Classical Literature: A Concise History

by Richard Rutherford

Book Overview

This accessible one-volume survey of the literature of Greece and Rome covers the period between Homer around 700 BC and Augustine around AD 410.

Highlights what is important historically and of continuing interest and value in classical literature. An introduction by the editor presents essential information in a concise, accessible way. Each chapter focuses on a particular genre or area of literature. This structure allows readers...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0631231331
• ISBN13: 9780631231332
• Release Date: January 1991
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell
• Length: 368 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

What you need to bother with re: classical literature

I had been into classical literature for a while but was at a loss as to which works I needed to worry about, and which were perhaps of lesser importance. (I never studied literature or classics at university.) This book is a fantastic overview of the subject, divided by genre (e.g. epic, drama, rhetoric, history, etc) and chronologically within that. It is not a dictionary, but is a readable discourse on the subject, not at all stuffy. It also has an excellent suggested further reading list at the back. The time period covered is roughtly 700 B.C. to 400 A.D. I think helps to have read at least a sample of the works that Dr. Rutherford talks about, but I certainly haven't read them all, and am really enjoying the book. Excellent reading for the armchair classicist!