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The Trojan Epic: Posthomerica (Johns Hopkins New Translations from Antiquity) - Softcover

Book 3 of 9: Johns Hopkins New Translations from Antiquity

Quintus Of Smyrna

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9780801886355: The Trojan Epic: Posthomerica (Johns Hopkins New Translations from Antiquity)
Softcover
ISBN 10: 080188635X ISBN 13: 9780801886355
Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2007

Synopsis

Composed in the third century A.D., the Trojan Epic is the earliest surviving literary evidence for many of the traditions of the Trojan War passed down from ancient Greece. Also known as the Posthomerica, or "sequel to Homer," the Trojan Epic chronicles the course of the war after the burial of Troy's greatest hero, Hektor.

Quintus, believed to have been an educated Greek living in Roman Asia Minor, included some of the war's most legendary events: the death of Achilles, the Trojan Horse, and the destruction of Troy. But because Quintus deliberately imitated Homer's language and style, his work has been dismissed by many scholars as pastiche.

A vivid and entertaining story in its own right, the Trojan Epic is also particularly significant for what it reveals about its sources―the much older, now lost Greek epics about the Trojan War known collectively as the Epic Cycle. Written in the Homeric era, these poems recounted events not included in the Iliad or the Odyssey. As Alan James makes clear in this vibrant and faithful new translation, Quintus's work deserves attention for its literary-historical importance and its narrative power. James's line-by-line verse translation in English reveals the original as an exciting and eloquent tale of gods and heroes, bravery and cunning, hubris and brutality. James includes a substantial introduction which places the work in its literary and historical context, a detailed and annotated book-by-book summary of the epic, a commentary dealing mainly with sources, and an explanatory index of proper names. Brilliantly revitalized by James, the Trojan Epic will appeal to a wide range of readers interested in Greek mythology and the legend of Troy.

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About the Author

Alan James is Senior Lecturer in Classics emeritus at the University of Sydney.

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Publisher
Johns Hopkins University Press
Publication date
2007
Language
English
ISBN 10 
080188635X
ISBN 13 
9780801886355
Binding
Paperback
Number of pages
408
Editor
James Alan
Rating
  • 3.97 out of 5 stars
    717 ratings by Goodreads