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  1. Aeneid (Krisak Edition)

    Virgil
    Translated by Len Krisak
    Introduction and Notes by Christopher M. McDonough

    Rising to the challenge of rendering the poem's Latin hexameters by adopting English iambic ones, Len Krisak's Aeneid doubles down on the English poetic tradition by also featuring rhyme. In Krisak's hands, these devices provide not only a superb kind of music but the snap and power of an epic adventure that glories in what only formal poetry can do. Enhanced by an Introduction and an extensive set of notes by Christopher M. McDonough, this Aeneid works as story, voice, and verse.

    "Virgil’s Aeneid, though central to the Western canon, is also one of the most difficult to tackle for the translator, with its knotty syntax, its famously 'pious' protagonist, and its slippery ambivalence toward questions of truth and power. In this fresh translation, Len Krisak not only boldly meets Virgil line-for-line, but in a hexameter that answers the original meter, all while hewing to straightforward English with a weather eye on the Latin. The six-beat line has a reputation in English for dragging, but Krisak's hexameters drive along briskly. His choice to rhyme throughout, sometimes chiming ingeniously and sometimes with subtler off-rhyme effects, brings home that we are reading not only an epic narrative, but a verse performance. This work, concerned with human displacement in the aftermath of a prolonged war, with its themes of personal responsibility, duty, and leadership, and imbued with anxiety about the direction of a nation, could not be more topical." —A. E. Stallings

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  2. Aeneid (Lombardo Edition)

    Virgil
    Translated by Stanley Lombardo
    Introduction by W. R. Johnson

    "Crisp, idiomatic, and precise, this is a translation for our era. The list of further reading, grounded in the writings of W.R. Johnson (who also wrote the Introduction) and Michael C. J. Putnam, suggests the context that informs the translation: here, as the translator says in the Preface, you will find an Aeneid that works more in the shadows than in the light. . . . This translation would be excellent for classroom use: not only would it incite fascinating discussions about issues of war and empire, but it also reads well aloud. . . . Together with Johnson's Introduction, this volume offers the Aeneid in terms that will resonate strongly with the general reader of today." —Sarah Spence, New England Classical Journal 

    "Adapting words of the ancient critic Longinus, [Lombardo] refers to the intense light of noon of the Iliad, the magical glow of the setting sun in the Odyssey, and the chiaroscuro of the Aeneid, a darkness visible. This latter phrase is the title of a famous interpretation of the Aeneid by W. R. Johnson, who contributes a splendid essay to the translation. Whether recited or read, the present volume stands as another fine performance on Lombardo's part. Summing up: Highly recommended." 
    —C. Fantazzi, CHOICE

    "Lombardo...tends to let Virgil be Virgil, and so avoids imposing unwarranted interpretation on the unwary reader. . . . [W.R. Johnson's] introduction is masterful and illuminating." —Hayden Pelliccia, The New York Review of Books

     

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  3. Aeneid, A Prose Translation

    Vergil
    Edited and Translated by Richard Caldwell

    An exciting prose translation of the epic poem, beautifully illustrated by Merle Mianelli Poulton, with all the right pedagogical apparatus to make reading this important work a joy for any modern college or high school student. The text is complete with notes, introductory essay, glossary, and an appendix detailing the tabulation of the gods.

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  4. Alcestis, Medea, Hippolytus

    Euripides
    Translated by Diane Arnson Svarlien
    Introduction and Notes by Robin Mitchell-Boyask

    This new volume of three of Euripides' most celebrated plays offers graceful, economical, metrical translations that convey the wide range of effects of the playwright's verse, from the idiomatic speech of its dialogue to the high formality of its choral odes.

