This is the first study of all the extant remains of the important Hellenistic poet and mythographer, Parthenius of Nicaea, reputed to have been Virgil's tutor in Greek and a major literary figure in his own right. A new edition of his poetic fragments, it presents the first commentary on them since the work of August Meineke (1843); it also attempts to contextualize Parthenius within the traditions of Hellenistic poetry and within the `neoteric revolution' of late
Republican Rome. It is also the first detailed study of and commentary on the extant collection of love-stories, the Erotika Pathemata, showing their roots in Hellenistic historiography, on the one
hand, and their connection to the increasingly popular genre of the novel, on the other. It uses narratology to illustrate the hitherto entirely unrecognised skill and artistry with which the stories are told, and offers a close linguistic analysis of a work of prose from a singularly badly documented period. The detailed commentary considers each story in terms of structure, literary and mythological affiliations, and parallel treatments; and a new text aims to provide an improved apparatus
criticus with a good number of new suggestions. The prime importance of the work is that it aims to be a comprehensive treatment of a relatively neglected and marginalized figure; and that it sets
Parthenius' poetry and prose side by side to illustrate and contextualize a literary personality who was unusual in antiquity as an accomplished writer in both genres.
This is the first study of all the extant remains of the important Hellenistic poet and mythographer, Parthenius of Nicaea, reputed to have been Virgil's tutor in Greek and a major literary figure in his own right. A new edition of his poetic fragments, it presents the first commentary on them since the work of August Meineke (1843); it also attempts to contextualize Parthenius within the traditions of Hellenistic poetry and within the `neoteric revolution' of late
Republican Rome. It is also the first detailed study of and commentary on the extant collection of love-stories, the Erotika Pathemata, showing their roots in Hellenistic historiography, on the one
hand, and their connection to the increasingly popular genre of the novel, on the other. It uses narratology to illustrate the hitherto entirely unrecognised skill and artistry with which the stories are told, and offers a close linguistic analysis of a work of prose from a singularly badly documented period. The detailed commentary considers each story in terms of structure, literary and mythological affiliations, and parallel treatments; and a new text aims to provide an improved apparatus
criticus with a good number of new suggestions. The prime importance of the work is that it aims to be a comprehensive treatment of a relatively neglected and marginalized figure; and that it sets
Parthenius' poetry and prose side by side to illustrate and contextualize a literary personality who was unusual in antiquity as an accomplished writer in both genres.
CONINGTON PRIZE, 1999 - AWARDED BY THE FACULTY OF LITERAE HUMANIORES OF OXFORD UNIVERSITY (AUGUST 1999)
Jane Lightfoot is a Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford
A scholar would have to be preternaturally learned to gain little from this book. In subjects as diverse as Greek literary history, Roman elegy, Greek vocabulary and syntax, motifs in story telling, textual criticism and local antiquities - and in other topics too, attentive readers will be amply rewarded. Hermathena: A Trinity College Dublin Review Lightfoot's thorough work of scholarship deserves a warm welcome. Hermathena: A Trinity College Dublin Review The good idea in Lightfoot's huge book is to reunite textual evidence that is usually treated separately, that is, the tantalizing scraps of (predominately) elegiac poetry and the extant prose work, Erotika Pathemata. Classical World A splendid and most welcome tome ... We have a valuable edition of a neglected author, worth attention. Religious Studies Review
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