The Poets of Alexandria (Paperback)

Susan A. Stephens

ISBN 10: 1848858809 / ISBN 13: 9781848858800

Published by Bloomsbury Publishing PLC, London, 2018

About this Item

Paperback. Alexandria was the greatest of the new cities founded by Alexander the Great as his armies swept eastward. It was ruled by his successors, the Ptolemies, who presided over one of the richest and most productive periods in the whole of Greek literature. Susan A Stephens here reveals a cultural world in transition: reverential of the compositions of the past (especially after construction of the great library, repository for all previous Greek oeuvres), but at the same time forward-looking and experimental, willing to make use of previous forms of writing in exciting new ways. The author examines Alexandria's poets in turn. She discusses the strikingly avant-garde Aetia of Callimachus; the idealized pastoral forms of Theocritus (which anticipated the invention of fiction); and the neo-Homerian epic of Apollonius, the Argonautica, with its impressive combination of narrative grandeur and psychological acuity. She shows that all three poets were innovators, even while they looked to the past for inspiration: drawing upon Homer, Hesiod, Pindar and the lyric poets, they emphasized stories and material that were entirely relevant to their own progressive cosmopolitan environment. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9781848858800

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Poets of Alexandria (Paperback)
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC, London
• Publication Date: 2018
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1848858809
• ISBN 13: 9781848858800
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

Alexandria was the greatest of the new cities founded by Alexander the Great as his armies swept eastward. It was ruled by his successors, the Ptolemies, who presided over one of the richest and most productive periods in the whole of Greek literature. Susan A Stephens here reveals a cultural world in transition: reverential of the compositions of the past (especially after construction of the great library, repository for all previous Greek oeuvres), but at the same time forward-looking and experimental, willing to make use of previous forms of writing in exciting new ways. The author examines Alexandria's poets in turn. She discusses the strikingly avant-garde Aetia of Callimachus; the idealized pastoral forms of Theocritus (which anticipated the invention of fiction); and the neo-Homerian epic of Apollonius, the Argonautica, with its impressive combination of narrative grandeur and psychological acuity. She shows that all three poets were innovators, even while they looked to the past for inspiration: drawing upon Homer, Hesiod, Pindar and the lyric poets, they emphasized stories and material that were entirely relevant to their own progressive cosmopolitan environment.

About the Authors

Susan A. Stephens is Sara Hart Kimball Professor in the Humanities and Professor of Classics at Stanford University, USA.

Richard Stoneman is a classicist, editor and lecturer. An Honorary Fellow of Exeter University, he is the author of numerous books and guides including Daphne into Laurel, A Literary Companion to Travel In Greece, The Greek Alexander Romance and Alexander the Great: a Life in Legend. He was President of the Classical Association in 2009/10.