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STUDIES
OF
THE GREEK POETS
BY
JOHN ADDINGTON SYMONDS
AUTHOR OF "SKETCHES AND STUDIES IN SOUTHERN EUROPE" ETC.
Resolut zu leben
IN TWO VOLUMES
Vol. I.
NEW YORK
HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS
FRANKLIN SQUARE
1880
TO
HENRY GRAHAM DAKYNS
I Dedicate these Volumes
IN MEMORY OF COMMON INTERESTS, JOINT STUDIES, ANDSIXTEEN YEARS OF FRIENDSHIP
PREFACE TO THE AMERICAN EDITION.
The studies of Greek Poets, now reprinted, appeared in Englandin two series, published at an interval of three or fouryears. In preparing this edition, I have rearranged the chaptersof both series in their proper order, and have made certainadditions, with the view of rendering the book more completeas a survey of Greek Poetry. Thus I have inserted several newtranslations in the chapters on the Lyric Poets and the Anthology.The criticism of Euripides has been enlarged, andthe concluding chapter has been, in a great measure, rewritten.Each chapter has undergone such revision and alterationin minor details as might remove unnecessary repetitions andbring the whole series of essays into harmony. At the sametime I have judged it inexpedient to introduce radical changesinto a book which professes to be the reprint of volumes alreadyknown to the English public. For this reason the chapterswhich deal with the Greek Tragedians have been left substantiallyin their original form, and bear upon their face therecord of their composition as almost independent essays.
CONTENTS OF VOL. I.
| CHAPTER I. | |
|---|---|
| THE PERIODS OF GREEK LITERATURE. | |
| Language and Mythology.—The Five Chief Periods of Greek Literature. The First Period: Homer—Religion and State of the Homeric Age—Achilles and Ulysses.—Second Period: Transition—Breaking-up of the Homeric Monarchies—Colonization—the Nomothetæ—Ionians and Dorians—Development of Elegiac, Iambic, Lyric Poetry—Beginning of Philosophy.—Third Period: Athenian Supremacy—Philosophy at Athens—the Fine Arts—the Drama—History—Sparta and Athens—Pericles and Anaxagoras.—Fourth Period: Hegemony of Sparta—Enslavement of Hellas—Demosthenes—Alexander and Achilles—Aristotle—the Hellenization of the East—Menander—the Orators.—Fifth Period: Decline and Decay—Greek Influence upon the World—Alexandria—the Sciences—Theocritus—the University of Athens—Sophistic Literature—Byzantium—Hellas and Christendom | Page 13 |
| CHAPTER II. | |