The New Sappho on Old Age

In 2005 the discovery of an unknown poem by classical Greek poet Sappho was announced, and scholars have swarmed the rare find since. A panel session was devoted to the poem at the January 2007 annual meeting of the American Philological Association, held in San Diego, and 11 of the 13 essays here have been expanded and revised from presentations there. Classicists mostly from the US but also Europe and Australia discuss such aspects as the discovery and textual constitution of the Cologne Sappho, Tithonus in the New Sappho and the narrated mythical exemplum in archaic Greek poetry, aging in the New (and old) Sappho, the meter and metrical style, the New Sappho in a Hellenistic poetry book, philosophical reflections on death and aging, and the New Sappho reconsidered in light of the Athenian reception of Sappho. Some quotations are in Greek, some in English, and some in both. The volume serves as Issue 4 of the Center's journal Classics@. Annotation c2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)