A World of Heroes
Selections from Homer, Herodotus and Sophocles

A reader for intermediate students of ancient Greek, introducing three of ancient Greece's most important authors, Homer, Herodotus and Sophocles.

Joint Association of Classical Teachers' Greek Course (Author)

9780521736466, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 19 February 2015

386 pages, 38 b/w illus. 5 maps
24.6 x 17.4 x 1 cm, 0.39 kg

A World of Heroes is a reader designed for students who have just completed an introductory course in ancient Greek and wish to read substantial passages of ancient authors in the original language. It introduces three of ancient Greece's most important authors, Homer, Herodotus and Sophocles, and includes such gripping and influential stories as the battle of Thermopylai (from Herodotus' Histories); the death of Hektor (the Iliad) and the fall of Oedipus. Notes accompanying each passage provide extensive help with vocabulary and translation, and each section contains a brief introduction to the author and his work. The first edition of the book proved very successful with students and instructors for more than three decades. This, the second edition, includes the same texts as the first but provides much more help with translating and understanding them in order better to meet the needs of modern students.

Homer: introductory passage: Akhilleus and Hektor (Iliad 22.1-130)
Target passages: the death of Hektor (Iliad 22.131-end)
Hektor and Andromakhe (Iliad 6.237-end)
Herodotus: introductory passages: Persian customs (Histories 1.131-140)
Xerxes at Abydos (Histories 7.44-53)
Target passage: the battle of Thermopylai (Histories 7.56-238)
Sophocles: introductory passage: Oedipus the King (Oedipus Tyrannus 300-862)
Target passage: the fall of Oedipus (Oedipus Tyrannus 950-end).

Subject Areas: Classical history / classical civilisation [HBLA1], Ancient history: to c 500 CE [HBLA], Literary studies: classical, early & medieval [DSBB], Language: history & general works [CBX]