Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey and Virgil’s Aeneid are three of the most important—and influential—works of Western classical literature. Although they differ in subject matter and authorship, these epic poems share a common purpose: to tell the “deeds both of men and of the gods.” Written in an accessible style and ideally suited for classroom use, Communication, Love, and Death in Homer and Virgil offers a unique comparative analysis of these classic works. As author Stephen Ridd explains, the common themes of communication, love, and death respond to “deeply ingrained human needs” and are therefore of perennial interest. Presenting select passages from the original Greek and Latin texts—translated here into modern English—Ridd explores in detail how the characters within the poems communicate on these subjects with one another as well as with the reader. Individual chapters focus on subjects such as the traditions of singing and storytelling, relationships between sons and mothers, the role of Helen of Troy and her ties to the men in her life, and communication with the dead. Throughout his analysis, Ridd treats the three poems on an equal basis, revealing similarities and differences in their handling of prevalent themes. By introducing readers to a new way of reading these abiding classics, Communication, Love, and Death in Homer and Virgil enhances our appreciation of the imaginative world of ancient Greek and Roman epic poetry.

Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey and Virgil’s Aeneid are three of the most important—and influential—works of Western classical literature. Although they differ in subject matter and authorship, these epic poems share a common purpose: to tell the “deeds both of men and of the gods.” Written in an accessible style and ideally suited for classroom use, Communication, Love, and Death in Homer and Virgil offers a unique comparative analysis of these classic works. As author Stephen Ridd explains, the common themes of communication, love, and death respond to “deeply ingrained human needs” and are therefore of perennial interest. Presenting select passages from the original Greek and Latin texts—translated here into modern English—Ridd explores in detail how the characters within the poems communicate on these subjects with one another as well as with the reader. Individual chapters focus on subjects such as the traditions of singing and storytelling, relationships between sons and mothers, the role of Helen of Troy and her ties to the men in her life, and communication with the dead. Throughout his analysis, Ridd treats the three poems on an equal basis, revealing similarities and differences in their handling of prevalent themes. By introducing readers to a new way of reading these abiding classics, Communication, Love, and Death in Homer and Virgil enhances our appreciation of the imaginative world of ancient Greek and Roman epic poetry.

We still read Homer’s epic the Iliad two-and-one-half millennia since its emergence for the questions it poses and the answers it provides for our age, as viable today as they were in Homer’s own times. What is worth dying for? What is the meaning of honor and fame? What are the consequences of intense emotion and violence? What does recognition of one’s mortality teach? We also turn to Homer’s Iliad in the twenty-first century for the poet’s preoccupation with the essence of human life. His emphasis on human understanding of mortality, his celebration of the human mind, and his focus on human striving after consciousness and identity has led audiences to this epic generation after generation. This study is a book-by-book commentary on the epic’s 24 parts, meant to inform students new to the work. Endnotes clarify and elaborate on myths that Homer leaves unfinished, explain terms and phrases, and provide background information. The volume concludes with a general bibliography of work on the Iliad, in addition to bibliographies accompanying each book’s commentary.

This book is about the reception of Homeric poetry from the fifth through the first century BCE. The aim of this book, which centers on ancient concepts of Homer as the author of a body of poetry that we know as the Iliad and the Odyssey, is to show how Homer's work became a classic in the days of the Athenian empire and later.

Love and tragedy dominate book four of Virgil's most powerful work, building on the violent emotions invoked by the storms, battles, warring gods, and monster-plagued wanderings of the epic's opening. Destined to be the founder of Roman culture, Aeneas, nudged by the gods, decides to leave his beloved Dido, causing her suicide in pursuit of his historical destiny. A dark plot, in which erotic passion culminates in sex, and sex leads to tragedy and death in the human realm, unfolds within the larger horizon of a supernatural sphere, dominated by power-conscious divinities. Dido is Aeneas' most significant other, and in their encounter Virgil explores timeless themes of love and loyalty, fate and fortune, the justice of the gods, imperial ambition and its victims, and ethnic differences. This course book offers a portion of the original Latin text, study questions, a commentary, and interpretative essays. Designed to stretch and stimulate readers, Ingo Gildenhard's incisive commentary will be of particular interest to students of Latin at both A2 and undergraduate level. It extends beyond detailed linguistic analysis to encourage critical engagement with Virgil's poetry and discussion of the most recent scholarly thought.

Virgil became a school author in his own lifetime and the centre of the Western canon for the next 1800 years, exerting a major influence on European literature, art, and politics. This Companion is designed as an indispensable guide for anyone seeking a fuller understanding of an author critical to so many disciplines. It consists of essays by seventeen scholars from Britain, the USA, Ireland and Italy which offer a range of different perspectives both traditional and innovative on Virgil's works, and a renewed sense of why Virgil matters today. The Companion is divided into four main sections, focussing on reception, genre, context, and form. This ground-breaking book not only provides a wealth of material for an informed reading but also offers sophisticated insights which point to the shape of Virgilian scholarship and criticism to come.

From its ancient incarnation as a song to recent translations in modern languages, Homeric epic remains an abiding source of inspiration for both scholars and artists that transcends temporal and linguistic boundaries. The Cambridge Guide to Homer examines the influence and meaning of Homeric poetry from its earliest form as ancient Greek song to its current status in world literature, presenting the information in a synthetic manner that allows the reader to gain an understanding of the different strands of Homeric studies. The volume is structured around three main themes: Homeric Song and Text; the Homeric World, and Homer in the World. Each section starts with a series of 'macropedia' essays arranged thematically that are accompanied by shorter complementary 'micropedia' articles. The Cambridge Guide to Homer thus traces the many routes taken by Homeric epic in the ancient world and its continuing relevance in different periods and cultures.

Monumental epic poem tells the heroic story of Aeneas, a Trojan who escaped the burning ruins of Troy to found Lavinium, the parent city of Rome, in the west.

Born in 39 C.E., the Roman poet Lucan lived during the turbulent reign of the emperor Nero. Prior to his death in 65 C.E., Lucan wrote prolifically, yet beyond some fragments, only his epic poem, the Civil War, has survived. Acclaimed by critics as one of the greatest literary achievements of the Roman Empire, the Civil War is a stirring account of the war between Julius Caesar and the forces of the republican senate led by Pompey the Great. Reading Lucan’s Civil War is the first comprehensive guide to this important poem. Accessible to all readers, it is especially well suited for students encountering the work for the first time. As the editor, Paul Roche, explains in his introduction, the Civil War (alternatively known in Latin as Bellum Civile, De Bello Civili, or Pharsalia) is most likely an unfinished work. Roche places the poem in historical and literary contexts that will be helpful to first-time readers. The volume presents, chapter-by-chapter, essays that cover each of the Civil War’s ten extant books. Five further chapters address topics and issues pertaining to the entire work, including religion and ritual, philosophy, gender dynamics, and Lucan’s relationships to Vergil and Julius Caesar. The contributors to this volume are all expert scholars who have published widely on Lucan’s work and Roman imperial literature. Their essays provide readers with a detailed understanding of and appreciation for the poem’s unique features. The contributors take special care to include translations of all original Latin passages and explain unfamiliar Latin and Greek terms. The volume is enhanced by a map of Lucan’s Roman world and a glossary of key terms.