Overview

The On Poems by the Epicurean philosopher and poet Philodemus of Gadara (1st century BC) survived amid the library of the Villa of the Papyri at Herculaneum, which was buried by the eruption of Vesuvius in AD 79. The papyrus-rolls in this, the only library that survives from the ancient world, are with the aid of advanced technology at last able to be read, reconstructed, and translated. The On Poems, in five books, offers unique insights into ancient literary criticism from Aristotle to Horace. Book 1 was published in 2000. This volume contains the Greek text, translation, and scholarly commentary on Books 3 and 4, together with the fragments of Aristotle's lost dialogue On Poets, which sheds light on Aristotle's views on such controversial questions as mimesis, catharsis, and the origins of tragedy and comedy.

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9780198866862

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Reviews

Review from previous edition It is impossible to emerge unedified from this tremendous work of scholarship and erudition. It will be required reading for everyone working on an ancient aesthetic theory, Philodemus, Epicureanism, Aristotle, or the Peripatetic tradition. * Jacob Mackey, The Classical World * Limitations of space made it impossible for me to describe the details of Janko's interpretations of the texts he presents (from both Philodemus and Aristotle) or how his views differ from those of other scholars. Nor can I successfully convey the amount of painstaking work that Janko went through to produce this superb volume. I do hope, however, that my description of this volume makes clear how valuable it is, not only to scholars of Philodemus but to anyone interested in Aristotle's poetics and Hellenistic literary criticism. * Robert Mayhew, Bryn Mawr Classical Review * Janko writes of the 'almost endless patience, ingenuity and time' (p. 157) needed by those who work on the Philodemus papyri and he has clearly invested vast amounts of all three in the preparation of this volume. In doing so he has produced a book of exceptional quality that is essential reading for anyone with an interest in Philodemus, Aristotelian poetics and Hellenistic literary criticism. * Sarah Alexander, The Classical Review *

Janko writes of the 'almost endless patience, ingenuity and time' (p. 157) needed by those who work on the Philodemus papyri and he has clearly invested vast amounts of all three in the preparation of this volume. In doing so he has produced a book of exceptional quality that is essential reading for anyone with an interest in Philodemus, Aristotelian poetics and Hellenistic literary criticism. * Sarah Alexander, The Classical Review * Limitations of space made it impossible for me to describe the details of Janko's interpretations of the texts he presents (from both Philodemus and Aristotle) or how his views differ from those of other scholars. Nor can I successfully convey the amount of painstaking work that Janko went through to produce this superb volume. I do hope, however, that my description of this volume makes clear how valuable it is, not only to scholars of Philodemus but to anyone interested in Aristotle's poetics and Hellenistic literary criticism. * Robert Mayhew, Bryn Mawr Classical Review * Review from previous edition It is impossible to emerge unedified from this tremendous work of scholarship and erudition. It will be required reading for everyone working on an ancient aesthetic theory, Philodemus, Epicureanism, Aristotle, or the Peripatetic tradition. * Jacob Mackey, The Classical World *

Author Information

Richard Janko is Gerald F. Else Collegiate Professor of Classical Studies at the University of Michigan.

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