Classical Literature: An Epic Journey from Homer to Virgil and Beyond by Richard Jenkyns (PDF)

Description

The writings of the Greeks and Romans form the bedrock of Western culture. Inventing the molds for histories, tragedies, and philosophies, while pioneering radical new forms of epic and poetry, the Greeks and Romans created the literary world we still inhabit today. Writing with verve and insight, distinguished classicist Richard Jenkyns explores a thousand years of classical civilization, carrying readers from the depths of the Greek dark ages through the glittering heights of Rome’s empire. Jenkyns begins with Homer and the birth of epic poetry before exploring the hypnotic poetry of Pindar, Sappho, and others from the Greek dark ages. Later, in Athens’s classical age, Jenkyns shows the radical nature of Sophocles’s choice to portray Ajax as a psychologically wounded warrior, how Aeschylus developed tragedy, and how Herodotus, in “inventing history,” brought to narrative an epic and tragic quality. We meet the strikingly modern figure of Virgil, struggling to mirror epic art in an age of empire, and experience the love poems of Catullus, who imbued verse with obsessive passion as never before. Even St. Paul and other early Christian writers are artfully grounded here in their classical literary context. A dynamic and comprehensive introduction to Greek and Roman literature, Jenkyns’s Classical Literature is essential reading for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of the classics — and the extraordinary origins of Western culture. “There is scarcely anything on which he does not offer an original aperç sometimes illuminating, sometimes simply provocative, but always worth reading… Jenkyns’s view of ancient literature is Olympian.” — G.W. Bowersock, The New York Review of Books

User’s Reviews

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐I’m always a little conflicted when I try to do a review. First, I don’t know whether I should use as criteria what I imagine the author’s goals to be, and the degree to which they might have been achieved. Second, I’m hesitant to criticize something unless I have suggestions for improvements. With those caveats spelled out, I’d guess that Professor Jenkyns has hit the bulls eye of his aspirations. The book is a 288 page tour d’horizon of classical literature, and authors–just as suggested by the title. However, as one might imagine, trying to write a Baedeker of all of Europe in under 300 pages would mean either abbreviating everything to the point of turgidity, or omitting a great deal. It feels as if Dr. Jenkyns did the former, leaving the reader swimming in molasses. I have the feeling that he pulled out his sheaf of lectures and tried to condense each on into a paragraph or two, rendering the subject matter into very erudite and classy cliff notes. There’s absolutely no doubt of the Professor’s mastery of his material; the problem is the proverbial one of drinking from the fire hose. I’d venture that it will be a very handy reference book for students of the classics–there’s hardly anything omitted–but for the general audience it seems very badly conceived. I would have appreciated a more gentle, less comprehensive, presentation, perhaps omitting some of the more “minor” authors, and a few more quotations and illustrations of the stylistic points being made. So, on the whole, I set out on the adventure excited, and was soon discouraged and exhausted by the unremitting rigors of the journey–probably a reflection of my inadequacies–but that’s my experience.

⭐Classical Literature can be as dry as ancient books to many readers forced to peruse works like the Illiad and Odyssey by Homer and other luminaries such as Virgil, Plato, Aristotle and many others. This condition of utter boredom can be assuaged by wise readers who pick up this slim volume by Dr. Richard Jenkyns of Oxford University. The British scholar takes us a learned tour through the pages of masterworks by the Greek and Roman master authors of antiquity. Along the way we learn about Greek and Latin poets and Hellenistic authors. The book is not the most exciting of books but it will aid in informing you about the importance and legacy we in Western civilization have received from ancient wrtitings.The book could be well used in a textbook on ancient literature. Some knowledge of the works studied would prove helpful. Not an easy read but it contains good information.

⭐This is a wonderful book. The author has distilled the Greek and Roman classics into a readable 245 pages. If I would have had this book in university I might have changed career paths.

⭐an excellent brief summary of Classical literature. I would recommend THIS as the book to start with if you want to get to know the Classics in translation or even for people who can read Latin and/or Greek but would like a good overview.

⭐I have had mo acknowledgment of reviews in the past so decline to spend any further effort

⭐Good coverage of classical Greece to early Roman history of literature.

⭐An inspiring study that persuaded me to read (or re-read) some of the classics

⭐Same text as “Classical Literature – A Pelican Introduction” (Penguin) March 3, 2015. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0141977353/ref=od_aui_detailpages00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 , with no disclaimer that the book was published a year earlier. No fault of Professor Jenkyns, but still very deceptive of the publisher.

⭐Absolutely Loved the book

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