Questions on the "Greek Anthology"(espec. Loeb and "others?")

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Cathexis
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Questions on the "Greek Anthology"(espec. Loeb and "others?")

Post by Cathexis »

Greetings,

I want to ask about the most complete and/or scholarly version of the Greek Anthology with both
Greek and English translation - and the more commentary, the better. Let me preface by saying that
I understand that "complete" is an issue unto itself when it comes to the Greek Anthology - noted.
That's not what I'm asking about but rather the most complete (and perhaps most scholarly) to be
had with both Greek and English. By "be had" I mean something either in-print or at least reasonably
obtainable. A separate commentary would be fine as long as it too is reasonably obtainable.

I'd also like to ask how complete is the Loeb version? Assuming you have all the relevant volumes, not
just the ones called, "Greek Anthology?"

FWIW, I already have Rexroth's, "Poems From,.." and the '73 vers. of Peter Jay's Oxford edition( which is
superior to the newer edition from Penguin, IMHO). But they are neither complete nor with Greek text.


Hope you can help,

Andrew/Cathexis
Romani ite Domum

Hylander
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Re: Questions on the "Greek Anthology"(espec. Loeb and "others?")

Post by Hylander »

The old 1917 five-volume Loeb edition is about as complete as it can be. The English translations are somewhat fustian and the good stuff is translated into Latin or Italian in order to spare youthful innocence. The commentary is minimal. A new Loeb edition consisting of an extensive revision of the old edition is underway, but only one volume has been issued so far.

http://www.hup.harvard.edu/results-list ... e&skip=150

A. S. F. Gow and Denys Page collaborated on editions of various portions of the Greek Antholog, consisting of Hellenistic epigrams, with text, translation and (in separate volumes) commentary, and Page produced one more volume. They were published by Cambridge and are available in paperback reprints. But they don't by any means include all of the Greek Anthology (which itself consists of several collections of poems).

https://www.cambridge.org/us/academic/s ... 0521737586

https://www.cambridge.org/us/academic/s ... ?format=WX

https://www.cambridge.org/us/academic/s ... 0521063777
Bill Walderman

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Re: Questions on the "Greek Anthology"(espec. Loeb and "others?")

Post by mwh »

Paton’s old Loeb may be your best bet. For scholarly commentary you should use Gow&Page’s The Greek Anthology (2 vols.), supplemented by their Garland of Philip. These cover the Anthology’s older strata, down to about 50 CE. Vol.1 gives the text and translation (organized differently from the transmitted Palatine[+Planudean] Anthology given by the Loeb), vol.2 the commentary. They exclude the subsequent accretions (later imperial and Byzantine). If you have any interest in the Anthology’s formation and stages of growth, Alan Cameron’s Greek Anthology is an intellectually stunning piece of detective work.

I’ll also mention Gordon Fain’s Ancient Greek Epigrams. It’s a verse translation, with brief notes and introductions to the various poets, of a selection of “the best” epigrams. Complete with a well-chosen bibliography. (Disclosure: I helped him.)

PS. I see Hylander’s already written.

EDIT. After taking a look at some of your earlier posts, I'm thinking that Fain might actually make a pretty good starting point for you (along with the Loeb for the Greek and prose translation) until you get further along in Greek. Gow&Page are rather formidable, and epigram is not the easiest of genres to get to grips with. — But I'm not pushing his book.

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Cathexis
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Re: Questions on the "Greek Anthology"(espec. Loeb and "others?")

Post by Cathexis »

Thank you both very much for your advice and suggestions. One of the pleasures of the
Peter Jay 1971 Oxford Selections was - no censorship! The Loeb site blurb for the re-done
Vol. I gives no clue whether time and revision has erased the bowdlerization of the Payton
text. But I'm glad to hear the Loebs are pretty much complete and much appreciate the
other pointers.

Thank you again,

Andrew/Cathexis
Romani ite Domum

RandyGibbons
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Re: Questions on the "Greek Anthology"(espec. Loeb and "others?")

Post by RandyGibbons »

Bill, Michael - Thanks, this was very useful for me too. I know Cathexis specified English, but do either of you happen to know any versions with unbowdlerized translation and/or commentary in Italian, French, or German that might be recommended?

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Re: Questions on the "Greek Anthology"(espec. Loeb and "others?")

Post by Hylander »

You can rest assured that the new Loeb Greek Anthology is not, and subsequent volumes will not be, bowdlerized. That was one reason for the new series. Even by the 1960s, Fordyce's Catullus was greeted with scorn (even though it was apparently not his idea to omit poems deemed unsuitable for young readers), and any attempt to bowdlerize the Greek Anthology, or any other classical work today would be met with howls of protest so loud that you would have heard them already.

But you need to remember that in the early years of the 20th century when Paton's original Loeb Greek Anthology was issued, you could still land in jail on both sides of the Atlantic for publishing material deemed obscene.

The problem with the new Loeb is that, with everything translated into English, it's harder to find the good stuff. in the old days, all you had to do was thumb through until you found something translated into a language other than English. It couldn't have stood out more if it had been printed in red ink. And today you miss the imaginative exercise and the prurient fun of figuring out what's going on.
Bill Walderman

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