The Homeric Battle of the Frogs and Mice (Greek Texts Book 54)

"This book offers students of Greek and scholars interested in Greek literature the first English-language commentary on the "Battle of Frogs and Mice", a short animal epic ascribed to Homer in the ancient world. The book includes a contextualizing introduction covering issues of literary genre, literary history and the language of Homeric Greek. In addition to a revised Greek text, the volume also offers a new translation of the poem. The commentary furnishes readers with extensive linguistic and literary information so that they may investigate the problem of the poem's character and authorship on their own. A full vocabulary at the back ensures this is a one-stop shop for students reading the poem."--Bloomsbury Publishing This book offers students of Greek and scholars interested in Greek literature the first English-language commentary on the "Battle of Frogs and Mice", a short animal epic ascribed to Homer in the ancient world. The book includes a contextualizing introduction covering issues of literary genre, literary history and the language of Homeric Greek. In addition to a revised Greek text, the volume also offers a new translation of the poem. The commentary furnishes readers with extensive linguistic and literary information so that they may investigate the problem of the poem's character and authorship on their own. A full vocabulary at the back ensures this is a one-stop shop for students reading the poem This book offers students of Greek and scholars interested in Greek literature the first English-language commentary on the "Battle of Frogs and Mice", a short animal epic ascribed to Homer in the ancient world. The book includes a contextualizing introduction covering issues of literary genre, literary history and the language of Homeric Greek. In addition to a revised Greek text, the volume also offers a new translation of the poem. The commentary furnishes readers with extensive linguistic and literary information so that they may investigate the problem of the poem's character and authorship on their own. A full vocabulary at the back ensures this is a one-stop shop for students reading the poem. Book jacket Cover 1 Half-title 3 Title 7 Copyright 8 Contents 11 Preface 12 Acknowledgments 15 Introduction 17 Greek Text 59 English Translation 69 Commentary 79 Glossary 175 Index 207 Introduction 17 Date and authorship 17 The manuscript tradition 20 Our poem 21 The tradition of fable 22 Epic parody 28 Parodic epic 31 Homeric language and meter 39 Formulaic language 43 Some conclusions about date and authorship 48 Divergences from Attic Greek 50 A note on translation 52 Works cited in introduction and commentary 53 Greek Text 59 English Translation 69 Commentary 79 Glossary 175 Index 207 Offers students of Greek and scholars interested in Greek literature an English-language commentary on the Battle of Frogs and Mice, a short animal epic ascribed to Homer in the ancient world. This book includes a contextualizing introduction covering issues of literary genre, literary history and the language of Homeric Greek.