This anthology makes accessible to the reader sixteen of the most important studies of Homer and the Iliad to appear in the last forty years. The essays, by leading Homeric scholars from Great Britain, the United States, and Europe, deal not only with the aesthetics and artistry of the Iliad as a poetic artefact, but with its historical context, its cultural background, and its ethical and political framework.

This book documents the origins of modern comedy by examining the evolution of "New Comedy," the Greek genre of which the works of Menander are the only surviving example. It looks at the quiet domestic dramas of Menander, the farces of Plautus, and the comedies of Terence. An authoritative Introduction sets the papers, which are by leading experts in their field, in context and explores connections between them thus examining the legacy for modern comedies. All Latin and Greek is translated.