Alexander Sens – författare

This monograph is a literary study of Lycophron''s Alexandra, whose obscurity, a quality notorious already in antiquity, has long hampered holistic approaches. Through a series of distinct but closely integrated literary studies of major aspects of the poem, including its style, its engagement with the traditions of epic and tragedy, and it''s treatment of heroism and of the gods, the book explores the way the Alexandra reconfigures Greek mythology.In particular, as it is presented in Homeric epic and Athenian tragedy, in order to cast the Romans and their restoration of Trojan glory as the ultimate telos of history.In this sense, the poem emerges as an important intermediary between Homeric epic and Latin poetry, particularly Vergil''s Aeneid. By rewriting specific features of the epic and tragic traditions, the Alexandra denies to Greek heroes the glory that was the traditional compensation for their suffering, while at the same time attributing to Cassandra''s Trojan family honours framed in the traditional language of Greek heroism. In this sense, the figure of Cassandra, a prophetesstraditionally gifted with the power of foresight but denied credibility, self-reflexively serves as a vehicle for exploring the potentials and limitations of poetry.

This monograph is a literary study of Lycophron''s Alexandra, whose obscurity, a quality notorious already in antiquity, has long hampered holistic approaches. Through a series of distinct but closely integrated literary studies of major aspects of the poem, including its style, its engagement with the traditions of epic and tragedy, and it''s treatment of heroism and of the gods, the book explores the way the Alexandra reconfigures Greek mythology.In particular, as it is presented in Homeric epic and Athenian tragedy, in order to cast the Romans and their restoration of Trojan glory as the ultimate telos of history.In this sense, the poem emerges as an important intermediary between Homeric epic and Latin poetry, particularly Vergil''s Aeneid. By rewriting specific features of the epic and tragic traditions, the Alexandra denies to Greek heroes the glory that was the traditional compensation for their suffering, while at the same time attributing to Cassandra''s Trojan family honours framed in the traditional language of Greek heroism. In this sense, the figure of Cassandra, a prophetesstraditionally gifted with the power of foresight but denied credibility, self-reflexively serves as a vehicle for exploring the potentials and limitations of poetry.

This is the first commentary in English devoted exclusively to the surviving epigrams and fragments of Asclepiades of Samos, a Hellenistic poet who exerted great influence on the work of his contemporaries and helped shape the genre of literary epigram for many generations. The volume contains an extensive introduction, a new critical text and translation, and a full literary and philological commentary. Alexander Sens's main focus is on the way in which Asclepiades engages with the Greek literary tradition, but attention is also paid to his influence on later writers.

This monograph is a literary study of Lycophron's Alexandra, whose obscurity, a quality notorious already in antiquity, has long hampered holistic approaches. Through a series of distinct but closely integrated literary studies of major aspects of the poem, including its style, its engagement with the traditions of epic and tragedy, and it's treatment of heroism and of the gods, the book explores the way the Alexandra reconfigures Greek mythology. In particular, as it is presented in Homeric epic and Athenian tragedy, in order to cast the Romans and their restoration of Trojan glory as the ultimate telos of history. In this sense, the poem emerges as an important intermediary between Homeric epic and Latin poetry, particularly Vergil's Aeneid. By rewriting specific features of the epic and tragic traditions, the Alexandra denies to Greek heroes the glory that was the traditional compensation for their suffering, while at the same time attributing to Cassandra's Trojan family honours framed in the traditional language of Greek heroism. In this sense, the figure of Cassandra, a prophetess traditionally gifted with the power of foresight but denied credibility, self-reflexively serves as a vehicle for exploring the potentials and limitations of poetry.

Greek 'literary' epigrams constitute one of the most versatile and dynamic poetic forms in the Hellenistic period. Originally modeled on the anonymous epitaphs and dedications inscribed on monuments throughout antiquity, these short poems came to include a variety of subtypes and served as a vehicle for Hellenistic poets to experiment with themes and motifs from other genres. This edition introduces students to a wide selection of epigrams from the third and second centuries BCE. It provides substantial help in construing the Greek and will be appropriate for those approaching the genre for the first time, whilst also containing material of interest to scholars. It includes work by the most important epigrammatists of this period, with substantial attention paid to the way these poets engage with the epigraphic and literary traditions. The Introduction provides an overview of the history of the genre and of its formal features, including dialect and meter.

The fragments of Matro of Pitane (c. 300 BC) offer insights not only into the largely forgotten and obscure late-classical genre of epic parody, but also into 4th-century Athenian history, the role of food and dining in antiquity, and the history of the text of Homer and the reception of the Iliad and the Odyssey in the pre-Alexandrian period. Sens and Olson offer a new text of the 144 surviving lines of Matro's parodies based on a fresh examination of the manuscripts; a translation; a detailed philological, historical, and gastronomic commentary; and a lively introduction to the poet and his times.

Greek ''literary'' epigrams constitute one of the most versatile and dynamic poetic forms in the Hellenistic period. Originally modeled on the anonymous epitaphs and dedications inscribed on monuments throughout antiquity, these short poems came to include a variety of subtypes and served as a vehicle for Hellenistic poets to experiment with themes and motifs from other genres. This edition introduces students to a wide selection of epigrams from the third and second centuries BCE. It provides substantial help in construing the Greek and will be appropriate for those approaching the genre for the first time, whilst also containing material of interest to scholars. It includes work by the most important epigrammatists of this period, with substantial attention paid to the way these poets engage with the epigraphic and literary traditions. The Introduction provides an overview of the history of the genre and of its formal features, including dialect and meter.

This volume comprises a series of studies focusing on the Latin poetry of the first and second centuries BCE, its relationship to earlier models both Greek and Latin, and its reception by later writers. A point of particular focus is the influence of Greek poetry, including not only Hellenistic writers like Callimachus, Theocritus, and Lycophron, but also archaic poets like Pindar and Bacchylides. The volume also includes studies of style, as well as treatments of the influence of Latin poetry on writers like Marvell and Dylan. Contributers include J. N. Adams, Barbara Weiden Boyd, Brian Breed, Sergio Casali, Julia Hejduk, Peter Knox, Leah Kronenburg, Charles Martindale, Charles McNelis, James O’Hara, Thomas Palaima, Hayden Pelliccia, David Petrain, David Ross, and Alexander Sens.