Steven J. Green – författare

In light of modern scepticism towards the practice, it is easy to overlook just how important a role astrology played in the career of Rome''s first Emperor, Augustus. Augustus'' enthusiasm for employing astrological predictions and symbols to cement his own position of power was matched by an equally forceful desire to restrict their use by his political rivals. Astrology in Rome was, then, to use Tacitus'' neat formulation, both ''forbidden and maintained'' (Tacitus, Histories, 1.22). This volume is the first to take seriously this imperial complex as a key to understanding the diverse ways in which contemporary commentators handle the volatile topic of astrology in their writings. It shows how Roman writers engage in elaborate discourses of discretion as they simultaneously celebrate the power of astrology and shy away from the sort of astrological revelations that might offend imperial sensibilities. With a particular focus on the key astrological poem of Manilius, this study provides a new conceptual framework in which to appreciate the complex treatments of astrology during the period of Octavian/Augustus.

Grattius'' Cynegetica, a Roman didactic poem on hunting with dogs, is the author''s only surviving work, though it reaches us now in an incomplete form. Thanks to a passing reference by Ovid in his Epistulae ex Ponto it can confidently be dated to the Augustan period, and yet while his literary contemporaries have been and continue to be subjects of academic scrutiny, Grattius is seldom read and remains almost completely unappreciated in classical and literary scholarship. This volume is the first book-length study of Grattius in English or any other language and sets out to rehabilitate the neglected poet by making him and his work accessible to a wide audience. Prefaced by an introduction to the poet and his work, as well as the Latin text of Cynegetica and a new English translation, it presents a broad collection of interpretive essays from an international team of scholars. These essays explore the poem within its literary, intellectual, and socio-political contexts and look forward to Grattius'' (more charitable) posthumous reception in Europe in the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries. As a whole they aim to reveal his enduring relevance for the tradition of didactic poetry and the study of other Augustan poetry and culture, and to provide an impetus for future discussions.

Grattius'' Cynegetica, a Roman didactic poem on hunting with dogs, is the author''s only surviving work, though it reaches us now in an incomplete form. Thanks to a passing reference by Ovid in his Epistulae ex Ponto it can confidently be dated to the Augustan period, and yet while his literary contemporaries have been and continue to be subjects of academic scrutiny, Grattius is seldom read and remains almost completely unappreciated in classical and literary scholarship. This volume is the first book-length study of Grattius in English or any other language and sets out to rehabilitate the neglected poet by making him and his work accessible to a wide audience. Prefaced by an introduction to the poet and his work, as well as the Latin text of Cynegetica and a new English translation, it presents a broad collection of interpretive essays from an international team of scholars. These essays explore the poem within its literary, intellectual, and socio-political contexts and look forward to Grattius'' (more charitable) posthumous reception in Europe in the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries. As a whole they aim to reveal his enduring relevance for the tradition of didactic poetry and the study of other Augustan poetry and culture, and to provide an impetus for future discussions.

Grattius' Cynegetica, a Roman didactic poem on hunting with dogs, is the author's only surviving work, though it reaches us now in an incomplete form. Thanks to a passing reference by Ovid in his Epistulae ex Ponto it can confidently be dated to the Augustan period, and yet while his literary contemporaries have been and continue to be subjects of academic scrutiny, Grattius is seldom read and remains almost completely unappreciated in classical and literary scholarship. This volume is the first book-length study of Grattius in English or any other language and sets out to rehabilitate the neglected poet by making him and his work accessible to a wide audience. Prefaced by an introduction to the poet and his work, as well as the Latin text of Cynegetica and a new English translation, it presents a broad collection of interpretive essays from an international team of scholars. These essays explore the poem within its literary, intellectual, and socio-political contexts and look forward to Grattius' (more charitable) posthumous reception in Europe in the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries. As a whole they aim to reveal his enduring relevance for the tradition of didactic poetry and the study of other Augustan poetry and culture, and to provide an impetus for future discussions.

The Ilias Latina, the title coined by Emil Baehrens in his 1881 edition, is a condensed version of Homer's Iliad spanning 1,070 verses of Latin hexameter. It was likely composed during the latter part of the principate of Nero (c. AD 60–65).The poem has long suffered the scholarly status of second-order poetry, the sort of imitative, 'translation' work that a Roman might compose at the beginning of his literary career. The poem's chief legacy--as a medieval school text that acquainted a Greek-less audience with Homer--has done little to assist its literary reputation.More recent times, however, have seen a greater appreciation for the literary, cultural, and political significance of Latin translation of Greek works. More specifically, there is now a growing awareness that the Ilias Latina is a sophisticated enterprise in its own right: the poem is a Roman appropriation of Homer's Iliad, reinterpreted through Rome's own national epic, Virgil's Aeneid, and recalibrated to fit the artistic and political sensibilities of the early imperial age. This book includes introductory chapters, Latin text, English translation, and detailed verse-by-verse commentary on the poem. The translation is the first to appear in English in a major, mainstream press. The commentary, also the first to appear in English, takes on board the full range of international scholarship and provides new insights into the poem's intricacies and creative engagement with Homer and the Roman poets.

The Astronomica of Manilius is a poem in five books, at least partly written under the Emperor Augustus, which purports to teach the reader the art of astrology and the means by which an accurate horoscope may be cast. It is, therefore, a text from the classical age of Roman literature which deals with a topic to whose enduring popular interest any daily Western newspaper will testify. And yet, despite some notable modern exceptions, the infamously harsh verdict of Manilius' most ardent modern critic, A. E. Housman, continues to cast an imposing shadow on the poem. Forgotten Stars seeks to lift this shadow once and for all, as it brings together an international contingent of scholars to analyse this dynamic poem from a variety of perspectives. Matters of literary interest are complemented by approaches which assess the work's socio-political, philosophical, scientific, and astrological resonance, as well as its influence on later Renaissance writers.

In light of modern scepticism towards the practice, it is easy to overlook just how important a role astrology played in the career of Rome's first Emperor, Augustus. Augustus' enthusiasm for employing astrological predictions and symbols to cement his own position of power was matched by an equally forceful desire to restrict their use by his political rivals. Astrology in Rome was, then, to use Tacitus' neat formulation, both 'forbidden and maintained' (Tacitus, Histories, 1.22). This volume is the first to take seriously this imperial complex as a key to understanding the diverse ways in which contemporary commentators handle the volatile topic of astrology in their writings. It shows how Roman writers engage in elaborate discourses of discretion as they simultaneously celebrate the power of astrology and shy away from the sort of astrological revelations that might offend imperial sensibilities. With a particular focus on the key astrological poem of Manilius, this study provides a new conceptual framework in which to appreciate the complex treatments of astrology during the period of Octavian/Augustus.