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Ancient Greek, Greek Texts / 16.12.2012

Introduction. Sabidius has previously translated Book I of the "Iliad" (20th March 2010) and Book VI (5th April 2012), and also on this blog is an extract from Book XVI (30th August 2010). Scanning, reading and then translating Homer's verse is invariably a great pleasure, and this particular book is no exception. After the quarrel between Achilles and Agamemnon in Book I, and the celebrated catalogue of ships in Book II, in which the various Greek contingents are listed, accompanied by a thumb-nail sketch of their leaders, Book III...

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Ancient Greek, Greek Texts / 05.04.2012

Introduction. Sabidius published on this blog a translation of the First Book of Homer's Iliad on 12th March 2010, and the introduction to that is relevant here also with regard to its general comments about Homer. He now offers a translation of Book Six. This book is one of the most arresting of the twenty-two books, of which the "Iliad" is composed. It includes the meeting between Diomedes and Glaucus, which throws light on the ethics of warfare in the epic age, and line 208 contains the injunction "Ever...

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Ancient Greek, Greek Texts / 12.03.2012

Introduction. Following his translations of books 4 and 6 of Virgil's "Aeneid", Sabidius now offers a translation of the first book of the "Iliad", Homer's epic poem about the fall of Troy. Not only was the the "Iliad" the first poem in European literature, having almost certainly existed for centuries in oral form before being written down in the eighth century BCE, it is one of the most influential works of literature of all time and established the genre of epic poetry. For Greeks and later for Romans it...

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Ancient Greek, Greek Texts / 23.11.2011

Introduction. Chapter 17, verses 16-34. St. Paul in Athens. The "Acts of the Apostles" forms the second part of the literary work begun by the "Gospel of St. Luke". It describes the rapid spread of Christianity through the Mediterranean world, a process facilitated by the wide currency of Greek (now in "koine" or "common" form, having lost its earlier dialects.) "Acts" is our main source for the earliest history of the Church. In Chapter 17 Paul has just arrived in Athens after his missionary journey through Greece. The date is...

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Ancient Greek, Greek Texts / 22.11.2011

Introduction. Sections 419B-420A (or 17-18). Great Pan is dead. This dialogue is set in Delphi in about 83 A.D. A group of learned men are discussing how oracular prophecy works, and why oracles have become less vocal and important than in the classical past. The conversation has turned to "daimones" (divine spirits, spoken of by Hesiod and Plato, as intermediaries between gods and men); the question whether divine beings can die elicits from a historian called Philip the haunting story of the death of Pan. Because the events described took place...

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Ancient Greek, Greek Texts / 22.11.2011

Introduction. Plutarch (c. 46-120 A.D.), biographer, historian and moral philosopher, was born in Boeotia in central Greece, studied at Athens, visited Egypt and Italy, and spent the last thirty years of his life in Boeotia and Delphi. His most famous work is his "Parallel Lives", in which the life of an eminent Greek is paired with that of a famous Roman with whom there were, in his view, points of resemblance. For example, the "Life of Antony" is given in parallel with that of Demetrius I Poliorcetes of Macedon...

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Ancient Greek, Greek Texts / 20.11.2011

Introduction. Menander (342-292 B.C.) was the leading writer of Athenian New Comedy, a genre which replaced the world of Aristophanes' Old Comedy with a more romantic one, in which love entanglements, abandoned or kidnapped children, and recognition through trinkets play an important part. New Comedy also established character types such as the bragging soldier, the quick-witted slave, and the angry father, which have been central to comedy in the modern world. Howver complicated Menander's plots may be, the situations and the the characters still appear natural. Menander's plays were...

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Ancient Greek, Greek Texts / 20.11.2011

Introduction. Aristotle (384-322 B.C.) is one of the most wide-ranging authors of the ancient world. He was essentially a philosopher, but he wrote on many subjects: logic, metaphysics, natural science, ethics, politics, rhetoric and poetry. Born at Stagira in Northern Greece, he came to Athens in 367. Here he was taught by Plato. Later, he was tutor to the young Alexander the Great, and in 335 he founded the Lyceum in Athens, a philosophical school intended to rival Plato's Academy there. Iy may be that the "Poetics", from...

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Ancient Greek, Greek Texts / 14.11.2011

Introduction. In contrast to the grand public speech "On the Crown" (see previous item on this blog), the speech, from which the extract translated below is taken, was a private speech for a case of assault. The speaker, Ariston, describes the outrageous behaviour of Conon's sons when they were on garrison duty together on the borders of Attica in 343 B.C. The court action probably took place two years later. The text of this extract is taken from "A Greek Anthology", Joint Association of Classics Teachers, Cambridge University Press,...

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Ancient Greek, Greek Texts / 13.11.2011

Introduction. Demosthenes (384-322 B.C.) was the greatest of the Athenian orators. After studying rhetoric and legal procedure, he became a speech-writer for both public and private trials. Sixty-one speeches attributed to him have survived, although the authenticity of some is in doubt. He became prominent as a politician and leader of the resistance to the encroachment of Philip II of Macedon, the father of Alexander the Great. The text of the passage translated below comes from "A Greek Anthology", Joint Association of Classical Teachers, Cambridge University Press, 2002. Sections 169-173.2 News of...

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