Classical Studies

"This is easily the best English translation of The Golden Ass. I find that undergraduates with little or no knowledge of classical literature or the Greco-Roman world can readily read and enjoy it—as accessible as Graves or Ruden, but much more true to Apuleius's text and sensibility. Relihan's introduction is a great distillation of scholarly commentary—superb in all aspects." —Robin Walz, University of Alaska Southeast

"Relihan is an American Euphues. I like everything about this edition from the title page to the index. The translation is magnificent." —Stanley Lombardo, University of Kansas

A workbook for Roma Aeterna (the main book of Pars II of the Lingua Latina per se illustrata series) with an extensive collection of exercises.

The most comprehensive compilation of the works of Abelard and Heloise ever presented in a single volume in English, The Letters and Other Writings features an accurate and stylistically faithful new translation of both The Calamities of Peter Abelard and the remarkable letters it sparked between the ill-fated twelfth-century philosopher and his brilliant former student and lover—an exchange whose intellectual passion, formal virtuosity, and psychological drama distinguish it as one of the most extraordinary correspondences in European history. Thanks to this edition, Latin-less readers will be better placed than ever to see why this undisputed milestone in the intellectual life of medieval France is also a masterpiece of Western literature.

"To refer to this volume as just a translation is misleading, because Smith and Trzaskoma have provided much more, most notably the best short introduction to ancient mythography—and these particular authors—available in English. . . . The translations themselves are clear and accurate.  [An] admirable volume.  Smith and Trzaskoma are to be commended."
     —Kris Fletcher, Bryn Mawr Classical Review

Includes updated sections on the Indo-European language family and on Latin meter, addition of a brief bibliography, and a reorganized index of sources. Suitable for intermediate-level students.

"Joe Sachs, known and respected for his excellent translations of Aristotle, deserves great praise for this new translation of Plato's Republic. Based on the latest definitive edition of the Greek text and guided by a sense that Greek in English need not read like an old, foreign tongue, Sachs' translation captures the flow of the conversation in an English that reads smoothly, even when the ideas expressed force one to pause and look again. Fluid, yet accurate, Sachs' translation allows the thoughtful reader deeper entry into this all-important book. The editorial guides and typographical signs to remind the reader of who has joined the argument most recently are all highly helpful and most welcome. I look forward to reading this with students." —Charles E. Butterworth, University of Maryland

A delightful collection of straightforward prose narratives, divided into 100-word sections. These stories are suitable for intermediate-level Greek students who have seen all or most of the grammar. Vocabulary and appendix of proper names. Because Morice chose characters and incidents from history and mythology, these stories also serve to introduce Ancient Greek culture.

Grammatica Latina is a Latin morphology to be used with Lingua Latina: Part I: Familia Romana. It includes tables of paradigms and forms corresponding to the Familia Romana course material. Note: This text is included in the title, Lingua Latina: A Companion to Familia Romana (Second Edition). If you have purchased that text, you do not need to purchase this separately, as it is included in the back of the book.

Mater Anserina is a delightful book of twenty-eight poems, many of them favorites from Mother Goose, rendered in Latin, with the English translation on facing pages. Designated specifically for early learners of Latin, the nursery rhymes are designed for reciting or singing, with the particular aim of giving young students an introduction to Latin pronunciation.

Audio files: Audio recordings of all 28 rhymes covered in the book (formerly available on CD) are now streaming for free on the Hackett website. Click here to listen to the audio.

"Dr. Warrior . . .  wisely chose to be more literal than free, and she happily refrained from importing 'new and false metaphors'. . . . Her translation, accurate at every turn, is complemented with useful footnotes, especially in those parts of the work (e.g., the Preface) that need special elucidation.  The scholarship that went into these footnotes, as well as into the appendix articles and Dr. Warrior's own Introduction, is current and of a very high quality.  (I do not think I have ever read a better introduction to Livy.)  A useful bibliography and several maps contribute to the excellence of a book, which, like Livy's own work, is not likely ever to be surpassed." —Blaise Nagy, College of the Holy Cross

"This translation is already a classic. It is the translation that has guided three generations of students and readers into a renewed appreciation of the beauty and urgency of a masterpiece of Christian autobiography. This is largely because the translator has caught not only the meaning of Augustine’s Confessions, but a large measure of its poetry.  It makes the Latin sing in English as it did when it came from the pen of Augustine, some sixteen hundred years ago. Deeply rooted in the tradition of which Augustine was himself a principal founder, this translation is not only modern: it is a faithful echo, in a language that has carried throughout the ages, of its author’s original passion and disquiet."  —Peter Brown

