Diane J. Rayor – författare

Sappho sang her poetry to the accompaniment of the lyre on the Greek island of Lesbos over 2500 years ago. Throughout the Greek world, her contemporaries composed lyric poetry full of passion, and in the centuries that followed the golden age of archaic lyric, new forms of poetry emerged. In this unique anthology, today's reader can enjoy the works of seventeen poets, including a selection of archaic lyric and the complete surviving works of the ancient Greek women poets - the latter appearing together in one volume for the first time. Sappho's Lyre is a combination of diligent research and poetic artistry. The translations are based on the most recent discoveries of papyri (including 'new' Archilochos and Stesichoros) and the latest editions and scholarship. The introduction and notes provide historical and literary contexts that make this ancient poetry more accessible to modern readers. Although this book is primarily aimed at the reader who does not know Greek, it would be a splendid supplement to a Greek language course. It will also have wide appeal for readers of' ancient literature, women's studies, mythology, and lovers of poetry.

The Homeric Hymns have survived for two and a half millennia because of their captivating stories, beautiful language, and religious significance. Well before the advent of writing in Greece, they were performed by traveling bards at religious events, competitions, banquets, and festivals. Thirty-four poems that invoke and celebrate the gods of ancient Greece, the Homeric Hymns raise questions that humanity still struggles with--questions about our place among others and in the world. "Homeric" because they were composed in the same meter, dialect, and style as Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, these "hymns" were created to be sung aloud. In this superb translation by Diane Rayor, which deftly combines accuracy and poetry, the ancient music of the hymns comes alive for the modern reader. Here is the birth of Apollo, god of prophecy, healing, and music and founder of Delphi, the most famous oracular shrine in ancient Greece. Here is Zeus, inflicting upon Aphrodite her own mighty power to cause gods to mate with humans, and here is Demeter rescuing her daughter Persephone from the underworld and initiating the rites of the Eleusinian Mysteries.This updated edition incorporates 28 new lines in the First Hymn to Dionysus, along with expanded notes, a new preface, and expanded bibliography. With her introduction and notes, Rayor places the hymns in their historical and aesthetic context, providing all the information needed to read, interpret, and fully appreciate these literary windows on an ancient world. As introductions to the Greek gods, entrancing stories, exquisite poetry, and early literary records of key religious rituals and sites, The Homeric Hymns should be read by any student of mythology, classical literature, ancient religion, women in antiquity, or the Greek language.

Sophocles' Antigone comes alive in this new translation that will be useful for academic study and stage production. Diane Rayor's accurate yet accessible translation reflects the play's inherent theatricality. She provides an analytical introduction and comprehensive notes, and the edition includes an essay by director Karen Libman. Antigone begins after Oedipus and Jocasta's sons have killed each other in battle over the kingship. The new king, Kreon, decrees that the brother who attacked with a foreign army remain unburied and promises death to anyone who defies him. The play centers on Antigone's refusal to obey Kreon's law and Kreon's refusal to allow her brother's burial. Each acts on principle colored by gender, personality and family history. Antigone poses a conflict between passionate characters whose extreme stances leave no room for compromise. The highly charged struggle between the individual and the state has powerful implications for ethical and political situations today.

Sophocles' Antigone comes alive in this new translation that will be useful for academic study and stage production. Diane Rayor's accurate yet accessible translation reflects the play's inherent theatricality. She provides an analytical introduction and comprehensive notes, and the edition includes an essay by director Karen Libman. Antigone begins after Oedipus and Jocasta's sons have killed each other in battle over the kingship. The new king, Kreon, decrees that the brother who attacked with a foreign army remain unburied and promises death to anyone who defies him. The play centers on Antigone's refusal to obey Kreon's law and Kreon's refusal to allow her brother's burial. Each acts on principle colored by gender, personality and family history. Antigone poses a conflict between passionate characters whose extreme stances leave no room for compromise. The highly charged struggle between the individual and the state has powerful implications for ethical and political situations today.

Euripides' Medea comes alive in this new translation that will be useful for both academic study and stage production. Diane J. Rayor's accurate yet accessible translation reflects the play's inherent theatricality and vibrant poetry. The book includes an analytical introduction and comprehensive notes, and an essay on directing Medea by stage director Karen Libman. The play begins after Medea, a princess in her own land, has sacrificed everything for Jason: she helped him in his quest for the Golden Fleece, eloped with him to Greece, and bore him sons. When Jason breaks his oath to her and betrays her by marrying the king's daughter - his ticket to the throne - Medea contemplates the ultimate retribution. What happens when words deceive and those you trust most do not mean what they say? Euripides' most enduring Greek tragedy is a fascinating and disturbing story of how far a woman will go to take revenge in a man's world.

Euripides' Medea comes alive in this new translation that will be useful for both academic study and stage production. Diane J. Rayor's accurate yet accessible translation reflects the play's inherent theatricality and vibrant poetry. The book includes an analytical introduction and comprehensive notes, and an essay on directing Medea by stage director Karen Libman. The play begins after Medea, a princess in her own land, has sacrificed everything for Jason: she helped him in his quest for the Golden Fleece, eloped with him to Greece, and bore him sons. When Jason breaks his oath to her and betrays her by marrying the king's daughter - his ticket to the throne - Medea contemplates the ultimate retribution. What happens when words deceive and those you trust most do not mean what they say? Euripides' most enduring Greek tragedy is a fascinating and disturbing story of how far a woman will go to take revenge in a man's world.

Latin Lyric and Elegiac Poetry, first published almost 25 years ago, offered students accurate and poetic translations of poems from the sudden flowering of lyric and elegy in Rome at the end of the Republic and in the first decades of the Augustan principate. Now updated in this second edition, the volume has been re-edited with both revised and new translations and an updated commentary and bibliography for readers in a new century, ensuring that this much-valued anthology remains useful and relevant to a new generation of students studying ancient literature and western civilization. The volume features an expanded selection of newly translated poetry including: fresh Catullus translations, with a greater selection including Poem 64 fresh Sulpicia translations and the five poems of the "Garland of Sulpicia" six new Propertius poems new and revised selections from Tibullus, Ovid and Horace.The second edition reflects changing interests and modes of reading while remaining true to the power of the poetry that has influenced the literature of many cultures. The combination of accurate and vibrant translations with thorough commentary makes this an invaluable anthology for those interested in poetry, world literature, Roman civilization, and the history of ideas and sexuality, allowing readers to compare different poets' responses to politics, love and sex, literary innovation, self, and society.