A book about romantic love, Eros the Bittersweetis Anne Carson’s exploration of the concept of “eros” in both classical philosophy and literature. Beginning with, “It was Sappho who first called eros ‘bittersweet.’ No one who has been in love disputes her,” Carson examines her subject from numerous points of view, creating a lyrical meditation in the tradition of …
This new, fully-annotated translation by a leading expert on Hesiodic poems combines accuracy with readability and includes an introduction and explanatory notes on these two works by one of the oldest known Greek poets. The Theogony contains a systematic genealogy and account of the struggles of the gods, and the Works and Days offers a compendium of moral …
The Odyssey SparkNotes Literature Guide (SparkNotes Literature Guide Series)
When an essay is due and dreaded exams loom, here’s the lit-crit help students need to succeed! SparkNotes Literature Guides make studying smarter, better, and faster. They provide chapter-by-chapter analysis, explanations of key themes, motifs and symbols, a review quiz, and essay topics. Lively and accessible, SparkNotes is perfect for late-night studying and paper …
Cicero: Rhetorica ad Herennium (Loeb Classical Library No. 403) (English and Latin Edition)
Cicero (Marcus Tullius, 106–43 BCE), Roman lawyer, orator, politician and philosopher, of whom we know more than of any other Roman, lived through the stirring era which saw the rise, dictatorship, and death of Julius Caesar in a tottering republic. In his political speeches especially and in his correspondence we see the excitement, tension and intrigue of …
This anonymous fourteenth-century text is the glory of English mysticism, and one of the most practical and useful guides to finding union with God ever written. Carmen Acevedo Butcher’s new translation is the first to bring the text into a modern English idiom—while remaining strictly faithful to the meaning of the original Middle English. …
High above the sky stands Swarga, paradise, abode of the gods. Still above is Vaikuntha, heaven, abode of God. The doorkeepers of Vaikuntha are the twins, Jaya and Vijaya, both whose names mean victory . One keeps you in Swarga; the other raises you into Vaikuntha. In Vaikuntha there is bliss forever, in Swarga there is pleasure for …
Oxford Readings in Propertius (Oxford Readings in Classical Studies)
This volume focuses on the great Roman love poet Propertius. Propertius’ poetry reveals an ardent love affair between the poet and his girlfriend, whom he calls ‘Cynthia’, yet it also offers a snapshot of life in ancient Rome during the Augustan age (20s Bc). While this was a period of growth and revival after the crippling civil wars …
Anselm of Canterbury: The Major Works (Oxford World’s Classics)
Although utterly convinced of the truth of Christianity, Anselm of Canterbury struggled to make sense of his religion. He considered the doctrines of faith an invitation to question, to think, and to learn; and he devoted his life to confronting and understanding the most elusive aspects of Christianity. His writings …
Le Morte Darthur: The Winchester Manuscript (Oxford World’s Classics)
The greatest English version of the stories of King Arthur, Le Morte D’Arthur was completed in 1469-70 by Sir Thomas Malory, “knight prisoner.” This edition is the first designed for the general reader to be based on the “Winchester manuscript” which represents what Malory wrote more closely than the version printed by William Caxton. Extensively annotated, this …
Sophocles, The Oedipus Cycle: Oedipus Rex, Oedipus at Colonus, Antigone
English versions of Sophocles’ three great tragedies based on the myth of Oedipus, translated for a modern audience by two gifted poets. …