    "Many scholars translate the works of Euripides as they should be, but Diane Arnson Svarlien translates them as they are. . . . Arnson Svarlien shows admirable modesty and restraint in avoiding . . . pitfalls, and makes choices that reveal the meaning of the text she is translating with the least imposition of her own personality.  The ambiguity of Euripides is transmitted to us but not imposed on us by [her] translation. . . . The translations are both readable and playable." —Edmond Chibeau, New England Theatre Journal 

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  5. Andromache, Hecuba, Trojan Women

    Euripides
    Translated by Diane Arnson Svarlien
    Introduction and Notes by Ruth Scodel

    Diane Arnson Svarlien’s translation of Euripides’ Andromache, Hecuba, and Trojan Women exhibits the same scholarly and poetic standards that have won praise for her Alcestis, Medea, Hippolytus. Ruth Scodel’s Introduction examines the cultural and political context in which Euripides wrote, and provides analysis of the themes, structure, and characters of the plays included. Her notes offer expert guidance to readers encountering these works for the first time.

    Includes the unabridged text of Diane Arnson Svarlien's Hecuba, a translation featured in Patrick Wang's critically acclaimed film, A Bread Factory.

    "Wang tracks a scene from a Bread Factory production of Hecuba from an uncertain rehearsal, to a breakthrough for its actors, to a searching discussion of the text and the characters, to a final performance so thrilling that I found myself wishing, while watching, that Wang would just shoot the whole play. Happily, he lets this Hecuba keep going." —Alan Scherstuhl, LA Weekly

    To see Patrick Wang's article "Hecuba: A Film Record" in Didaskalia, click here. To see clips from the Arnson Svarlien Hecuba featured in A Bread Factory, click here.

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  6. Anthology of Classical Myth (Second Edition)

    Edited and Translated by Stephen M. Trzaskoma, R. Scott Smith, and Stephen Brunet, with an Appendix on Linear B Sources by Thomas G. Palaima

    This new edition of Anthology of Classical Myth offers selections from key Near Eastern texts—the Babylonian Epic of Gilgamesh, Epic of Creation (Enuma Elish), and Atrahasis; the Hittite Song of Emergence; and the flood story from the book of Genesis—thereby enabling students to explore the many similarities between ancient Greek and Mesopotamian mythology and enhancing its reputation as the best and most complete collection of its kind. Click here to see the full Table of Contents (PDF) for Anthology of Classical Myth (Second Edition).

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  7. Antigone (Blondell Edition)

    Sophocles
    Translated, with Introduction and Essay, by Ruby Blondell

    "In her new translation of Antigone, Ruby Blondell demonstrates an unswerving sense of what the general reader needs to know in order not only to understand Sophocles, but to relish him as well… My own students have found that this edition not only makes the Antigone accessible, but also helps them understand why it continues to fascinate, to disturb, and to grip its readers century by century." —John T. Kirby, Comparative Literature, Purdue University

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  8. Antigone (Woodruff Edition)

    Sophocles
    Translated, with Introduction and Notes, by Paul Woodruff

    "A lucid, well-paced translation, natural enough sounding in the dialogue to make a good acting version, and remarkably successful in making the choruses clear, lyrical, and yet part of the dramatic movement. Woodruff’s rendering of the choruses especially impresses me by the way he manages to render complex syntax and imagery of the original—often tangled and occasionally obscure in its allusiveness—into clear and genuinely poetic English." —Joseph Russo, Haverford College

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  9. Apollodorus' Library and Hyginus' Fabulae

    Apollodorus & Hyginus
    Translated, with Introduction, by Stephen M. Trzaskoma & R. Scott Smith

    "To refer to this volume as just a translation is misleading, because Smith and Trzaskoma have provided much more, most notably the best short introduction to ancient mythography—and these particular authors—available in English. . . . The translations themselves are clear and accurate.  [An] admirable volume.  Smith and Trzaskoma are to be commended."
         —Kris Fletcher, Bryn Mawr Classical Review

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  10. Bacchae (Esposito Edition)

    Euripides
    Translated, with Introduction and Notes, by Stephen Esposito

    English translation, with introductory material, notes, glossary and essay by Stephen Esposito, of Euripides' tragedy based on the mythological story of King Pentheus of Thebes.

