Foreward by Shomir Dutta .The master of ancient Greek comic drama, Aristophanes combined slapstick, humour and cheerful vulgarity with acute political observations. In The Frogs, written during the Peloponnesian War, Dionysus descends to the Underworld to bring back a poet who can help Athens in its darkest hour, and stages a great debate to help him decide between the traditional wisdom of Aeschylus and the brilliant modernity of Euripides. The clash of generations and values is also the object of Aristophanes' satire in The Wasps... read more

Greek Drama provides students with a lively, comprehensive and highly illustrated guide to the drama of ancient Greece. Drama is explored within its historical context, but we learn that its themes are as relevant today as they were at the time they were written.

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Coverage includes:

the evolution of Greek drama:tragedy. comedy and satyr plays
political and historical background - 5th century B.C. Athens; the Persian and Pelopponesian wars
Greek theatres; costumes; actors and... read more

A play of psychologically and physically murderous vengeance, Medea is one of the most powerful and perennially produced of all ancient drama.

Medea, in which a spurned woman takes revenge upon her lover by killing her children, is one of the most shocking and horrific of all the Greek tragedies. Dominating the play is Medea herself, a towering and powerful figure who demonstrates Euripides' unusual willingness to give voice to a woman's case. Alcestis, a tragicomedy, is based on a magical myth in which Death is overcome, and The Children of Heracles examines the conflict between might and right, while Hippolytus deals with self-destructive integrity and moral dilemmas. T... read more

Medea, in which a spurned woman takes revenge upon her lover by killing her children, is one of the most shocking and horrific of all the Greek tragedies. Dominating the play is Medea herself, a towering and powerful figure who demonstrates Euripides’ unusual willingness to give voice to a woman’s case. Alcestis, a tragicomedy, is based on a magical myth in which Death is overcome, and The Children of Heracles examines the conflict between might and right, while Hippolytus deals with self-destructive integrity and moral dilemmas.... read more

The selections from Pliny, Virgil and Roman and Greek myth allow students to work with short extracts to practice their skills in unprepared translation.

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The complexity of the Roman scene is presented by the satirist Juvenal in these verses, which were written during the reigns of Trajan and Hadrian. Peter Green's introduction says of Juvenal's satires, "... he simply hangs a series of mortal portraits on the wall and forces us to look at them".

The plays of Euripides have stimulated audiences since the fifth century BC. This volume, containing "Phoenician Women", "Bacchae", "Iphigenia at Aulis", "Orestes", and "Rhesus" completes the new editions of "Euripides" in Penguin Classics.

Pompeii is the best known and probably the most important archaeological site in the world. The drama of its destruction has been handed down to us by Roman writers, its paintings and mosaics have astonished visitors since their discovery in the 18th century, and its houses and public buildings to this day present a vivid picture of life, disaster and death in a Roman town. Yet, until now, there has been no up-to-date, authoritatative and comprehensive account for the general reader of its rise, fall and splendour. "The Complete Po... read more

The legends surrounding the royal house of Thebes inspired Sophocles (496-46 BC) to create a powerful trilogy about mankind's struggle against fate. King Oedipus tells of a man who brings pestilence to Thebes for crimes he does not realise he has committed and then inflicts a brutal punishment upon himself. With profound insights into the human condition, it is a devastating portrayal of a ruler brought down by his own oath. Oedipus at Colonus provides a fitting conclusion to the life of the aged and blinded king, while, Antigone d... read more

Sophocles' Theban plays: "Antigone", "Oedipus the King" and "Oedipus at Colonus". They depict Oedipus's fierce heroic encounter with his gods, and reveal Sophocles' masterful characterizations, dramatic speech and use of irony. Bernard Knox introduces each play.

Aeneas the True - son of Venus and of a mortal father - escapes from Troy after it is sacked by the conquering Greeks. He undergoes many trials and adventures on a long sea journey, from a doomed love affair in Carthage with the tragic Queen Dido to a sojourn in the underworld. All the way, the hero is tormented by the meddling of the vengeful Juno, Queen of the Gods and a bitter enemy of Troy, but his mother and other gods protect Aeneas from despair and remind him of his ultimate destiny - to find the great city of Rome. Reflecti... read more

Until recently, popular biographers and most scholars viewed Alexander the Great as a genius with a plan, a romantic figure pursuing his vision of a united world. His dream was at times characterized as a benevolent interest in the brotherhood of man, sometimes as a brute interest in the exercise of power. Green, a Cambridge-trained classicist who is also a novelist, portrays Alexander as both a complex personality and a single-minded general, a man capable of such diverse expediencies as patricide or the massacre of civilians. Gre... read more

Elucidates the legendary general's military campaigns and political ideas in light of his Macedonian heredity and background.

In taking account of recent research and in reassesing the markedly contradictory contemporary sources, J.R. Hamilton present a far less attractive but no less compelling portrait of Alexander than Tarn's classic study. The discussion ranges from Alexander's Macedonian background and relations with Philip to his request for deification and his death, and the economic achievements of his reign ar... read more

He conquered territories on a superhuman scale and established an empire that stretched from Greece to India. He spread Greek culture and education throughout his empire, and was worshipped as a living god by many of his subjects. But how great is a leader responsible for the deaths on tens of thousands of people? A ruler who prefers constant warring to administering the peace? A man who believed he was a god, who murdered his friends, and recklessly put his soldiers lives at risk? Ian Worthington delves into the successes and fai... read more

Alexander the Great is one of the most celebrated figures of antiquity. In this book, Carol G. Thomas places this powerful figure within the context of his time, place, culture, and ancestry in order to discover what influences shaped his life and career. The book begins with an exploration of the Macedonia that conditioned the lives of its inhabitants. It also traces such influences on Alexander's life as his royal Argead ancestry, his father, Philip II, and his mother, Olympias. The author examines Alexander's engagement with Gre... read more

Admired for more than two millennia for the feats that he accomplished in a short life of thirty-two years, King Alexander III of Macedon is the most celebrated figure of classical antiquity. "Alexander the Great: Son of the Gods presents an intimate and fascinating portrait of the man who created the greatest empire the world had ever seen. In a year-by-year chronicle, the book explores Alexander's stormy relationship with his father, King Philip, and the influence of his mother, Queen Olympias; his brilliant leadership, outwittin... read more

Paul Cartledge, one of the world's foremost scholars of ancient Greece, illuminates the brief but iconic life of Alexander (356-323 BC), king of Macedon, conqueror of the Persian Empire, and founder of a new world order. Alexander's legacy has had a major impact on military tacticians, scholars, statesmen, adventurers, authors, and filmmakers. Cartledge brilliantly evokes Alexander's remarkable political and military accomplishments, cutting through the myths to show why he was such a great leader. He explores our endless fascinati... read more

This book is geared primarily to students approaching the Aeneid for the first time. It attempts, through discussion of a wide variety of topics, to convey a balanced impression of the nature of the poem as a whole. An appendix includes a version of and ancient Life of Virgil and information about the ancient commentary on him.