Aristophanes' Acharnians (Focus Classical Library) - Softcover

Aristophanes

Softcover

ISBN 10: 094105117X ISBN 13: 9780941051170

Publisher: Focus Publishing/R Pullins & Co, 1992

Synopsis

Aristophanes of Athens (ca. 446-386 b.c.), one of the world's great comic dramatists, has been admired since antiquity for his wit and fantasy, language, satire of the social, intellectual and political life of Athens at its height. He wrote at least 40 plays, of which 11 have survived complete. In this volume, Jeffrey Henderson presents a newly edited Greek text of two plays and a translation with full explanatory notes for the late 1990s. In "Acharnians" a small landowner, tired of the Peloponnesian War, magically arranges a personal peace treaty and demonstrates the injustice of the war in a contest with the bellicose Acharnians. "Knights" is a political satire. The introduction brings current scholarly insights to bear on the problem of the comic poet as a political force.

About this title

Review

Henderson's translation keeps close to the Greek, but successfully manages to indicate something of Aristophanes' linguistic diversity; it has been carried off with admirable crispness...A highly welcome addition to the Loeb Library.--Stephen Halliwell "Greece and Rome "

Henderson, who may fairly be considered the leading Aristophanic scholar in North America, has now...provided us with both a useful text and idiomatic...translation. It is certainly a work that scholars may use with confidence and may recommend to their students.--Ian C. Storey "Bryn Mawr Classical Review "

Henderson's sound texts and plain translations give us exactly the Aristophanes we need: a reliable prose waiting to be quickened into poetic life by the reader's imagination, laughter, and amazement.--Donald Lyons "New Criterion "

It is accordingly a pleasure to note the appearance of the first of what will be four new Loeb volumes of "Aristophanes"this is an important edition of a major Greek author and an absolute "must-buy" for all college and university libraries.--S. Douglas Olson "Classical World "

From the Back Cover

Aristophanes of Athens (ca. 446-386 BC), one of the world's greatest comic dramatists, has been admired since antiquity for his iridescent wit and beguiling fantasy, exuberant language, and brilliant satire of the social, intellectual, and political life of Athens at its height. He wrote at least forty plays, of which eleven have survived complete. In this new Loeb Classical Library edition of Aristophanes, Jeffrey Henderson presents a freshly edited Greek text and a lively, unexpurgated translation with full explanatory notes. In Acharnians a small landowner, tired of the Peloponnesian War, magically arranges a personal peace treaty and, borrowing a disguise from Euripides, demonstrates the injustice of the war in a contest with the bellicose Acharnians. Also in this volume is Knights, perhaps the most biting satire of a political figure (Cleon) ever written.

Edition details

• Publisher: Focus Publishing/R Pullins & Co
• Publication date: 1992
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 094105117X
• ISBN 13: 9780941051170
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 85