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  11. Bacchae (Woodruff Edition)

    Euripides
    Translated, with Introduction and Notes, by Paul Woodruff

    "[Woodruff’s translation] is clear, fluent, and vigorous, well thought out, readable and forceful. The rhythms are right, ever-present but not too insistent or obvious. It can be spoken instead of read and so is viable as an acting version; and it keeps the lines of the plot well focused. The Introduction offers a good survey of critical approaches. The notes at the foot of the page are suitably brief and nonintrusive and give basic information for the non-specialist."
         —Charles Segal, Harvard University

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  12. Classical Mythology in Literature, Art, and Music

    Philip Mayerson

    Originally published in the 1960s, this standard illustrated work covers the gods and heroes of the Classical world, with special emphasis on the influence Classical mythology has had on literature, art and music in Western civilization.

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  13. Complete Poems and Fragments

    Sappho
    Translated by Stanley Lombardo
    Introduction by Pamela Gordon

    "In this expanded edition of his distinguished Sappho: Poems and Fragments (2002), Stanley Lombardo offers over 100 fragments not included in the original edition, as well as the new poems discovered in 2004 and 2014. His translation of this latter material yields fresh insights into Sappho’s representations of old age, two of her brothers, and her special relationship with Aphrodite. Pamela Gordon’s engaging, balanced, and informative Introduction has been revised to incorporate discussion of the new fragments, which subtly alter our previous understanding of the archaic poet’s corpus. Complete Poems and Fragments also offers a useful updated bibliography, as well as a section on ‘Elegiac Sappho’ that presents the reception of the Lesbian poet in later Greek and Latin elegiac poems. A wonderful find for any Greekless reader searching for a complete and up-to-date Sappho."
         —Patricia A. Rosenmeyer, Department of Classics, University of Wisconsin-Madison

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  14. Electra

    Sophocles
    Translated, with Introduction and Notes, by Hanna M. Roisman

    This is an English translation of Sophocles' tragedy of Electra, and the vengeance that she and her brother Orestes take on their mother and step father for the murder of their father. This edition also includes an "afterlife" essay that discusses adaptations of the play, as well as touches on other ways Electra has had influence (Jung's identification of the Electra Complex, O'Neill's Mourning Becomes Electra). Focus Classical Library provides close translations with notes and essays to provide access to understanding Greek culture.

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  15. Electra, Phoenician Women, Bacchae, & Iphigenia at Aulis

    Euripides
    Translated, with Notes, by Cecelia Eaton Luschnig and Paul Woodruff, Introduction by Cecelia Eaton Luschnig

    The four late plays of Euripides collected here, in beautifully crafted translations by Cecelia Eaton Luschnig and Paul Woodruff, offer a faithful and dynamic representation of the playwright’s mature vision.

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  16. Heracles

    Euripides
    Edited by Michael Halleran

    Euripides' Heracles is an extraordinary play, innovative in its treatment of the myth, bold in its dramatic structure, and filled with affective human pathos. The play tells a tale of horror: Heracles, the greatest hero of the Greeks, is maddened by the gods to murder his wife and children. But this suffering and divine malevolence are leavened by the friendship between Heracles and Theseus, which allows the hero to survive this final and most painful labor. The Heracles raises profound questions about the gods and mortal values in a capricious and harsh world. 

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  17. Hippolytus

    Euripides
    Translated with Notes, Introduction, and Essay by Michael R. Halleran

    No play of Euripides is more admired than Hippolytus. The tale of a married woman stirred to passion for a younger man was traditional, but Euripides modified this story and blended it with one of divine vengeance to create a masterpiece of tension, pathos, and dramatic power. In this play, Phaedra fights nobly but unsuccessfully against her desire for her stepson Hippolytus, while the young man risks his life to keep her passion secret. Both of them, constrained by the overwhelming force of divine power and human ignorance, choose to die in order to maintain their virtue and their good names.