"To my ears, Sheed’s translation is the most beautiful English translation available. The same electric current that runs through Augustine’s original can be felt in this translation, which combines a slightly elevated style (more elevated in direct prayers) combined with the immediacy and transparency of a street preacher (not that different from Augustine’s own style). The latest edition includes an introduction by Peter Brown, the best biographer of Augustine, and notes and commentary by Michael Foley, a truly excellent reader of Augustine." —Jared Ortiz, Hope College, in Catholic World Report

"I find the Introduction extremely convincing, lucid, learned, fair to past scholarship, and truly illuminating about the meaning of tragedy in general and about the very specific acceptions of hamartia, katharsis, ekplêxis, and thauma, in the context of an appropriate understanding of the Poetics. Another remarkable feature is the dexterity and ease with which it draws on all the relevant parts of the Aristotelian corpus to shed light on troublesome textual passages in the Poetics. Finally, the style of the Introduction is straightforward, free of unnecessary jargon, direct, and economical, the best interpretation of the Poetics I ever read." —Sabetai Unguru, Tel Aviv University

"Arieti and Barrus have provided us with a fine contribution to the literature on Plato's Gorgias. This text includes a literal translation of the Gorgias with a helpful introductory essay, and copious notes. It includes a priceless appendix of the only literal translations available today of several key speeches from Thucydides, as well as a valuable glossary and appendices on the rules of dialectic that may be derived from the arguments of the Gorgias, and on Plato's use of the terms mythos and logos, with which not all scholars may agree, but which I think all should find of interest."
     —Michael Palmer, University of Maine

Stanley Lombardo's deft abridgment of his 2005 translation of the Aeneid preserves the arc and weight of Virgil's epic by presenting major books in their entirety and abridged books in extended passages seamlessly fitted together with narrative bridges. W. R. Johnson's Introduction, a shortened version of his masterly Introduction to that translation, will be welcomed by both beginning and seasoned students of the Aeneid, and by students of Roman history, classical mythology, and Western civilization.

This volume provides three short works of Tacitus: Agricola—the fullest ancient account of Rome's conquest of Britain and of the public career of a senator in the service of a Roman emperor—Germany, a valuable source on the ancient land and its people, and Dialogue on Orators, an examination in the tradition of Cicero's rhetorical essays of the decline of oratory in Rome's early empire. Together, these works illuminate an important phase in Tacitus' development as Rome's foremost historian.

Transition to Attic Greek is a reference for students who need a bridge from Homeric Greek to Attic Greek - a handy reference for aspects of the language that will be unfamiliar to those who have taken an approach to Greek through Homer. 

A compilation of over thirty Latin letters with introduction, commentary and grammar review. The letters are focused on Cicero and Pliny, but include numerous other authors and a wide range of fascinating topics. Authors represented are Cicero, Seneca, Pliny, Augustus, Cornelia, Claudia Severa, Vergil, Sidonius, and Ausonius. Designed for use in the first or second-year Latin college level course.

"Kremer's is an attractive text because of its combination of simplicity and strong delivery, and this is true regarding his translation and his interpretive essay alike. He has striven for a scrupulous accuracy in his translation, and he has achieved this without sacrificing readability or neglecting the distinctive tone of Plato and Xenophon."
     —Norma Thompson, Yale University

Euripides Hecuba is one of the few tragedies that evoke a sense of utter desolation and destruction in the audience. The drama focuses on the status of women, those who are out of power and at the margins of society, by enacting the sufferings of Hecuba. With the city of Troy fallen, Hecuba and Polyxena, her daughter, are enslaved to Agamemnon. Hecuba is despondent with the news that Polyxena is chosen to be sacrificed at the tomb of Achilles. After the sacrifice, the body of her son Polydorus, already a ghost at the start of the drama, is discovered. Polymestor, a king in Thrace who Hecuba sent Polydorus to for safety reasons, murdered Polydorus for his gold. With the tacit complicity of Agamemnon, Hecuba plots her revenge against Polymestor. What transpires next has lasting implications for all involved, including a dramatic trial scene and Hecubas ultimate metamorphosis.

A Reading Course in Homeric Greek, Book 1 of the revised Edward's editions by Focus Publishing. This text was originally published by the well respected Frs. Schoder and Horrigan. A Reading Course in Homeric Greek, Book I, provides an introduction to Greek language as found in the Greek of Homer. Covering 120 lessons, readings from Homer begin after the first 10 lessons in the book. Honor work, appendices, and vocabularies are included, along with review exercises for each chapter which have answers. 

Readings and Exercises in Latin Prose Composition provides a refreshing approach for the standard Latin composition course offered at the college level. This text encourages the student to think in Latin through the process of reading unedited Latin selections and then composing in Latin, as opposed to the process of translating back and forth into English. The book offers a number of highly structured composition exercises that introduce students to a deeper understanding of Latin grammar and prose as well as to greater facility in reading and understanding it. Course Instructors: An electronic answer key (PDF only) is available for qualified instructors who have adopted this text for their course. If you have adopted this text for your course click here to request a copy of the answer key.

