Pre-University Reading List
The following are reading suggestions for those thinking of
taking Classics at University, or about to start doing so. Remember that all
these books contain bibliographies, from which you can get ideas on further
reading. Books with an *are personal favourites.
Contents
1.
Primary texts
2.
General
3.
Classical Literature
i. Greek Literature
ii. Latin Literature
4.
Greek History
5.
Roman History
6. Links to further material
1. Primary
Texts
Impossible
(and perhaps unethical!) to provide a definitive list of what you ‘should’
read, but the following are among my favourites:
1.
Homer, The Iliad ~
where it all begins; an epic tale of anger and war, told in the most beautiful poetry
2.
Euripides, The
Bacchae ~ a haunting and violent tragedy set in mythical Thebes.
3.
Catullus ~ an
outrageous and salacious Roman poet, who feels very modern
4.
Ovid, The Heroides
~ one of Ovid’s less well known works, and probably not one of his best.
But the imagined series of letters from heroines to the men who have abandoned
them is really unlike anything else we have from the ancient world.
5.
Thucydides, The
History of the Peloponnesian War ~ the sober counterpart to Herodotus’
riotous(ly enjoyable) The Histories, Thucydides is the forefather of
history and wrote a difficult but gripping history of the great 5th
century war between Athens and Sparta (and their allies).
2. General
The
very short introduction series is great, the Classics focused ones are
here https://www.veryshortintroductions.com/browse?t0=VSIO_SUBJECTS:AHU00670
Worth mentioning is the *Greece and Roman New Surveys series; each is a short book about
an author or concept in the ancient world. They are scholarly but highly
readable.
It is well worth familiarising
yourself with historical events across the Classical age in one swoop, for
which try
R. Lane Fox, The Classical World:
an epic history ~
highly enjoyable an accessible history
S.
Price & P. Thonemann, The Birth of Classical Europe: A History from Troy to Augustine
M. Beard, Confronting the Classics ~ very readable collection of essays, particularly interesting for their interrogation of what it is we are getting out of studying Classics
M. Beard, Confronting the Classics ~ very readable collection of essays, particularly interesting for their interrogation of what it is we are getting out of studying Classics
3. Classical Literature
General
R. Jenkyns, Classical
Literature (A Pelican Introduction) ~ 300 pages,
an accessible introduction which covers the major parts of Greek and Latin literature
R. Rutherford, Classical Literature: A Concise History
i. Greek
*A. Nicholson The Mighty Dead: Why Homer
matters ~ a fascinating and highly readable personal exploration
of the power of Homer’s writing. The author mixes history and analysis of Homer
with exploring the how Homer has affected his own life and the lives of others
throughout history.
C.R Beye Ancient
Greek Literature and Society ~ survey of Ancient Greek literature with an emphasis on
the society that produced it
B. Zimmerman Greek Tragedy: An Introduction ( Baltimore 1991) ~ an introductory survey of an amazing
genre
ii. Latin
S.A Braund Latin Literature (2002) ~ Braund's work is knowledgeable but accessible, introducing the reader to key concepts in Latin literary criticism. All quotes and references are in English. There is a newer work Understanding Latin Literature (2017) which I have not but updates the earlier book.
T.P. Wiseman, Catullus and his World ~ Wiseman situates Catullus within the context of 1st century BC Rome, an approach which is the bread and butter of studying Classical literature.
More accessible than the above is Daisy Dunn, Catullus’ Bedspread – an imaginative 'biography' of Catullus, and an interesting work because constructing fictive biographies is precisely what scholars don't do any longer
S. Hinds Allusion and Intertext: dynamics of appropriation in Roman poetry ~ a challenging read at sixth form level, but an important short introduction to two significant concepts in Classical literary criticism
*D.C. Feeney Literature and Religion at Rome: cultures, contexts and beliefs ~ from the same series as above, and similarly challenging; nonetheless, an interesting work which puts Roman literature in its cultural context
4. Greek History
* R. Osborne,
Classical Greece: Short Oxford History of Europe:
500-323 BC a concise but still detailed history of the Classical Greek
world
*J. Davidson Courtesans
and Fishcakes: the consuming passions of classical Athens ~
hugely popular exploration of Classical Athens through its appetites. Scholarly
but very accessible.
5. Roman History
*H Scullard, From
the Gracchi to Nero ~ a lengthy history of Rome from the Late Republic into
Empire. Some of the scholarly approaches are a bit outdated, but it remains a highly
recommended classic
M. Beard, SPQR ~ an accessible
history of Rome by Britain’s most well known classicist
6. Links to further material
Contains some suggestions for reading, as well as a range of activity suggestions to develop your Classical knowledge.
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