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  18. Homeric Hymns (Shelmerdine Edition)

    Edited and Translated by Susan C. Shelmerdine

    This is a collection of the standard texts of ancient Greek which are important components of what we know about Greek myth, religion, language and culture. All of the works collectively known as the Homeric Hymns are collected and translated here in their entirety, and the work includes ample notes and an introduction to provide information on the works' historic importance, a chronological table, genealogical chart, maps of Greece and the Aegean Islands, and illustrations of vase paintings with mythological themes.

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  19. Iliad

    Homer
    Translated by Stanley Lombardo
    Introduction by Sheila Murnaghan

    "Gripping. . . . Lombardo's achievement is all the more striking when you consider the difficulties of his task. . . . [He] manages to be respectful of Homer's dire spirit while providing on nearly every page some wonderfully fresh refashioning of his Greek. The result is a vivid and disarmingly hardbitten reworking of a great classic." —Daniel Mendelsohn, The New York Times Book Review

    "It is hard to overstate the attractions of this translation. In a rhythm sinewy and flexible, with language that is precise, lyrical and fresh, Lombardo's Iliad pulses with all the power and luminosity of the Greek. He shows extraordinary sensitivity to the images and aural effects of the ancient poem. There are brilliant touches on every page. . . . Altogether this is as good as Homer gets in English." —Richard P. Martin, Princeton University

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  20. King Oidipous

    Sophocles
    Translated, with Introduction and Essay, by Ruby Blondell

    This is an English translation of Sophocles' famous tragedy of Oedipus and the fate he so much tries to avoid. Focus Classical Library provides close translations with notes and essays to provide access to understanding Greek culture.

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  21. Medea (Podlecki Edition)

    Euripides
    Translated, with an Introduction and Notes, by Anthony Podlecki

    English translation. Includes essays on the play's mythical background and the work of Euripides, an introduction to Greek drama and the dramatic tradition, plot summaries and suggestions for further reading. For both students and the general reader.

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  22. Medea (Svarlien Edition)

    Euripides
    Translated by Diane Arnson Svarlien
    Introduction and Notes by Robin Mitchell-Boyask

    "This is the Medea we have been waiting for.  It offers clarity without banality, eloquence without pretension, meter without doggerel, accuracy without clumsiness.  No English Medea can ever be Euripides', but this is as close as anyone has come so far, and a good deal closer than I thought anyone would ever come.  Arnson-Svarlien has shown herself exceedingly skillful in making Euripides sound Euripidean." —David M. Schaps, Bryn Mawr Classical Review

    "Fluid, lively, and accurate!" —Amy Vail, Department of Classics, Baylor University

     

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  23. Medea, Hippolytus, Heracles, Bacchae

    Euripides
    Edited by Stephen Esposito

    Drawn from four titles in the Focus Classical Library, this anthology includes four outstanding translations of plays by Euripides as well as a general introduction, extensive footnotes, and two interpretive essays. Included are Anthony J. Podecki’s translation of Medea, Michael R. Halleran's translation of Hippolytus and Heracles and Stephen Esposito’s translation of Bacchae.

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  24. Memorable Deeds and Sayings

    Valerius Maximus
    Translated by Henry John Walker

    “The publication of Henry John Walker’s translation of Memorable Deeds and Sayings ensures a wider readership for Valerius’ great compendium of Greco-Roman lore. Of the many merits of Walker’s translation, I would cite especially its readability. Walker has produced a version of Valerius Maximus that reflects the original’s wide sweep, but in Walker’s hands Valerius tells a seamless story in multiple parts. This translation will be easily used by students in the classroom and by scholars. It is a substantial accomplishment: a superior new translation that renders a monument of Latin literature accessible in every way to multiple audiences.”
         —Joseph Pucci, Brown University

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  25. Metamorphoses (Ambrose Edition)

    Ovid
    Translated, with Introduction and Notes, by Z. Philip Ambrose

    This complete verse translation of Ovid's classical work is illustrated with extensive notes, an index, and glossary. To help the reader contend with Ovid's frequent leaps both ahead and back in time, the principle episodes are listed at the beginning of each book and the subsections and digressions marked with indentations. Some footnotes also refer to mythological material Ovid has derived from Greek epic or drama or, occasionally, from later sources. Specific authors referred to in these notes are briefly identified in the index and glossary.

