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A series of monographs on all aspects of classical learning: literature, philosophy, history and archaeology. Most of the books arise from work done at Cambridge University.

  • General Editors: J. P. T. Clackson, University of Cambridge, G. Betegh, University of Cambridge, S. P. Oakley, University of Cambridge, R. G. Osborne, University of Cambridge, M. J. Squire, University of Cambridge, C. Vout, University of Cambridge, T. J. G. Whitmarsh, University of Cambridge

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94 results in Cambridge Classical Studies

Page 5 of 5

Platonic Drama and its Ancient Reception
  • Nikos G. Charalabopoulos
  • Published online:
    05 May 2012
    Print publication:
    05 April 2012
  • As prose dramatic texts Plato's dialogues would have been read by their original audience as an alternative type of theatrical composition. The 'paradox' of the dialogue form is explained by his appropriation of the discourse of theatre, the dominant public mode of communication of his time. The oral performance of his works is suggested both by the pragmatics of the publication of literary texts in the classical period and by his original role as a Sokratic dialogue-writer and the creator of a fourth dramatic genre. Support comes from a number of pieces of evidence, from a statue of Sokrates in the Academy (fourth century BC) to a mosaic of Sokrates in Mytilene (fourth century AD), which point to a centuries-old tradition of treating the dialogues in the context of performance literature and testify to the significance of the image of 'Plato the prose dramatist' for his original and subsequent audiences.

The Seleucid Army
  • Organization and Tactics in the Great Campaigns
  • Bezalel Bar-Kochva
  • Published online:
    04 August 2010
    Print publication:
    13 May 1976
  • This is a 1976 study of the organization and tactics of the Seleucid armies from 312 to 129 BC. The first part of the book discusses the numerical strength of the armies, their sources of manpower, the contingents of the regular army, their equipment and historical development, the chain of command, training and discipline. The second part reconstructs the great campaigns in order to examine the Seleucid tactics. The book provides a lesson in Hellenistic and military history and discusses several questions: how did the Hellenistic armies develop after Alexander? What distinguished the Seleucid army as superior to its Hellenistic contemporaries? The answers illuminate the expansion of Hellenism as we learn how the Seleucid army was used as a military, social and cultural instrument to impose the rule of the dynasty over the vast regions of the Empire and how it helped to shape Hellenistic society in the East.

The Transformation of Mathematics in the Early Mediterranean World
  • From Problems to Equations
  • Reviel Netz
  • Published online:
    05 May 2010
    Print publication:
    10 June 2004
  • The transformation of mathematics from ancient Greece to the medieval Arab-speaking world is here approached by focusing on a single problem proposed by Archimedes and the many solutions offered. In this trajectory Reviel Netz follows the change in the task from solving a geometrical problem to its expression as an equation, still formulated geometrically, and then on to an algebraic problem, now handled by procedures that are more like rules of manipulation. From a practice of mathematics based on the localized solution (and grounded in the polemical practices of early Greek science) we see a transition to a practice of mathematics based on the systematic approach (and grounded in the deuteronomic practices of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages). With three chapters ranging chronologically from Hellenistic mathematics, through late Antiquity, to the medieval world, Reviel Netz offers an alternate interpretation of the historical journey of pre-modern mathematics.

Listening to the Cicadas
  • A Study of Plato's Phaedrus
  • G. R. F. Ferrari
  • Published online:
    12 March 2010
    Print publication:
    15 October 1987
  • This full-length study of Plato's dialogue Phaedrus, now in paperback, is written in the belief that such concerted scrutiny of a single dialogue is an important part of the project of understanding Plato so far as possible 'from the inside' - of gaining a feel for the man's philosophy. The focus of this account is on how the resources both of persuasive myth and of formal argument, for all that Plato sets them in strong contrast, nevertheless complement and reinforce each other in his philosophy. Not only is the dialogue in its formal structure a dovetail of myth and argument, but the philosophic life that it praises is also shaped by an acknowledgement of the limitations of argument and the importance of mythical understanding. By means of this correlation of form and content Plato invites his readers, through the very act of reading, to take a first step along the path of the philosophical life.

