A Companion to Latin Literature

A Companion to Latin Literature gives an authoritative account of Latin literature from its beginnings in the third century BC through to the end of the second century AD. The volume provides the reader with a comprehensive reference for Latin literature. It includes a narrative history, an overview of all major genres, and coverage of key themes – all written by experts in their fields. As an invaluable resource for the student, the book also includes dictionary entries on Latin authors, a chronological chart of political and literary history, and a large annotated bibliography. The volume thus combines the virtues of a discursive literary history and a general reference book.

List of Figures viii Chronological Table ix Notes on Contributors xii Preface xvi Reference Works: Abbreviations xvii Introduction: Constructing Latin Literature 1 Stephen Harrison PART I PERIODS 13 1 The Early Republic: the Beginnings to 90 BC 15 Sander M. Goldberg 2 The Late Republican/Triumviral Period: 90–40 BC 31 D. S. Levene 3 The Augustan Period: 40 BC–AD 14 44 Joseph Farrell 4 The Early Empire: AD 14–68 58 Roland Mayer 5 The High Empire: AD 69–200 69 Bruce Gibson PART II GENRES 81 6 Narrative Epic 83 Philip Hardie 7 Didactic Epic 101 Monica Gale 8 Roman Tragedy 116 Elaine Fantham 9 Comedy, Atellane Farce and Mime 130 Costas Panayotakis 10 Pastoral 148 Stephen Heyworth 11 Love Elegy 159 Roy Gibson 12 Satire 174 Llewelyn Morgan 13 Lyric and Iambic 189 Stephen Harrison 14 Epigram 201 Lindsay C. Watson 15 The Novel 213 Stephen Harrison 16 Dialogues and Treatises 223 J. G. F. Powell 17 Historiography and Biography 241 Christina Shuttleworth Kraus 18 Oratory 257 D. H. Berry 19 Epistolography 270 Catharine Edwards PART III THEMES 285 20 Decline and Nostalgia 287 Stephen Harrison 21 Art and Text 300 Jas´ Elsner 22 The Passions 319 Robert A. Kaster 23 Sex and Gender 331 A. M. Keith 24 Friendship and Patronage 345 David Konstan 25 Romans and Others 360 Yasmin Syed 26 Marriage and Family 372 Susan Treggiari 27 Slavery and Class 385 Thomas Habinek 28 Centre and Periphery 394 Alessandro Barchiesi Bibliography 406 Index 444

Stephen Harrison is Professor of Classical Languages and Literatures at Oxford University and a Fellow of Corpus Christi College, Oxford. His recent publications include Apuleius: A Latin Sophist (2000), Apuleius: Rhetorical Works (ed. 2001) and Texts, Ideas and the Classics (ed. 2001).

"Not least among the advantages of this format is that it challenges scholars typically working in a climate of intensive specialization to synthesize and distill their knowledge to a greater extent than is normally encouraged." ( Phoenix , 2009) "Essay after essay conveys the excitement of research into the ancient world, showing that nothing is settled, that there are always new questions and new ideas. The essays are lively and provocative, making representative use of source material and enticing readers to enter into the debate themselves. ... There is little to criticise in this volume. ... This Companion titillates the reader into thinking about Latin literature in excitingly new ways." ( Scholia Reviews ) "An invaluable source of assistance and instruction for students." ( Reference Reviews ) "I can warmly recommend this book, both to experts who wish to have an up–to–date account of the latest trends in the study of Latin literature and to undergraduate and graduate students who can mine this volume for suitable paper and even dissertation topics." ( Bryn Mawr Classical Review )