Greek Poetry of the Imperial Period

This book contains a selection of pagan Greek poetic texts ranging in date from the first to the sixth century AD. It makes easily accessible for the first time work by poets such as Quintus Smyrnaeus, Nonnus, Musaeus and Babrius hitherto neglected in Classical syllabuses. Genres represented include epic, epyllion, didactic, epigram, lyric and the verse fable. There is a brief general introduction, and in addition each section of detailed commentary is prefaced by a discussion of literary aspects of the poems and of their wider contexts. The book is intended primarily for undergraduate and graduate students of Greek, but will be of interest also to Classical scholars.

• No other such selection in print • The commentary makes accessible to students authors and texts new to most readers • A second anthology compiled and annotated by Neil Hopkinson, author of A Hellenistic Anthology (2000 sales in paperback)

Introduction: 1. Some historical developments; 2. Education and culture; 3. Christianity; 4. Pagan poetry in the Imperial period; The Anthology: Anacreontea; Mesomedes; Epigrams, Quintus Smyrnaeus; Nonnus; Musaeus; Oppian; [Oppian], [Manetho], [Orpheus], Babrius; The Commentary; Indexes.