Roman Letters: An Anthology

ISBN-13: 9781444339505 / Angielski / Twarda / 2013 / 224 str.

Noelle Zeiner–Carmichael

Opis

Roman Letters offers a rich selection of original translations of ancient Roman letters spanning from the 1^st century BCE to the 2^nd century CE. Chronologically arranged and grouped according to author or collection, the letters cover various topics and themes selected from a broad range of authors.

• A unique single volume text that makes classical letters accessible and readable to undergraduates and the non-specialist reader
• Presents a wide range of authors and material, with over 200 selected texts
• Includes selections that illustrate a complete cycle of correspondence, as well as letters written by the same author and covering the same topic/theme but sent to different recipients
• Letters are arranged chronologically, with letters grouped according to author or collection
• An accompanying website offers additional, complementary letters
• Topical index highlights various topics and themes represented by the letters

Roman Letters offers a rich selection of original translations of ancient Roman letters spanning from the 1 st century BCE to the 2 nd century CE. Chronologically arranged and grouped according to author or collection, the letters cover various topics and themes selected from a broad range of authors.

Spis treści

List of Figures ix

Preface x

Acknowledgments xiii

A Note on Translation xv

List of Abbreviations xvii

Maps xix

1 Letters and Letter–Writing in Ancient Rome 1

2 The Roman Republic (70 bce 27 bce) 21

1 49 Cicero 21

50 Catiline 61

51 53 Catullus 62

3 The Augustan Age (27 bce 14 ce) 66

54 58 Augustus 66

59 69 Horace 68

70 71 Propertius 79

72 83 Ovid 81

4 The Roman Empire (14 ce third century ce) 96

84 Emperor Tiberius (14 37 ce) 96

85 Emperor Claudius (41 54 ce) 97

86 95 Seneca the Younger 99

96 Paul the Apostle 112

97 Jude 114

98 101 Martial 115

102 105 Statius 117

106 164 Pliny the Younger 122

165 166 John the Elder 154

167 194 Fronto 156

195 203 Letters from Vindolanda 169

204 214 Papyri 173

5 Epistolary Theorists 183

215 (Pseudo–)Demetrius 183

216 Pseudo–Libanius 184

General Index 187

Concordance of Texts 193

O autorze

Noelle K. Zeiner–Carmichael is Associate Professor of Classics at the College of Charleston, where she teaches courses in Latin, Greek, Roman culture, and literature in translation. She is the author of Nothing Ordinary Here: Statius as Creator of Distinction in the Silvae (2005).

Blurb

Roman Letters offers a diverse and rich selection of original translations of ancient Roman letters spanning from the 1^st century BCE to the 2^nd century CE. The wide range of selections includes translations of prose and verse letters, letters sent and received, canonical epistolary authors such as Cicero, Ovid, Pliny the Younger, and less familiar texts including papyrus letters from Oxyrhynchus, Egypt, and wood leaf tablets from the Vindolanda fort in Britain. In addition, the volume contains representative New Testament letters and some illustrative excerpts from ancient epistolary theorists.

This unique range of authors and texts illustrates the breadth, depth and diversity of the epistolary genre; letters are arranged chronologically, grouped according to author or collection, and have been carefully selected to reflect various themes and topics, such as death and consolation, literary production, entertainment, dining, politics, and philosophy. A valuable introduction includes discussion of the letter as a genre, as well as the practical issues of letter–writing materials and letter delivery in the ancient world, and includes maps to help readers visualize the distance many letters traveled, and an index of authors and topics. An accompanying website offers additional, complementary letters.