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  26. Metamorphoses (Lombardo Edition)

    Ovid
    Translated by Stanley Lombardo
    Introduction by W. R. Johnson

    "Stanley Lombardo successfully matches Ovid’s human drama, imaginative brio, and irresistible momentum; and Ralph Johnson’s superb Introduction to Ovid's 'narratological paradise' is a bonus to this new and vigorous translation that should not be missed. Together, Introduction and text bring out the delightful unpredictability of Ovid’s 'history of the world' down to his times."
         —Elaine Fantham, Giger Professor of Latin, Emerita, Princeton University

    "Lombardo’s translation is the most readable I’ve seen. . . . Its language is modern, accessible, and unpretentious. . . . I can imagine reading all the way through this version with students. I also admire the catalog of transformations . . . and, as usual, an Introduction by Ralph Johnson is worth the price of the book." —Margaret Musgrove, University of Central Oklahoma

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  27. Odysseus at Troy

    Edited by Stephen Esposito

    Odysseus at Troy is centered on the mythological Greek warrior, Odysseus, hero of the Trojan War. This book contains three plays: Sophocles' Ajax, Euripides' Hecuba, and Euripides' Trojan Women. The plays are complete, with notes and introductions for each. An additional introduction to the volume gives background on this popular theme, and on Ajax, one of the most written-about hero in Greek literature. 

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  28. Odyssey

    Homer
    Translated by Stanley Lombardo
    Introduction by Sheila Murnaghan

    "[Lombardo] has brought his laconic wit and love of the ribald. . . . to his version of the Odyssey. His carefully honed syntax gives the narrative energy and a whirlwind pace. The lines, rhythmic and clipped, have the tautness and force of Odysseus' bow." —Chris Hedges, The New York Times Book Review

    "The definitive English version of Homer for our time." —The Common Review: The Magazine of the Great Books Foundation

    "Lombardo weaves his cherished idioms into important patterns of repetition and transformation so familiar to the telling of the Odyssey. . . . Above all, such familiar phrases serve to remind us of the oral character of the original Odyssey, providing the reader with an uncanny immediacy and relevance." —Christina Zwarg, The Bryn Mawr Classical Review

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  29. Oedipus Tyrannus

    Sophocles
    Translated, with Introduction and Notes, by Peter Meineck and Paul Woodruff

    "A clear, vigorous, spare, actable translation, and with it, excellent apparatus (Intro., notes, bibliography); all in a slim and affordable volume. I will use when I next teach Oedipus. Hackett is an invaluable resource!” —Rachel Hadas, Rutgers University

    "I have enjoyed all of the recent Hackett editions of translations of Greek literature and "Oedipus Tyrannus” is certainly no exception. Meineck and Woodruff got things just right, from employing "Tyrannus” instead of "Rex” in the title (as has become traditional, though it lends an erroneous sense to the play from the outset) to Woodruff’s very fine and accessible Introduction to the suspenseful, poetic and powerful rendering of the play itself. Meineck’s theatrical sensibility and knowledge are evident, yet the text never becomes too "stagey” nor wanders far from the Greek. I will definitely use this text along with other terrific Hackett editions in my courses." —Lisa Rengs George, Arizona State University

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  30. Oidipous at Colonus

    Sophocles
    Translated, with Introduction and Essay, by Ruby Blondell

    This is an English translation of Sophocles' tragedy of Oedipus who is banished from Thebes and confronts an array of obstacles that stand between him and the death he craves. Focus Classical Library provides close translations with notes and essays to provide access to understanding Greek culture. Includes maps, essays and suggestions for further reading.

