Considering the limited attention paid to later epigram, the volume could have been called ‘Hellenistic epigram’, as Hellenistic poets make up eighty percent of this reader. The brief introduction touches on many relevant aspects and references are up-to-date and to the point.
N. Hopkinson, A Hellenistic Anthology, Cambridge 1988. ‘beingthat’ (p. 114) lacks a space. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Collections of Greek inscriptions initially started from the 3rd century BC and continued with collections of epigrams and short poems, which after the 1st century AD were called Anthologies. To learn more about the use of cookies, please read our, Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies, Chapter 1. The 34 pages of introduction cover the very basics of the development of the genre, a ‘how to read an ancient Greek epigram section’, a ‘very short history of the texts’, a very short section on influences, overviews of the poets treated in this volume, a three page list of ‘rhetorical/literary figures and grammatical terms’, a short bibliography of texts and translations, six pages on meter, and the obligatory list of abbreviations (with the interesting ‘C-to-F’ for ‘Contrary to Fact’); some abbreviations are, however, missing from the list, such as ‘intran.’ on p. 13.
Alternatively the fourth text block prints a literary translation, ranging from 1793 to 2005. These blocks may contain points of interest as explained by the author, but sometimes they contain large citations from dedicated scholarly publications, such as Alexander Sens’ commentary on Asclepiades, Livingstone & Nisbet’s introductory volume to Greek epigram, or simply an entry from the OCD (as in the case of ἡταῖραι on p. 89). Aithiops (p. 49, cited from Nisetich, where it is printed correctly) should be Aithiopis. This division gives the impression of a clearly delineated, yet fairly evenly spread choice of material. It showcases the poetry of nine poets (including one woman), with many epigrams from the recently discovered Milan papyrus. Slightly less convenient is the fact that the epigrams are numbered per author, rather than continuously: “1. loose translation by Michael R. Burch Come spring, the grand apple trees stand watered by a gushing river where the and the Beginning with simple expressions engraved on stone, these poems eventually encompassed nearly every theme we now associate with lyric poetry in English. The somewhat conservative choice of poems, despite my reservations, ties in with general idea about the canon of Greek epigram, and the author is to be credited for not leaving out the more difficult poems. The author’s concern for useful study material has already been exemplified by similar readers on Lucian, Aesop, Euripides’ Cyclops , and less common texts, such as the Gospel of Thomas, or the Pinax of Cebes. I very much doubt, however, that the inclusion of pluralis maiestatis (p. xxii) is appropriate for the epigrams treated here; ‘poetic plural’ may be as far as we can go. The author’s concern for useful study material has already been exemplified by similar readers on Lucian, Aesop, Euripides’ Cyclops, and less common texts, such as the Gospel of Thomas, or the Pinax of Cebes. For students of intermediate Greek, it offers lots of basic instruments for reading, for a very modest price. These anthologies of Greek epigrams were enlarged with additions of earlier collections, culminating in what is called today "Greek Anthology". The leading principle here, as the author makes clear, is that translations and the like are only included if they do not inhibit the epigram’s treatment to stay on one page, or on two facing pages, fitting besides or below the Greek text. Collections of Greek inscriptions initially started from the 3rd century BC and continued with collections of epigrams and short poems, which after the 1st century AD were called Anthologies. The final chapter, although divided over six poets, only contains ten poems. The line-by-line notes to the epigrams, primarily intended for basic reading, are overall very useful, short when then can be, long if this is what the text requires. 101 N. Merion Ave., The rhetorical/literary figures list is elementary, but helpful. Considering the limited attention paid to later epigram, the volume could have been called ‘Hellenistic epigram’, as Hellenistic poets make up eighty percent of this reader. The brief introduction touches on many relevant aspects and references are up-to-date and to the point.
Overall, this is quite a nice volume. N; Hopkinson, Greek Poetry of the Imperial Period, Cambridge 1994.