The Shadow of Callimachus
Studies in the Reception of Hellenistic Poetry at Rome

A critical examination of the Roman reaction to Greek poetry of the last three pre-Christian centuries.

Richard Hunter (Author)

9780521691796, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 23 November 2006

176 pages
19.9 x 13.3 x 1.1 cm, 0.22 kg

'As hunter says in his concluding sentence, 'In the stare of the evidence, fragmentary glimpses of partial truths are probably the best for which we can hope.' Hunter has given us much more than 'fragmentary glimpses' in a volume that should be on the shelf of every scholar of ancient poetry.' Latomus

Through a series of critical readings this book builds a picture of the Roman reaction to, and adoption of, the Greek poetry of the last three pre-Christian centuries. Although the poetry of the greatest figure of Greek poetry after Alexander, Callimachus of Cyrene, and his contemporaries stands at the heart of the book, the individual studies embrace the full scope of what remains of Hellenistic poetry, both high literary productions and the more marginal poetry, such as that in honour of the great goddess Isis. The singularity of the poetry of Catullus and Virgil, of Horace and the elegists, emerges as more rich and complex than has hitherto been appreciated. Individual studies concern the poets' declared attitudes to their own work, the figure of Dionysus/Bacchus and the poetry of world conquest, the creation of similes, and the conversion of Greek bucolic into Latin pastoral.

Introduction
1. In the grove
2. In the grip of the god?
3. Nothing like this before
4. The shadows lengthen
Afterword.

Subject Areas: Literary studies: poetry & poets [DSC], Literary studies: classical, early & medieval [DSBB]