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  31. Oresteia

    Aeschylus
    Translated, with Notes, by Peter Meineck
    Introduction by Helene P. Foley

    “Peter Meineck’s new rendition of the Oresteia is that rare and wonderful thing: a text accessible to the Greekless audience while still preserving the vocabulary of Aeschylus. Those of us who have seen Peter Meineck's performances have long marveled at his ability to turn Greek into clear English, how he does not do ‘versions’ of the plays, how he does not rewrite the ancients into modern jargon (even his comedies maintain more Aristophanic text than is usual). Here lines that students have always needed explicated stand clear. . . . Helene Foley has provided a fine introduction for this translation. Introduction and translation together provide an exciting text, one that should be widely read, widely used.” —Karelisa Hartigan, University of Florida, in The Classical Outlook

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  32. Philoctetes

    Sophocles
    Translated, with Introduction and Notes, by Peter Meineck and Paul Woodruff

    "Peter Meineck has given us a superbly vivid rendering of the play, informed throughout by his practical experience in the theater. His is a Philoctetes that is supremely alive, from start to finish. . . . [I]deal for classroom use. . . . accompanied by a new and thoughtful introduction from philosopher and classicist Paul Woodruff. Woodruff anchors the play in the complex web of fears and anxieties of 409 BCE, as both Sophocles' life and Athens' imperial heyday drew to a close. . . . [A]n exceptionally fine work of translation and scholarship that will go far toward demolishing dismissals of the play as inaccessible or unengaging for the modern reader. Sophocles, Meineck and Woodruff eloquently remind us, speaks to every age, not least our own."
         —Thomas R. Keith, Loyola University Chicago in CJ-Online

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  33. Philoktetes

    Sophocles
    Translated, with Introduction and Notes, by Seth L. Schein

    "Seth Schein's new translation of the Philoctetes will serve as a useful text for upper-year classical literature courses in translation. As is typical of the Focus Classical Library series, Schein's translation aims to give a faithful rendering of the Greek that is at the same time readable, if not poetic. It also situates the work in its historical context and generally provides the supplementary material required for readers new to Attic tragedy. . . . Given that it provides more contextual information and interpretive detail than the average translation, and that the translation itself strives for greater fidelity to the original, Schein's work will be most welcome in upper-year translation courses, where it will encourage students to develop a more detailed and subtle understanding of the play."
          —Brad Levett, Carleton University

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  34. Prometheus Bound

    Aeschylus
    Translated, with Introduction and Notes, by Deborah Roberts

    “This is the best Prometheus Bound in English. Deborah Roberts’ translation is accurate, readable, and true to the original in idiom, imagery, and the combination of a high style with occasional colloquialism. The informative notes and perceptive Introduction will help readers to experience the play with heightened pleasure and understanding.” —Seth L. Schein, Professor of Comparative Literature, University of California, Davis

    "This is an outstandingly useful edition of Prometheus Bound. The translation is both faithful and graceful, and the introduction to this difficult play is a model of clarity, intelligence, and a profound familiarity with the workings of Greek myth, Greek literature, and literature in general." —Rachel Hadas, Department of English, Rutgers University

    "The language is rich and poetic without being overly stylized. The result is a beautiful rendition of the tragic language. . . . The Introduction provides everything one would want and expect to find for this play." —Kathryn Mattison, McMaster University, in Mouseion

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  35. Sophocles: Four Tragedies

    Translated, with Introduction and Notes, by Peter Meineck and Paul Woodruff

    Meineck and Woodruff's new annotated translations of Sophocles' Ajax, Women of Trachis, Electra, and Philoctetes combine the same standards of accuracy, concision, clarity, and powerful speech that have so often made their Theban Plays a source of epiphany in the classroom and of understanding in the theatre.  Woodruff's Introduction offers a brisk and stimulating discussion of central themes in Sophoclean drama, the life of the playwright, staging issues, and each of the four featured plays.

