Encomium of Ptolemy Philadelphus / Theocritus ; text and translation with introduction and commentary by Richard Hunter.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Theocritus.

Contributor:

Hunter, R. L. (Richard L.)

Series:

Hellenistic culture and society ; 39.

Hellenistic culture and society ; 39

Standardized Title:

Idylls. 17. English & Greek

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Ptolemy II Philadelphus, King of Egypt--Poetry.

Ptolemy.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (245 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Berkeley : University of California Press, c2003.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Under Ptolemy II Philadelphus, who ruled Egypt in the middle of the third century B.C.E., Alexandria became the brilliant multicultural capital of the Greek world. Theocritus's poem in praise of Philadelphus-at once a Greek king and an Egyptian pharaoh-is the only extended poetic tribute to this extraordinary ruler that survives. Combining the Greek text, an English translation, a full line-by-line commentary, and extensive introductory studies of the poem's historical and literary context, this volume also offers a wide-ranging and far-reaching consideration of the workings and representation of poetic patronage in the Ptolemaic age. In particular, the book explores the subtle and complex links among Theocritus's poem, modes of praise drawn from both Greek and Egyptian traditions, and the subsequent flowering of Latin poetry in the Augustan age. As the first detailed account of this important poem to show how Theocritus might have drawn on the pharaonic traditions of Egypt as well as earlier Greek poetry, this book affords unique insight into how praise poetry for Ptolemy and his wife may have helped to negotiate the adaptation of Greek culture that changed conditions of the new Hellenistic world. Invaluable for its clear translation and its commentary on genre, dialect, diction, and historical reference in relation to Theocritus's Encomium, the book is also significant for what it reveals about the poem's cultural and social contexts and about Theocritus' devices for addressing his several readerships. COVER IMAGE: The image on the front cover of this book is incorrectly identified on the jacket flap. The correct caption is: Gold Oktadrachm depicting Ptolemy II and Arsinoe (mid-third century BCE; by permission of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston).

Contents:

Front matter

CONTENTS

PREFACE

CONVENTIONS AND ABBREVIATIONS

Introduction

Sigla

Commentary

REFERENCES

GENERAL INDEX

INDEX OF GREEK WORDS

INDEX LOCORUM

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 201-218) and indexes.

Description based on print version record and CIP data provided by publisher; resource not viewed.

ISBN:

9786612356964

9780520929371

0520929373

9781282356962

1282356968

9781597345965

1597345962

OCLC:

475927327