstanding example of the range and power of Homeric epic. This edition provides an introduction, text and commentary suitable for intermediate and advanced students of Greek. It includes grammatical and other aid to translation but lays particular emphasis on interpretation and elucidation.

An up-to-date commentary on a pivotal section of Xenophon's Anabasis aimed at undergraduates. Advanced students and scholars will profit from its incorporation of recent developments in Xenophontic scholarship and Greek linguistics. Offers new insights into Xenophon's diction and narrative technique and into the reception of Anabasis in antiquity.

A detailed guide to an important book of Ovid's Fasti, in which the poet gives an account of the Roman calendar. The commentary and introduction explore the literary tradition to which the Fasti belongs, provide clear guidance on the Latin and expound the poet's vision of Roman life, religion and myth.

Many themes of Aeschylus' Suppliants resonate strongly today, yet this edition is the first since 1889 to provide an English commentary based on the Greek text and remain accessible to advanced undergraduates and graduate students. The introduction discusses the myth, the lost companion plays, the underlying social issues, and other topics.

The first modern commentary in English on this most sophisticated and brilliant of ancient Greek novels. With its freewheeling plotline, its setting on the edge of the Greek world, its ironic play with the reader's expectations and its sallies into obscenity, it will appeal strongly to students and instructors.

Makes accessible a wide range of important poetic texts from the third and second centuries BC. It provides help with the background to these writers and with the Greek of these often allusive and challenging works. This second edition has been thoroughly updated and substantially expanded.

Makes accessible a wide range of important poetic texts from the third and second centuries BC. It provides help with the background to these writers and with the Greek of these often allusive and challenging works. This second edition has been thoroughly updated and substantially expanded.