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Greek Lyrics: More than a Hundred Poems and Poetic Fragments from the Great Age of Greek Lyric Poetry (Phoenix Books) Revised Edition, Kindle Edition

by Various (Author), Richmond Lattimore (Translator) Format: Kindle Edition
4.4 out of 5 stars 36 ratings
A collection of more than one hundred poems and poetic fragments from the golden age of Greek Lyric poetry.

In this second edition of Greek Lyrics, translator and editor Richmond Lattimore brings together a vast assortment of seventh-and sixth-century Greek lyric, elegiac, and iambic poetry. For the Greekless student or curious scholar, these translations showcase the diversity of poetic subjects in classical antiquity, which range from love poems to medical inscriptions and drinking songs. Gracefully and robustly translated by a number of top-tier translators, this volume includes poets such as Archílochus, Callínus, Semónides of Amórgos, Hippónax, Tyrtaéus, Mimnérmus, Solon, Phocýlides, Xenóphanes, Theógnis, Terpánder, Alcman, Stesíchorus, íbycus, Sappho, Alcaéus, Anácreon, Hýbrias, Praxílla, Corínna, Simónides of Ceos, Pindar, and Bacchýlides.
 
 

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"The significant quality of Mr. Lattimore's versions is that they are pure. The lenses he provides are as clear as our language is capable of making them." -- Moses Hadas ― N.Y. Herald Tribune

"Professor Lattimore, holding closely to the original metres, has produced renderings of great power and beauty. His feeling for the telling noun and verb, the simple yet poignant epithet, and the dramatic turn of syntax is marked. He has completely freed the poems from sentimentality, and the thrilling ancient names—Anacreon, Alcaeus, Simonides, Sappho—acquire fresh brilliance and vitality under his hand." -- Louise Bogan ― The New Yorker

From the Back Cover

Enlarged edition with more than a hundred poems and poetic fragments from the great age of Greek lyric poetry - in robust and graceful modern translation.

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  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 out of 5 stars 36 ratings

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4.4 out of 5 stars
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Top reviews from the United States

  • Jordan M. Poss
    5.0 out of 5 stars Another nice collection of Greek fragments
    Reviewed in the United States on May 14, 2007
    Verified Purchase
    Culled together from the extant works of dozens of Greek lyricists, the late Richmond Lattimore's anthologized translations show simply and elegantly the beauty--and hilarity--of Greek poetry. This is great reading for those familiar only with Homer or the tragedians. Lattimore's selections show the broad range of the verses' subject matter. Here we have not only lofty religious texts, but tender love poems and goofy verse insults, too.

    Lattimore's anthology, incidentally, makes a great companion piece to Burton Raffel's more loosely-translated collection, Pure Pagan, available from Modern Library.

    Recommended.
    10 people found this helpful
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  • MarPes16
    5.0 out of 5 stars A Small But Great Book
    Reviewed in the United States on August 11, 2017
    The pitifully small body of ancient Greek poetry left to us is well-represented in this modest-sized anthology. Lattimore was one of the greatest Classics scholars of the 20th century. In addition to this book, I have read his translations of Homer's Iliad & Odyssey, the Oresteia, as well as a separate volume of Pindar which expands hugely on the selection Lattimore includes here. Plus his "Themes in Greek and Latin Epitaphs" and "The Poetry of Greek Tragedy."

    I've read many interpretations of the Greek Lyric canon, and I think these have the ring of genuineness. There doesn't seem to be any "Lattimore" in the translations, but rather the real voices of the original poets. There is little in the way of explanatory material, but the Preface gives us some notes on the poetic genres (Elegiac, Iambics, Choral, etc.), and there is a brief bio for each poet. Lattimore also includes a map showing the geographic origins of the poets. .

    This slim volume has been on my bookshelf since my college days, some 40 years ago, and I still consult it quite frequently. It is the standard by which I measure any other rendering of this ancient Poetry.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Ryan Kouroukis
    3.0 out of 5 stars Parched translations!
    Reviewed in the United States on November 10, 2008
    Lattimore only tranlsated a small number of Greek lyric poetry and poets and are collected here.

    They are in the same vein as his Homer translations to get an idea of how he renders the Greek into English.

    The book is very small and very thin, so please know that when purchasing it.

    The translations are on the dry and stiff side.
    3 people found this helpful
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  • Mamun I.
    4.0 out of 5 stars Good
    Reviewed in the United States on February 24, 2024
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    Good
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  • David M. Mayeux
    4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent introduction
    Reviewed in the United States on June 20, 2005
    Greek Lyrics

    anthology

    trans. and ed. Richmond Lattimore

    University of Chicago Press, 1960

    I'll admit to not being the best critic of poetry, but I did enjoy the works anthologized by Lattimore. It includes what I'm slowly learning to be the big name classic Greek lyric poets Pindar and Sappho, as well as twenty-four others. Most are represented by fragments, but these fragments are enough to give a sense of what I felt were the three most common themes of the poets: the state, desirable qualities of the individual (often in relationship to war), and personal stories.

    There was quite a range of the type of poetry. Many of the poets like Archilochus, have a very journaling feel to their poetry. They were using verse to chronicle the major events, their thoughts and feelings. Solon and others focused on poetry that criticized or praised the city-state they lived in, or compared their own state to others. There was also a number of epigrams, some that were quite invective toward individuals.

    Classic Greek poetry has a style quite different from modern verse. While it often compares or makes referrence to gods and mythology, the language itself doesn't soar to impossible limits of imagination. There is prodigious use of metaphor and simile, but it seems rooted and grounded. So birds may fly with the speed of Hermes, but they don't soar across the heavens blazing like a comet trailing the tears of heaven . . . or whatever.

    While I'm still processing, overall I enjoyed the Greek verse. It has a different flavor than what I'm used to, but its economy of language and blatant honesty as poetry makes for a flavor that is quite palatable.
    11 people found this helpful
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  • Ryan Mease
    4.0 out of 5 stars Review of Lattimore's Greek Lyrics
    Reviewed in the United States on December 9, 2009
    This anthology serves as an excellent introduction to Greek poetry. It features samples from all of the major poetic precursors to the classical era. Lattimore, as usual, writes with great skill. Supposedly, he also works to keep the meter of the original lines.

    This work has a few strings to hold it down. First, it is very old; some of the spellings seem odd. Second, it lacks footnotes (....or endnotes) giving information on the mythological references in Pindar, Bacchylides, etc.
    5 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

  • Tyler
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
    Reviewed in Canada on December 29, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    Nice, short collection of Lyrics in English. Not comprehensive but interesting for passive reading rather that thorough study.
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  • Sharon Braham.
    5.0 out of 5 stars Some fragments, and slightly bigger bits, translated/chosen by a master.
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 5, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    This was an impulse buy. I saw it and saw Richmond Lattimore had a hand in it, plus the little bit I viewed in advance looked appealing to me. So I bought it. I'm so glad I did. Sometimes I pick it up and start looking through it. There is always something I missed the first time, something I didn't appreciate originally, or something I can read again. It's a book that keeps on giving. There are quite a few gems in it, such as- I'm quoting from memory- "The wily fox has many cunning tricks, the hedgehog but one. One good one.". (Archilichos of Paros.) A lot of people are familiar with that quote, usually via the medium of Isiah Berlin. It's good to see it in its proper context.
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  • Kindle Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Ancient Greek Poetry
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 28, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    This e-book introduces you to the poetry of Pindar, Sappho and other ancient Greek poets with a small biographic paragraph for each one. Some poems are witty, others are beautiful and are an excellent for a beginner like myself.
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