"Sarah Ruden's translation is clear, lean, intelligent, and delightfully readable. The notes provide guidance without encumbering the text. This will be marvelous for classroom use, for reading aloud, or simply for reading for pleasure."
     —Pamela Gordon, Department of Classics, University of Kansas

This book contains teacher's materials (advice for the instructor and all the exercises [Pensa] from Familia Romana and Roma Aeterna, on separate sheets for photocopying and distribution) and an answer key (Pensa Soluta) for Familia Romana (the main book of Lingua Latina Pars I) and Roma Aeterna (the main book of Lingua Latina Pars II), as well as for Exercitia Latina I and II. If you have purchased the CD-Rom's, or are using the courseware, you do not necessarily need the answer key, as the answers are provided on the CD-Roms and in the courseware after three attempts.

This workbook contains supplemental grammatical exercises for each of the 133 lectiones (lessons) in Familia Romana (the main book of Pars I of the Lingua Latina per se illustrata series).

A thorough and modern commentary on Plautus' classic comedy Amphitryo, including the 15th-century supplement for the lost scenes. With vocabulary and brief notes on meter.

English translation, with introduction, notes and appendices. The Trojan Women is a play on the consequences of war and the fate of those defeated in war and their victors. 

Comprising relevant selections from the four ancient writers whose portraits of Alexander the Great still survive—Arrian, Diodorus, Plutarch, and Quintus Curtius—this volume provides a complete narrative of the important events in Alexander's life. The Introduction sets these works in historical context, stretching from the conclusion of the Peloponnesian War through Alexander's conquest of Asia, and provides an assessment of Alexander's historical importance as well as a survey of the central controversies surrounding his personality, aims and intentions. This edition includes a timeline, maps, a bibliography, a glossary, and an index.

"Crisp, idiomatic, and precise, this is a translation for our era. The list of further reading, grounded in the writings of W.R. Johnson (who also wrote the Introduction) and Michael C. J. Putnam, suggests the context that informs the translation: here, as the translator says in the Preface, you will find an Aeneid that works more in the shadows than in the light. . . . This translation would be excellent for classroom use: not only would it incite fascinating discussions about issues of war and empire, but it also reads well aloud. . . . Together with Johnson's Introduction, this volume offers the Aeneid in terms that will resonate strongly with the general reader of today." —Sarah Spence, New England Classical Journal 

"Adapting words of the ancient critic Longinus, [Lombardo] refers to the intense light of noon of the Iliad, the magical glow of the setting sun in the Odyssey, and the chiaroscuro of the Aeneid, a darkness visible. This latter phrase is the title of a famous interpretation of the Aeneid by W. R. Johnson, who contributes a splendid essay to the translation. Whether recited or read, the present volume stands as another fine performance on Lombardo's part. Summing up: Highly recommended." 
—C. Fantazzi, CHOICE

"Lombardo...tends to let Virgil be Virgil, and so avoids imposing unwarranted interpretation on the unwary reader. . . . [W.R. Johnson's] introduction is masterful and illuminating." —Hayden Pelliccia, The New York Review of Books

The Worlds of Roman Women is a Latin reader on the theme of women in the ancient world for Intermediate Latin students. It contains introductions of each selection, notes, a glossary and an index. A companion website has been designed by the authors to be used in conjunction with the text.

This complete verse translation of Ovid's classical work is illustrated with extensive notes, an index, and glossary. To help the reader contend with Ovid's frequent leaps both ahead and back in time, the principle episodes are listed at the beginning of each book and the subsections and digressions marked with indentations. Some footnotes also refer to mythological material Ovid has derived from Greek epic or drama or, occasionally, from later sources. Specific authors referred to in these notes are briefly identified in the index and glossary.

Golden Prose in the Age of Augustus is an anthology containing fresh, accurate and readable translations of the seven great prose writers from the Augustan period and covers a broad range of prose writing with introduction, maps, chronology, glossary, bibliography and notes. 

