The third edition of The Oxford Companion to
Classical Literature is the complete and
authoritative reference guide to the classical world and
its literary heritage. It not only presents the reader
with all the essential facts about the authors, tales,
and characters from ancient myths and literature, but it
also places these details in the wider contexts of the
history and society of the Greek and Roman worlds. With
an extensive web of cross-references and a useful
chronological table and location maps (all of which have
been brought fully up to date), this volume traces the
development of literary forms and the classical
allusions which have become embedded in our Western
culture.
Extensively revised and updated, the
Companion includes more thematic entries -
medicine, friendship, science, the concept of freedom,
and sexuality. These topical entries provide an
excellent starting point to the exploration of their
subjects in classical literature.
The
Companion contains extensive biographies of
classical literary figures from Aeschylus to Zeno;
entries on a multitude of literary styles from biography
and rhetoric to lyric poetry and epic, and character
entries and plot summaries for the major figures and
myths in the classical canon. It is the ideal guide for
students in Classics, and for all who are passionate
about the vast and varied literary tradition bequeathed
to us from the classical world.
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