Kirjahaku

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.

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.