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  36. The Electra Plays

    Aeschylus, Euripides, Sophocles
    Translated, with Notes, by Peter Meineck, Cecelia Eaton Luschnig, & Paul Woodruff; Introduction by Justina Gregory

    "Once again, Peter Meineck and Paul Woodruff team up (this time with Cecelia Eaton Luschnig) to produce a thoroughly engaging text with lively translations that prove to be of great value to the college classroom. . . . The clarity of the translations, the unburdensome thoroughness of the introduction, and the judicious selection of footnotes, however, combine to allow students both within and outside the pertinent disciplines to appreciate how The Electra Plays speak directly to the world."
         —Mitchell M. Harris, Augustana College

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  37. The Essential Aeneid

    Virgil
    Translated and Abridged by Stanley Lombardo
    Introduction by W. R. Johnson

    Stanley Lombardo's deft abridgment of his 2005 translation of the Aeneid preserves the arc and weight of Virgil's epic by presenting major books in their entirety and abridged books in extended passages seamlessly fitted together with narrative bridges. W. R. Johnson's Introduction, a shortened version of his masterly Introduction to that translation, will be welcomed by both beginning and seasoned students of the Aeneid, and by students of Roman history, classical mythology, and Western civilization.

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  38. The Essential Homer

    Homer
    Translated and Edited by Stanley Lombardo
    Introduction by Sheila Murnaghan

    "Not only does one get an excellent translation of both Homer's Iliad and Odyssey under one cover, but the selections included are infinitely better and longer than what one normally gets in anthologies of Greek literature. For courses in which entire texts cannot be used, this is by far the best choice available today." —Kostas Myrsiades, Westchester University

    "A good idea—its utility far outweighs qualms purists have about students not reading every last item in the catalogue of ships. The translation is vigorous and readable." —Andrew Ford, Princeton University

     

     

    "The Essential Homer fills a long-felt need for an edition that offers a sizable selection of the books and passages most likely to be used in undergraduate courses. It's a wonderful help." —Richard P. Martin, Stanford University

     

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  39. The Essential Iliad

    Homer
    Translated and Abridged by Stanley Lombardo
    Introduction by Sheila Murnaghan

    While preserving the basic narrative of the Iliad, this selection also highlights the epic's high poetic moments and essential mythological content, and will prove especially useful in surveys of world literature.

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  40. The Essential Metamorphoses

    Ovid
    Translated and Edited by Stanley Lombardo
    Introduction by W. R. Johnson

    The Essential Metamorphoses, Stanley Lombardo’s abridgment of his translation of Ovid’s Metamorphoses, preserves the epic frame of the poem as a whole while offering the best-known tales in a rendering remarkable for its clarity, wit, and vigor.  While making no pretense of offering an experience comparable to that of reading the whole of Ovid’s self-styled history “from the world’s first origins down to my own time,” this practical and judicious selection of myths at the heart of Roman mythology and literature yet manages to relate many of the most fascinating episodes in that world-historical march toward the Age of Augustus—and is accompanied by an Introduction that deftly sets them in their cosmological, theological, and Augustan contexts.

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  41. The Essential Odyssey

    Homer
    Translated and Edited by Stanley Lombardo
    Introduction by Sheila Murnaghan

    This generous abridgment of Stanley Lombardo’s translation of the Odyssey offers more than half of the epic, including all of its best-known episodes and finest poetry, while providing concise summaries for omitted books and passages. Sheila Murnaghan’s Introduction, a shortened version of her essay for the unabridged edition, is ideal for readers new to this remarkable tale of the homecoming of Odysseus.

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  42. The Golden Ass

    Apuleius
    Translated, with Introduction, by Joel C. Relihan

    "This is easily the best English translation of The Golden Ass. I find that undergraduates with little or no knowledge of classical literature or the Greco-Roman world can readily read and enjoy it—as accessible as Graves or Ruden, but much more true to Apuleius's text and sensibility. Relihan's introduction is a great distillation of scholarly commentary—superb in all aspects." —Robin Walz, University of Alaska Southeast

    "Relihan is an American Euphues. I like everything about this edition from the title page to the index. The translation is magnificent." —Stanley Lombardo, University of Kansas

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  43. The Orestes Plays

    Euripides
    Translated, with Introduction and Notes, by Cecelia Eaton Luschnig

    Featuring Cecelia Eaton Luschnig's annotated verse translations of Euripides' Electra, Iphigenia among the Tauri, and Orestes, this volume offers an ideal avenue for exploring the playwright's innovative treatment of both traditional and non-traditional stories concerning a central, fascinating member of the famous House of Atreus.

