{"title":"Series: Understanding Classics","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe \u003cstrong\u003eUnderstanding Classics\u003c\/strong\u003e series invites readers to explore a rich tapestry of genres and themes, from insightful reflections on home and garden to compelling perspectives in business, politics, and wellness. This diverse collection offers works that illuminate both timeless ideas and contemporary topics, delivering thoughtful narratives and practical knowledge alike.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWhether engaging with heartfelt children's stories, probing novels, or accessible guides in technology and health, readers will find a variety of voices that foster deeper appreciation and comprehension. Each title is crafted to enrich understanding and inspire curiosity across a wide spectrum of interests.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"the-poets-of-alexandria-by-susan-a-stephens-9781848858800","title":"The Poets of Alexandria","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAlexandria was the greatest of the new cities founded by Alexander the Great as his armies swept eastward. It was ruled by his successors, the Ptolemies, who presided over one of the richest and most productive periods in the whole of Greek literature. Susan A. Stephens here reveals a cultural world in transition: reverential of the compositions of the past (especially after the construction of the great library, repository for all previous Greek oeuvres), but at the same time forward-looking and experimental, willing to make use of previous forms of writing in exciting new ways.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe author examines Alexandria's poets in turn. She discusses the strikingly avant-garde \u003cem\u003eAetia\u003c\/em\u003e of Callimachus; the idealized pastoral forms of Theocritus (which anticipated the invention of fiction); and the neo-Homerian epic of Apollonius, the \u003cem\u003eArgonautica\u003c\/em\u003e, with its impressive combination of narrative grandeur and psychological acuity. She shows that all three poets were innovators, even while they looked to the past for inspiration: drawing upon Homer, Hesiod, Pindar, and the lyric poets, they emphasized stories and material that were entirely relevant to their own progressive cosmopolitan environment.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Bloomsbury Publishing PTY Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47471820964076,"sku":"9781848858800","price":45.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9781848858800-the-poets-of-alexandria.jpg?v=1775257409"},{"product_id":"virgil-by-alison-keith-9781848859203","title":"Virgil","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe works of Virgil (70–19 BCE) define the ‘golden age’ of Latin poetry and have inspired a long tradition of interpretation and adaptation that starts in his own time and extends to important modern authors. His ascent from the lesser genre of pastoral (the \u003ci\u003eBucolics\u003c\/i\u003e) through a more ambitious didactic mode (the \u003ci\u003eGeorgics\u003c\/i\u003e) to the soaring heights of epic (the incomparable \u003ci\u003eAeneid\u003c\/i\u003e) shaped the canonical writings of other authors, from his younger contemporary Ovid through the medieval writers Dante and Petrarch to the early modern poets Spenser and Milton and well beyond. Virgil, as Alison Keith shows, has never gone out of critical or popular fashion.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis wide-ranging introduction appraises a figure of central importance in the history of Western music, art and literature. Offering close readings of the \u003ci\u003eBucolics\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eGeorgics\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eAeneid\u003c\/i\u003e, Keith places Virgil and his poetry in historical context before tracing their impact at key moments in the culture of the West. Emphasis is placed on Virgil’s reception of the classical literary and philosophical traditions, and on how his poetry has attracted modern interest from writers as diverse as T. S. Eliot and Ursula K. Le Guin.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Bloomsbury Publishing PTY Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47995660566764,"sku":"9781848859203","price":51.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9781848859203-virgil.jpg?v=1784899120"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.live\/collections\/series-understanding-classics.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}