Porphyry: The Homeric questions. A bilingual edition

Product Description


Porphyry's
Homeric Questions was written in the 3rd century A.D. in response to a friend's request that the philosopher try to recall some of their leisure discussions about problems arising from their readings of Homer. Such literary discussions were commonplace among the educated in antiquity and survive in several works from that period. While Aristotle's
Homeric Problems has been lost, fragments do survive, as does a solution offered by Alexander the Great. Most of the discussion, in Porphyry concern the meanings of words and phrases, but some turn to appreciations of the poet's art, such as simile and metaphor, discussions which at times anticipate modern criticism. The present work is a translation with notes and a brief preface to the philosopher's labor of love.


Review


«The translation will be especially valuable for medievalists, biblical scholars, and those wishing to have some inkling of the complexity of ancient philosophical exegesis, and even the professional classicist in a hurry will find the accompanying text useful.» (W.J. Slater, Bryn Mawr Classical Review)



About the Author


The Author: Robin R. Schlunk received his Ph.D. from the University of Cincinnati and is Professor of Classics at The University of Vermont. In addition to several articles and reviews in professional journals, he is the author of
The Homeric Scholia and the Aeneid.