The Oxford Companion to Classical LiteratureM. C. Howatson Oxford University Press, 1989 - 615 páginas From Achilles's heel to the sword of Damocles, Western culture teems with allusions from the rich heritage of classical literature, and this new edition of The Oxford Companion to Classical Literature, the first updating since Sir Paul Harvey's original edition of 1937, provides the key to these works and the ancient Greek and Roman civilizations that produced them. Substantially revising the first edition, this volume condenses the findings of the most recent scholarship into highly readable prose and supplies a wealth of background information not found in Harvey's Companion. Indispensable to those studying classical literature in depth, the book will be equally accessible to the non-specialist. All Greek is transliterated, with translations given for all quotations from Greek and Latin. The main focus of the Companion remains the lives and works of the principal authors. Biographical entries offer the essential facts and sift the conjectural evidence, while entries on the major works include discussions of the philosophical dialogues and political speeches and plot summaries of the epic poems and plays. The various literary forms--epic, comedy, tragedy, rhetorical writing--are covered in depth, supplemented by articles on the origins of the Greek and Latin alphabets and languages. The Companion also puts this literature into its societal and historical contexts, including many articles on political, social, and artistic achievements. We learn, for example, about the political climate that produced the great speeches of Demosthenes and Cicero. Orators, statesmen, and generals stalk the pages, and major battles and conquests from the time of Alexander to the fall of Rome are summarized. Articles on contemporary social mores and religious beliefs help explain literary references, while the glories of philosophy, science, and art are celebrated from Cynics to Stoics, astronomy to water-clocks, and flute competitions to vase painting. Helpful maps supplement geographical entries, a chronological table provides an overview of the main historical and literary events, and a systematic set of cross-references links the entries. The breadth and accuracy of this volume will surely make it the standard reference book of its kind for years to come. |
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Palavras e frases frequentes
Aeneas Aeneid Alexander ancient Antony Apollo Aristophanes Aristotle army Asia Minor Athenian Athens Attic battle became Boeotia brother Christian Cicero citizens Claudius Cleisthenes comedy consul Corinth cult daughter death defeated Delian League Delphi Demosthenes dialogue Dionysus Dorian early Egypt emperor Augustus empire epic Euripides famous father festival fifth century BC fourth century BC fragments Gaul goddess gods Greece Greek myth Hellenistic Heracles hero Herodotus Homer Iliad important influence Ionian island Italy Julius Caesar killed king known later Latin literary lyric Macedon Macedonia married METRE Mycenaean Octavian Odysseus orator originally Peloponnese Peloponnesian Peloponnesian War perhaps Persian Philip philosopher Plato play poems poet poetry political Pompey probably province Ptolemy religion rhetoric Roman Rome second century senate Sicily slave Socrates Sparta speech story style survive temple Thebes Thessaly third century tion tragedy Trojan Troy tyrant victory Virgil wife writing written wrote Zeus