Seneca the Elder
  • Janet Fairweather
  • Published online:
    10 March 2010
    Print publication:
    07 May 1981
  • A feature of Roman rhetorical education under the early empire was the dominance of the declamatio - the declamation on a mythological, historical or quasi-legal theme designed in the first place to train students for the law courts and political debating but indulged in for its own sake by amateurs as well as students and teachers of rhetoric. The elder Seneca, father of the philosopher and dramatist, compiled an anthology of the often bizarre utterances of the declaimers. Janet Fairweather's 1981 book is a detailed study of the anthologist's literary criticism. From Seneca's prefactory descriptions of declaimers and passing remarks on their work, she derives evidence for all the stages in the preparation and delivery of declamations; and from the same source, in conjunction with select declamatory extracts, she shows that rhetorical taste in Seneca's time was not so uniform as is commonly supposed.

Solon and Early Greek Poetry
  • The Politics of Exhortation
  • Elizabeth Irwin
  • Published online:
    05 November 2009
    Print publication:
    11 August 2005
  • The poetry of archaic Greece gives voice to the history and politics of the culture of that age. This 2005 book explores the types of history that have been, and can be, written from archaic Greek poetry, and the role this poetry had in articulating the social and political realities and ideologies of that period. In doing so, it pays particular attention to the stance of exhortation adopted in early Greek elegy, and to the political poetry of Solon. Part I of this study argues that the singing of elegiac paraenesis in the elite symposium reflects the attempt of symposiasts to assert a heroic identity for themselves within this wider polis community. Part II demonstrates how the elegy of Solon both confirms the existence of this elite practice, and subverts it; Part III looks beyond Solon's appropriations of poetic traditions to argue for another influence on Solon's political poetry, that of tyranny.

Statius and Epic Games
  • Sport, Politics and Poetics in the Thebaid
  • Helen Lovatt
  • Published online:
    27 October 2009
    Print publication:
    21 April 2005
  • Epic games are more than just an interlude; they reflect the realities of epic: heroism, power and war. This first major study of the athletic games in Statius' Thebaid Book 6 uses them to produce a new reading of the poem as a whole. It explores each event in Statius' games, discussing intertextual manoeuvres, historical context and poetic positioning, developing a theme from each: audience power, cosmic disruption, national identity, masculinity and the body, games and war, kingship and narrative control. This book uses a close reading of one part of one text to range over ancient literature. It casts light on the tradition of games in ancient epic as a whole, examining the works of Homer, Virgil, Apollonius, Ovid and Lucan. It is essential reading for the student of Statius and of ancient epic and of interest to historians of Roman society with an interest in sport and spectacle.

Heracles and Euripidean Tragedy
  • Thalia Papadopoulou
  • Published online:
    22 September 2009
    Print publication:
    14 July 2005
  • Euripides' Heracles is an extraordinary play of great complexity, exploring the co-existence of both positive and negative aspects of the eponymous hero. Euripides treats Heracles' ambivalence by showing his uncertain position after the completion of his labours and turns him into a tragic hero by dramatizing his development from the invincible hero of the labours to the courageous bearer of suffering. This book offers a comprehensive reading of Heracles examining it in the contexts of Euripidean dramaturgy, Greek drama and fifth-century Athenian society. It shows that the play, which raises profound questions on divinity and human values, deserves to have a prominent place in every discussion about Euripides and about Greek tragedy. Tracing some of Euripides' most spectacular writing in terms of emotional and intellectual effect, and discussing questions of narrative, rhetoric, stagecraft and audience reception, this work is required reading for all students and scholars of Euripides.

Expressions of Agency in Ancient Greek
  • Coulter H. George
  • Published online:
    22 September 2009
    Print publication:
    25 August 2005
  • Ancient Greek expressed the agents of passive verbs by a variety of means, and this work explores the language's development of prepositions which marked the agents of passive verbs. After an initial look at the pragmatics of agent constructions, it turns to this central question: under what conditions is the agent expressed by a construction other than hupo with the genitive? The book traces the development of these expressions from Homer through classical prose and drama, paying attention to the semantic, syntactic, and metrical conditions that favoured the use of one preposition over another. It concludes with a study of the decline of hupo as an agent marker in the first millennium AD. Although the focus is on developments in Greek, translation of the examples should render it accessible to linguists studying changes in prepositional systems generally.

