Mary R. Lefkowitz

James S. Romm

A landmark anthology of the masterpieces of Greek drama, featuring all-new, highly accessible translations of some of the world's most beloved plays, including Agamemnon, Prometheus Bound, Bacchae, Electra, Medea, Antigone, and Oedipus the King Featuring translations by Emily Wilson, Frank Nisetich, Sarah Ruden, Rachel Kitzinger, Mary Lefkowitz, and James Romm The great plays of Ancient Greece are among the most enduring and important legacies of the Western world. Not only is the influence of Greek drama palpable in everything from Shakespeare to modern television, the insights contained in Greek tragedy have shaped our perceptions of the nature of human life. Poets, philosophers, and politicians have long borrowed and adapted the ideas and language of Greek drama to help them make sense of their own times. This exciting curated anthology features a cross section of the most popular--and most widely taught--plays in the Greek canon. Fresh translations into contemporary English breathe new life into the texts while capturing, as faithfully as possible, their original meaning. This outstanding collection also offers short biographies of the playwrights, enlightening and clarifying introductions to the plays, and helpful annotations at the bottom of each page. Appendices by prominent classicists on such topics as "Greek Drama and Politics," "The Theater of Dionysus," and "Plato and Aristotle on Tragedy" give the reader a rich contextual background. A detailed time line of the dramas, as well as a list of adaptations of Greek drama to literature, stage, and film from the time of Seneca to the present, helps chart the history of Greek tragedy and illustrate its influence on our culture from the Roman Empire to the present day. With a veritable who's who of today's most renowned and distinguished classical translators, The Greek Plays is certain to be the definitive text for years to come. Praise for The Greek Plays "Mary Lefkowitz and James Romm deftly have gathered strong new translations from Frank Nisetich, Sarah Ruden, Rachel Kitzinger, Emily Wilson, as well as from Mary Lefkowitz and James Romm themselves. There is a freshness and pungency in these new translations that should last a long time. I admire also the introductions to the plays and the biographies and annotations provided. Closing essays by five distinguished classicists--the brilliant Daniel Mendelsohn and the equally skilled David Rosenbloom, Joshua Billings, Mary-Kay Gamel, and Gregory Hays--all enlightened me. This seems to me a helpful light into our gathering darkness."--Harold Bloom

Sixteen Plays by Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides

The Greek Plays

Explores the moral struggles, political intrigues and violent vendettas that enmeshed the ancient Roman writer and philosopher in the brutal daily lives of the imperial family and the regime of his student, Nero. 20,000 first printing.

Seneca at the Court of Nero

Dying Every Day

Chronicles the dramatic collapse of Alexander the Great's empire, discussing the unsuccessful reigns of his half-brother and posthumously born son, the infighting among his generals, and the ensuing war that set the stage for modern conflicts.

The Death of Alexander the Great and the War for Crown and Empire

Ghost on the Throne

Seneca

An Ancient Guide to Using Our Time Wisely

How to Have a Life

This study argues that Herodotus was both a historian and a master storyteller. Romm discusses the historical background of Herodotus' life and work, his moralistic approach to history, his fascination with people and places, his literary powers, and the question of historical truth.

Herodotus

During twelve years of continuous campaigns, Alexander conquered an empire that stretched from the shores of the Adriatic to the edge of modern India. Arrian's history of those conquests is the most reliable and detailed account to emerge from the ancient world. --from publisher description

The Campaigns of Alexander

The Landmark Arrian

For the Greeks and Romans the earth's farthest perimeter was a realm radically different from what they perceived as central and human. The alien qualities of these "edges of the earth" became the basis of a literary tradition that endured throughout antiquity and into the Renaissance, despite the growing challenges of emerging scientific perspectives. Here James Romm surveys this tradition, revealing that the Greeks, and to a somewhat lesser extent the Romans, saw geography not as a branch of physical science but as an important literary genre.

Geography, Exploration, and Fiction

The Edges of the Earth in Ancient Thought

The "edges of the earth" became the basis of a literary tradition, surveyed here, revealing that the Greeks, and to a somewhat lesser extent the Romans, saw geography not as a branch of physical science but as an important literary genre.

James S. Romm

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