Decimus Magnus Ausonius of Bordeaux, whose life spanned the greater part of the fourth century AD, was one of the most significant literary and political figures of his age. After an academic career in his native Gaul he was appointed tutor to the future emperor Gratian, a position through which he achieved great power for himself and his family. He was made consul in 379 and later lived to enjoy a ripe old age as the grand old man of Latin letters. In this modern edition of Ausonius' short poems, collected together under the general heading of epigrams, N.M. Kay gives a line-by-line commentary dealing with points of literary, linguistic, historical and other interest. The epigrams throw light on many aspects of Ausonius' life, career and attitudes as well as on fourth-century Latin literature, and will thus be of interest to students of the fourth-century western world, of Latin literature, and of the epigram form in particular. This edition includes both Latin text and translation.

This book explores dialogue between Archaic and Classical Greek epigrams and their readers, and argues for their often-unacknowledged literary and aesthetic achievement.

Nothing is known of the Greek poet Rufinus other than that he was the author of a collection of thirty-nine epigrams. In fact he is such an insubstantial figure that his date has been placed at various points within nearly half a millennium. Professor Page here presents a text of Rufinus' poems and a concise commentary on them. In his introduction he considers the criteria by which a date may be established and finds evidence in favour of the fourth century AD.

Jones offers a lucid and thorough analysis of the economic, social, military, and environmental problems that contributed to the failure of the Romans, drawing on literary sources and on recent archaeological evidence.

A delightful look at the epic literary history of the short, poetic genre of the epigram From Nestor’s inscribed cup to tombstones, bathroom walls, and Twitter tweets, the ability to express oneself concisely and elegantly, continues to be an important part of literary history unlike any other. This book examines the entire history of the epigram, from its beginnings as a purely epigraphic phenomenon in the Greek world, where it moved from being just a note attached to physical objects to an actual literary form of expression, to its zenith in late 1st century Rome, and further through a period of stagnation up to its last blooming, just before the beginning of the Dark Ages. A Companion to Ancient Epigram offers the first ever full-scale treatment of the genre from a broad international perspective. The book is divided into six parts, the first of which covers certain typical characteristics of the genre, examines aspects that are central to our understanding of epigram, and discusses its relation to other literary genres. The subsequent four parts present a diachronic history of epigram, from archaic Greece, Hellenistic Greece, and Latin and Greek epigrams at Rome, all the way up to late antiquity, with a concluding section looking at the heritage of ancient epigram from the Middle Ages up to modern times. Provides a comprehensive overview of the history of the epigram The first single-volume book to examine the entire history of the genre Scholarly interest in Greek and Roman epigram has steadily increased over the past fifty years Looks at not only the origins of the epigram but at the later literary tradition A Companion to Ancient Epigram will be of great interest to scholars and students of literature, world literature, and ancient and general history. It will also be an excellent addition to the shelf of any public and university library.

This new scholarly edition consists of the Latin text, with translation and detailed commentary, of a sequence of epigrams from the Anthologia Latina (Shackleton Bailey 78-188). The introduction discusses whether these epigrams constitute a unified collection and are the work of a single author, examines their likely date and place of composition – which, it is argued, is North Africa under Vandal rule –, and sets them in their cultural context. The line-by-line commentary covers issues of literary, linguistic and historical significance. Although text and interpretation of these pieces present frequent difficulties, the author confirms that they make up a fascinating collection of considerable importance and merit, contrary to the low reputation generally associated with the Anthologia Latina. The book will be of great interest to students of Latin literature and language in general, the epigram tradition in particular, and the culture of Vandal Africa.