Emma Greensmith – författare

Offers a literary and cultural-historical analysis of the PosthomericaConnects Quintus with a far wider range of ancient literature: historical, philosophical, dramatic, and rhetorical genres; and prosaic and poetic worksMoves away from the localized study of particular aspects of the poem to a joined-up understanding of this era of epic, as a corpus engaging dialogically with issues of empire, literary inheritance and cultural changeIntersects with the growing field of study of Late Antique literature, and the burgeoning interest in imperial Greek poetry and its accounts of the sack of Troy a story which continues to resonate in scholarly and public discourseThis collection offers a new collaborative reading of Quintus Smyrnaeus' Posthomerica: one of the most important Greek epics written at the height of the Roman Empire. Building on the surge of interest in imperial Greek poetry seen in the past decades, this book applies new approaches - literary, theoretical and historical - to ask new questions about this mysterious, challenging poet and to re-evaluate his role in the cultural history of his time.Bringing together experienced imperial epic scholars and new voices in this growing field, the chapters reveal Quintus' crucial place within the inherited epic tradition and his role in shaping the literary and identity politics of Late Antique society.

Homer and the Bible explores the brilliant and challenging Greek epic poetry written in the world of Late Antiquity. Beginning with a wide-ranging account of the literary landscape of early Christianity, the book delves into the 'risky poetics' of five epics composed between 400 and 600 C.E. These poems range from a mutilated visionary papyrus to the longest surviving poem in antiquity, and from mythological narratives to Gospel paraphrases, and span in provenance from the Egyptian Thebaid to Alexandria to Jerusalem. In a series of new and surprising readings, Greensmith argues that these poems push against the idea of a peaceful coexistence of Christian and pagan literary traditions, and reveal the ironies and dissatisfactions beneath large-scale, triumphant voices. Combining close literary analysis with cultural history, Homer and the Bible shows how this vital and under-explored body of epic changes our understanding of the role of Homer in early Christian writing, and shines new light on the power and danger of traditional forms in a period of profound cultural and religious change.

Ancient Greek literature begins with the epic verses of Homer. Epic then continued as a fundamental literary form throughout antiquity and the influence of the poems produced extends beyond antiquity and down to the present. This Companion presents a fresh and boundary-breaking account of the ancient Greek epic tradition. It includes wide-ranging close readings of epics from Homer to Nonnus, traces their dialogues with other modes such as ancient Mesopotamian poetry, Greek lyric and didactic writing, and explores their afterlives in Byzantium, early Christianity, modern fiction and cinema, and the identity politics of Greece and Turkey. Plot summaries are provided for those unfamiliar with individual poems. Drawing on cutting-edge new research in a number of fields, such as racecraft, geopolitics and the theory of emotions, the volume demonstrates the sustained and often surprising power of this renowned ancient genre, and sheds new light on its continued impact and relevance today.

This book offers a radically new reading of Quintus' Posthomerica, the first account to combine a literary and cultural-historical understanding of what is the most important Greek epic written at the height of the Roman Empire. In Emma Greensmith's ground-breaking analysis, Quintus emerges as a key poet in the history of epic and of Homeric reception. Writing as if he is Homer himself, and occupying the space between the Iliad and the Odyssey, Quintus constructs a new 'poetics of the interval'. At all levels, from its philology to its plotting, the Posthomerica manipulates the language of affiliation, succession and repetition not just to articulate its own position within the inherited epic tradition but also to contribute to the literary and identity politics of imperial society. This book changes how we understand the role of epic and Homer in Greco-Roman culture - and completely re-evaluates Quintus' status as a poet.

This book offers a radically new reading of Quintus' Posthomerica, the first account to combine a literary and cultural-historical understanding of what is the most important Greek epic written at the height of the Roman Empire. In Emma Greensmith's ground-breaking analysis, Quintus emerges as a key poet in the history of epic and of Homeric reception. Writing as if he is Homer himself, and occupying the space between the Iliad and the Odyssey, Quintus constructs a new 'poetics of the interval'. At all levels, from its philology to its plotting, the Posthomerica manipulates the language of affiliation, succession and repetition not just to articulate its own position within the inherited epic tradition but also to contribute to the literary and identity politics of imperial society. This book changes how we understand the role of epic and Homer in Greco-Roman culture - and completely re-evaluates Quintus' status as a poet.

This book offers a radically new reading of Quintus'' Posthomerica, the first account to combine a literary and cultural-historical understanding of what is the most important Greek epic written at the height of the Roman Empire. In Emma Greensmith''s ground-breaking analysis, Quintus emerges as a key poet in the history of epic and of Homeric reception. Writing as if he is Homer himself, and occupying the space between the Iliad and the Odyssey, Quintus constructs a new ''poetics of the interval''. At all levels, from its philology to its plotting, the Posthomerica manipulates the language of affiliation, succession and repetition not just to articulate its own position within the inherited epic tradition but also to contribute to the literary and identity politics of imperial society. This book changes how we understand the role of epic and Homer in Greco-Roman culture - and completely re-evaluates Quintus'' status as a poet.

This book offers a radically new reading of Quintus'' Posthomerica, the first account to combine a literary and cultural-historical understanding of what is the most important Greek epic written at the height of the Roman Empire. In Emma Greensmith''s ground-breaking analysis, Quintus emerges as a key poet in the history of epic and of Homeric reception. Writing as if he is Homer himself, and occupying the space between the Iliad and the Odyssey, Quintus constructs a new ''poetics of the interval''. At all levels, from its philology to its plotting, the Posthomerica manipulates the language of affiliation, succession and repetition not just to articulate its own position within the inherited epic tradition but also to contribute to the literary and identity politics of imperial society. This book changes how we understand the role of epic and Homer in Greco-Roman culture - and completely re-evaluates Quintus'' status as a poet.

Ancient Greek literature begins with the epic verses of Homer. Epic then continued as a fundamental literary form throughout antiquity and the influence of the poems produced extends beyond antiquity and down to the present. This Companion presents a fresh and boundary-breaking account of the ancient Greek epic tradition. It includes wide-ranging close readings of epics from Homer to Nonnus, traces their dialogues with other modes such as ancient Mesopotamian poetry, Greek lyric and didactic writing, and explores their afterlives in Byzantium, early Christianity, modern fiction and cinema, and the identity politics of Greece and Turkey. Plot summaries are provided for those unfamiliar with individual poems. Drawing on cutting-edge new research in a number of fields, such as racecraft, geopolitics and the theory of emotions, the volume demonstrates the sustained and often surprising power of this renowned ancient genre, and sheds new light on its continued impact and relevance today.