BiblioVault - Books about Greek prose literature

The Development of Greek Biography

Arnaldo Momigliano

Harvard University Press, 1971

The Development of Greek Biography

Expanded Edition

Arnaldo Momigliano

Harvard University Press, 1993

Tracing the growth of ancient biography from the fifth century to the first century B.C., Arnaldo Momigliano asks fruitful questions about the origins and development of Greek biography. By clarifying the social and intellectual implications of the fact that the Greeks kept biography and autobiography distinct from historiography, he contributes to an understanding of a basic dichotomy in the Western tradition of historical writing. The Development of Greek Biography is fully annotated, and includes a bibliography designed to serve as an introduction to the study of biography in general.

This classic study is now reissued with the addition of Momigliano’s essay “Second Thoughts on Greek Biography” (1971).

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Hellenistic Collection

Philitas. Alexander of Aetolia. Hermesianax. Euphorion. Parthenius

J. L. Lightfoot

Harvard University Press, 2009

A miscellany of learned literature from Alexandria and beyond.

This volume presents a selection of Hellenistic prose and poetry, ranging chronologically from Philitas of Cos through Alexander of Aetolia and Hermesianax of Colophon to Euphorion of Chalcis and Parthenius of Nicaea, whose mythography Sufferings in Love is the major work in the collection. Knowledge of many of these texts has been increased by papyrological discoveries in the last century, yet few of them have appeared in English translation before now. Taken together, these works represent the geographic and stylistic range of a rich and inventive period in Classical literature.

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Nomodeiktes

Greek Studies in Honor of Martin Ostwald

Ralph M. Rosen and Joseph Farrell, Editors

University of Michigan Press, 1994

Fifth-century Athens has inspired generations of students and scholars. Its citizens’ profound discoveries in literature, philosophy, and politics – to name but a few areas – have shaped the thinking of much of Western thought and have provided many of the joys and the tribulations that touch our daily lives.

Nomodeiktes: Greek Studies in Honor of Martin Ostwald offers fascinating discussions of many of these areas, and it helps illuminate ways in which modern perceptions of this complex period are right and are wrong. Important observations are made on Greek historians and historiography, on politics and society, and on Greek philosophy and literature. The analyses of these major areas of investigation will be very useful for all interested in this centrally important period and for those who know the lure of that vivid and compelling city, Athens.

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