Aristotle on the Sense-Organs
  • T. K. Johansen
  • Published online:
    22 September 2009
    Print publication:
    13 November 1997
  • This book offers an important study of Aristotle's theory of the sense-organs. It aims to answer two questions central to Aristotle's psychology and biology: why does Aristotle think we have sense-organs, and why does he describe the sense-organs in the way he does? The author looks at all the Aristotelian evidence for the five senses and shows how pervasively Aristotle's accounts of the sense-organs are motivated by his interest in form and function. The book also engages with the celebrated problem of whether perception for Aristotle requires material changes in the perceiver. It argues that, surprisingly to the modern philosopher, nothing in Aristotle's description of the sense-organs requires us to believe in such changes.

Terence and the Language of Roman Comedy
  • Evangelos Karakasis
  • Published online:
    22 September 2009
    Print publication:
    14 April 2005
  • This book offers a comprehensive examination of the language of Roman comedy in general and that of Terence in particular. The study explores Terence's use of language to differentiate his characters and his language in relation to the language of the comic fragments of the palliata, the togata and the atellana. Linguistic categories in the Terentian corpus explored include colloquialisms, archaisms, hellenisms and idiolectal features. Terence is shown to give his old men an old-fashioned and verbose tone, while low characters are represented as using colloquial diction. An examination of Eunuchus' language shows it to be closer to the Plautine linguistic tradition. The book also provides a thorough linguistic/stylistic commentary on all the fragments of the palliata, the togata and the atellana. It shows that Terence, except in the case of his Eunuchus, consciously distances himself from the linguistic/stylistic tradition of Plautus followed by all other comic poets.

Method and Politics in Plato's Statesman
  • M. S. Lane
  • Published online:
    12 September 2009
    Print publication:
    22 January 1998
  • Among Plato's works, the Statesman is usually seen as transitional between the Republic and the Laws. This book argues that the dialogue deserves a special place of its own. Whereas Plato is usually thought of as defending unchanging knowledge, Dr Lane demonstrates how, by placing change at the heart of political affairs, Plato reconceives the link between knowledge and authority. The statesman is shown to master the timing of affairs of state, and to use this expertise in managing the conflict of opposed civic factions. To this political argument corresponds a methodological approach which is seen to rely not only on the familiar method of 'division', but equally on the unfamiliar centrality of the use of 'example'. The demonstration that method and politics are interrelated transforms our understanding of the Statesman and its fellow dialogues.

Libertas as a Political Idea at Rome during the Late Republic and Early Principate
  • CH. Wirszubski
  • Published online:
    24 August 2009
    Print publication:
    01 January 1950
  • This study describes the meaning of libertas as a political idea at Rome during the two hundred years or so between the Gracchi and Trajan, a period in which the Republican constitution gradually gave way and was finally superceded by the Principate which, in its own turn, considerably changed during the first century AD. Libertas, while identified with the republican constitution during the Republican period, continued to be a popular slogan and a constitutional principle under the Principate, and C H Wirszubski questions whether the political content of Roman libertas changed as the Roman constitution was transformed. He explores the general characteristics of libertas before engaging with both the background and the major points that were at issue, concluding his analysis with consideration of libertas in the context of the Principate. Originally published in the 1950s, Wirszubski's classic study has been digitally reprinted for a new generation of scholars.

The Language of Sophocles
  • Communality, Communication and Involvement
  • Felix Budelmann
  • Published online:
    15 August 2009
    Print publication:
    28 November 1999
  • This 1999 book is a wide-ranging study of Sophoclean language. From a detailed analysis of sentence-structure in the first chapter, it moves on to discuss in subsequent chapters how language shapes the perception of characters, of myths, of gods and of choruses. All chapters are united by a shared concern: how does Sophoclean language engage readers and spectators? In answering this question, The Language of Sophocles avoids the current emphasis on cultural specificity. Instead, it concentrates on those aspects of Sophoclean language which can engage a large number of different spectators and readers. With this change in emphasis, this study is able to offer various fresh observations about the workings of Sophoclean language. Although the book focuses on the original Greek, translations make it accessible to anybody interested in Greek tragedy.

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