The Fragments of Timotheus of Miletus

The Fragments of Timotheus of Miletus Synopsis

This is the first new edition for more than a decade of the fragments of Timotheus of Miletus, a Greek lyric poet of the fifth and fourth centuries BC and one of the most important poets of the period. His description of the battle of Salamis, a substantial portion of his Persae, has been the most widely studied of his fragments. This is a historically significant work and J.H. Hordern's accurate text, based on close examination of the original papyrus, is a distinguished contribution to scholarship. The minor fragments, most of which survive only as quotations in other ancient authors, are subjected to detailed treatment for the first time. The text of these, and the numeration throughout, are based on D.L. Page's Poetae Melici Graeci for ease of reference. A comprehensive commentary (the fullest available) deals with both textual and literary points, offering both a complete metrical analysis and an explanatory discussion of each fragment. The extensive introduction, which includes a fascinating and full discussion of the archaeological context of the papyrus, provides a series of technical studies of Timotheus' language, dialect, style, and metre. In addition, Hordern gives an account of the biographical tradition relating to Timotheus, and, following an account of the genres in which he wrote, analyses his place in Greek literary and musical history. Timotheus clearly has much to tell us about the Greeks' attitude to Asia and to the past. This invaluable new edition shows that he also has much to tell us about Greek non-dramatic poetry, at an important stage in its history, for which we have little other evidence.

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