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  44. The Tale of Cupid and Psyche

    Apuleius
    Translated, with Introduction, by Joel C. Relihan

    "Joel Relihan's playful and exuberant translation of Apuleius' Golden Ass has already won admiration for its ability to give an English-reading audience some sense of what it's like to experience this often astonishing writer in the original Latin. By presenting The Tale of Cupid and Psyche with its narrative frame and by supplementing it with key passages from other writers, he here provides the reader with the materials needed for an informed and complex engagement with this text; his carefully nuanced 'Afterthoughts' enrich that process further. This volume will appeal to anyone with interests in myth, religion, and folklore, and will surely find its place in a wide range of courses."
         —James B. Rives, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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  45. The Trojan Women

    Euripides
    Translated, with Introduction and Notes, by Diskin Clay

    English translation, with introduction, notes and appendices. The Trojan Women is a play on the consequences of war and the fate of those defeated in war and their victors. 

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  46. Theban Plays (Blondell Edition)

    Sophocles
    Translated, with Introduction and Essay, by Ruby Blondell

    This anthology includes English translations of three plays of Sophocles' Oidipous Cycle: Antigone, King Oidipous, and Oidipous at Colonus. The trilogy includes an introductory essay on Sophocles life, ancient theatre, and the mythic and religious background of the plays. Each of these plays is available from Focus in a single play edition. Focus Classical Library provides close translations with notes and essays to provide access to understanding Greek culture.

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  47. Theban Plays (Woodruff & Meineck Edition)

    Sophocles
    Translated by Paul Woodruff and Peter Meineck
    Introduction by Paul Woodruff

    This volume offers the fruits of Peter Meineck and Paul Woodruff's dynamic collaboration on the plays of Sophocles' Theban cycle, presenting the translators' Oedipus Tyrannus (2000) along with Woodruff's Antigone (2001) and a muscular new Oedipus at Colonus by Meineck. Grippingly readable, all three translations combine fidelity to the Greek with concision, clarity, and powerful, hard-edged speech. Each play features foot-of-the-page notes, stage directions, and line numbers to the Greek. Woodruff's Introduction discusses the playwright, Athenian theatre and performance, the composition of the plays, and the plots and characters of each; it also offers thoughtful reflections on major critical interpretations of these plays.

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  48. Theogony & Works and Days (Caldwell & Nelson Edition)

    Hesiod
    Translated, with Introductions, by Richard Caldwell and Stephanie Nelson

    This edition includes an annotated translation, by Richard Caldwell, of Hesiod’s Theogony together with annotated translation, by Stephanie Nelson, of Hesiod’s Works & Days. Introductions by the translators are also included, as is an essay by Caldwell entitled “The Psychology of the Succession Myth."

     

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  49. Theogony

    Hesiod
    Translated, with Introduction, Commentary, and Interpretative Essay, by Richard Caldwell

    This translation contains an introduction, commentary and interpretive essay and well as numerous notes and annotations to provide the history and background of the epic, and the mythological context in which it is placed. Hesiod's straightforward account of family conflict among the gods is the best and earliest evidence of what the ancient Greeks believed about the beginning of the world. Includes Hesiod's Works and Days, lines 1-201 and the Library of Apollodorus.

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  50. Works and Days & Theogony (Lombardo Edition)

    Hesiod
    Translated by Stanley Lombardo
    Introduction and Notes by Robert Lamberton

    “This is by far the best rendering of Hesiod’s poems in print. The translation is fully accurate but so readable one doesn’t want to stop; it exactly captures Hesiod’s rustic wisdom, his humour and his cautious pessimism. . . . Clear brief notes and a glossary make this a must for introductory courses: students will love it.”
         —Richard Janko, University College, London

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