Featuring fresh new translations, this second edition of Classical Myth differs from other texts by putting the divine myths and principal legends of the Greeks and Romans in the contexts - anthropolo
Comprehensive and scholarly, this well-designed book presents Greek and Roman myths in a lively and easy-to-read manner. It features fresh translations, numerous illustrations (ancient and modern) of
"The Theogony is one of the most important mythical texts to survive from antiquity, and we devote the first section to it. It tells of the creation of the present world order under the rule of almigh
Barry Powell, acclaimed translator of the Iliad (OUP, 2013) and theOdyssey (OUP, 2014) now delivers a graceful, lucid, free-verse translation of the most important books and passages of theAeneid in a
Odysseus--soldier, trickster, and everyman--is one of the most recognizable characters in world literature. His arduous, ten-year journey home after the Trojan War, the subject of Homer's The Odyssey
In this new translation of Hesiod, Barry B. Powell gives an accessible, modern verse rendering of these vibrant texts, essential to an understanding of early Greek myth and society. With stunning colo
Barry Powell, acclaimed translator of the Iliad (OUP, 2013) and theOdyssey (OUP, 2014) now delivers a graceful, lucid, free-verse translation of theAeneid in a pleasant modern idiom. On-page notes exp
Professor Powell ties the origin and nature of archaic Greek literature to the special technology of Greek alphabetic writing. In building his model he presents chapters on specialized topics - text, orality, myth, literacy, tradition and memorization - and then shows how such special topics relate to larger issues of cultural transmission from East to West. Several chapters are devoted to the theory and history of writing, its definition and general nature as well as such individual developments as semasiography and logosyllabography, Chinese writing and the West Semitic family of syllabaries. He shows how the Greek alphabet put an end to the multiliteralism of Eastern traditions of writing, and how the recording of Homer and other early epic poetry cannot be separated from the alphabetic revolution. Finally, he explains how the creation of Greek alphabetic texts demoticized Greek myth and encouraged many free creations of new myths based on Eastern images.
Professor Powell ties the origin and nature of archaic Greek literature to the special technology of Greek alphabetic writing. In building his model he presents chapters on specialized topics - text, orality, myth, literacy, tradition and memorization - and then shows how such special topics relate to larger issues of cultural transmission from East to West. Several chapters are devoted to the theory and history of writing, its definition and general nature as well as such individual developments as semasiography and logosyllabography, Chinese writing and the West Semitic family of syllabaries. He shows how the Greek alphabet put an end to the multiliteralism of Eastern traditions of writing, and how the recording of Homer and other early epic poetry cannot be separated from the alphabetic revolution. Finally, he explains how the creation of Greek alphabetic texts demoticized Greek myth and encouraged many free creations of new myths based on Eastern images.
Renowned Homer scholar Barry B. Powell has already given the world powerful new translations of theIliad and the Odyssey. Now his Homer's Iliad and Odyssey: The Essential Books brings together his tra
Who invented the Greek alphabet and why? The purpose of this challenging book is to inquire systematically into the historical causes that underlay the radical shift from earlier and less efficient writing systems to the use of alphabetic writing. The author reaches the conclusion that a single man, perhaps from the island of Euboea, invented the Greek alphabet specifically in order to record the Iliad and the Odyssey of Homer.
The Odyssey is one of the world's greatest and best-loved poems. It has survived for twenty-eight centuries, through upheavals that have wiped out most of what was written in the ancient world. Now Ba
The culmination of over 30 years of studying and thinking about Homer, world renowned scholar and accomplished poet Barry Powell has produced what one reviewer calls a "page turner, bound to become th
Homer's Iliad is one of the foundational texts of Western Civilization. The timelessness of its story, of men battling fate amidst the horrors of war, still stirs the imaginations of readers year afte
