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Cover image of The Lives of the Greek Poets
Cover image of The Lives of the Greek Poets
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The Lives of the Greek Poets

Mary R. Lefkowitz

second edition
Publication Date
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Renowned scholar Mary R. Lefkowitz has extensively revised and rewritten her 1981 classic to introduce a new generation of students to the lives of the Greek poets. Thoroughly updated with references to the most recent scholarship, this second edition includes new material and fresh analysis of the ancient biographies of Greece's most famous poets.

With little or no independent historical information to draw on, ancient writers searched for biographical data in the poets’ own works and in comic poetry about them. Lefkowitz describes how biographical mythology was created, and she offers a...

Renowned scholar Mary R. Lefkowitz has extensively revised and rewritten her 1981 classic to introduce a new generation of students to the lives of the Greek poets. Thoroughly updated with references to the most recent scholarship, this second edition includes new material and fresh analysis of the ancient biographies of Greece's most famous poets.

With little or no independent historical information to draw on, ancient writers searched for biographical data in the poets’ own works and in comic poetry about them. Lefkowitz describes how biographical mythology was created, and she offers a sympathetic account of how individual biographers reconstructed the poets’ lives. She argues that the life stories of Greek poets, even though primarily fictional, still merit close consideration, as they provide modern readers with insight into ancient notions about the creative process and the purpose of poetic composition.

Accessible to students and readers unfamiliar with ancient Greece as well as to scholars, this comprehensive and compelling study includes translations of the original biographies of seven of ancient Greece’s most storied poets.

Reviews

Reviews

A major book which aims at demolishing the underpinnings of much that has passed for Greek literary criticism... its proper application to classical studies will have a very positive effect.

A valuable collection of evidence, information, and ideas.

About

Book Details

Publication Date
Status
Available
Trim Size
6
x
9
Pages
240
ISBN
9781421404646
Table of Contents

Preface
List of Abbreviations
Introduction
1. Hesoid
2. Homer
3. Eight Archaic Poets
4. Solon
5. Simonides
6. Pindar
7. Aeschylus
8. Sophocles
9. Euripides
10. Comic Poets
11. Hellenistic Poets
Conclusion
Appendixes

Preface
List of Abbreviations
Introduction
1. Hesoid
2. Homer
3. Eight Archaic Poets
4. Solon
5. Simonides
6. Pindar
7. Aeschylus
8. Sophocles
9. Euripides
10. Comic Poets
11. Hellenistic Poets
Conclusion
Appendixes
Notes
Bibliography
Index

Author Bio
Featured Contributor

Mary R. Lefkowitz

Mary R. Lefkowitz is the Andrew W. Mellon Professor in Humanities emerita at Wellesley.