"Reeve's new translation of Republic is the one to order for students. . . . Reeve draws on his thorough understanding of Plato's central work to provide an informed translation and properly brief supporting apparatus. A highlight is the concise, substantive Introduction that usefully encapsulates much of Reeve's own scholarship." —P.W. Wakefield, CHOICE

"Taking full advantage of S. R. Slings' new Greek text of the Republic, Reeve has given us a translation both accurate and limpid. Loving attention to detail and deep familiarity with Plato's thought are evident on every page. Reeve's brilliant decision to cast the dialogue into direct speech produces a compelling impression of immediacy unmatched by other English translations currently available." —Lloyd P. Gerson, University of Toronto

"An elegant addition to Tacitean scholarship. . . . The appendices are comprehensive and extremely useful for students, covering political and military terms that are cross-referenced to the text, the deployment of the army which can be confusing in the Annals, Rome, geographical and tribal names, and maps as well as a good index of names. . . . This translation has many eminently practical features, including clear layout, the use of footnotes, and numbering of the text. . . . The Introduction is very accessible and, coupled with the text, will be very useful for students." 
—Alisdair Gibson, Journal of Classics Teaching

Lingua Latina Latine Doceo is designed to provide background to the methodology and philosophy of the Lingua Latina series. It includes the prefaces of many earlier editions and to some of the worldwide editions of Lingua Latina. It also includes a wealth of teaching tips and strategies for the book as a whole and for each of the specific chapters in the first book. It is an invaluable for instructors at colleges, schools and at home.

“The publication of Henry John Walker’s translation of Memorable Deeds and Sayings ensures a wider readership for Valerius’ great compendium of Greco-Roman lore. Of the many merits of Walker’s translation, I would cite especially its readability. Walker has produced a version of Valerius Maximus that reflects the original’s wide sweep, but in Walker’s hands Valerius tells a seamless story in multiple parts. This translation will be easily used by students in the classroom and by scholars. It is a substantial accomplishment: a superior new translation that renders a monument of Latin literature accessible in every way to multiple audiences.”
     —Joseph Pucci, Brown University

The most comprehensive collection of Neoplatonic writings available in English, this volume provides translations of the central texts of four major figures of the Neoplatonic tradition: Plotinus, Porphyry, Iamblichus, and Proclus. The general Introduction gives an overview of the period and takes a brief but revealing look at the history of ancient philosophy from the viewpoint of the Neoplatonists. Historical background—essential for understanding these powerful, difficult, and sometimes obscure thinkers—is provided in extensive footnotes, which also include cross-references to other works relevant to particular passages.

"Sachs's outstanding new translation of Plato's Theaetetus is lucid, readable, and faithful to the original. More than that, it is a translation for the thoughtful reader. Through his striking translations of key terms, Sachs compels the reader to think more deeply about Plato's intent. He shows that Plato's return within the dialogue to the same word or to its cognates is no accident but signals a philosophical trope in Plato's thought. The work's introduction avoids presenting a stock summary of the topics covered or a rehearsal of the failed arguments. Instead, it makes the case for regarding the Theaetetus as Plato's 'missing' work on The Philosopher. Through the 'variety of attempts, errors, new beginnings, and false turns that the dialogue presents,' Sachs argues, Socrates provokes his interlocutors and Plato's readers to strive to cross the boundary between mere opinion and the kind of thinking that is philosophy."
     —Roslyn Weiss, Lehigh University

This student's manual, in Spanish, for Familia Romana (Lingua Latina Pars I), includes a guide to pronunciation, instructions, and information on key points to be noted in each chapter. This book is especially valuable for students working on their own or in homeschooling, though also useful for school or university students.

An exciting prose translation of the epic poem, beautifully illustrated by Merle Mianelli Poulton, with all the right pedagogical apparatus to make reading this important work a joy for any modern college or high school student. The text is complete with notes, introductory essay, glossary, and an appendix detailing the tabulation of the gods.

"Seth Schein's new translation of the Philoctetes will serve as a useful text for upper-year classical literature courses in translation. As is typical of the Focus Classical Library series, Schein's translation aims to give a faithful rendering of the Greek that is at the same time readable, if not poetic. It also situates the work in its historical context and generally provides the supplementary material required for readers new to Attic tragedy. . . . Given that it provides more contextual information and interpretive detail than the average translation, and that the translation itself strives for greater fidelity to the original, Schein's work will be most welcome in upper-year translation courses, where it will encourage students to develop a more detailed and subtle understanding of the play."
      —Brad Levett, Carleton University

An anthology containing fresh and rhythmic translations of the great poets from the Augustan period, Golden Verses covers a broad range of verse with introduction, maps, chronology, glossary, bibliography and notes. Alessi's text is designed specifically for the college market, providing students with access to the thought and context at the roots of our culture. Designed to be read in conjunction with major works of the Augustan Age—Ovid's Metamorphosis and Vergil's Aeneid.

Finis Rei Publicae combines a close reading of selections of late Republican prose with a thorough grammar review. Caesar's Civil War forms the core of the reading material; excerpts from letters of Cicero, Hirtius' treatment of the period just before the outbreak of war, and some other readings supplement Caesar's narrative. Course Instructors: An electronic answer key (PDF) is available for qualified adopters, click here to request a copy of the answer key.

Contains the companion exercises to the Finis Rei Publicae textbook.

This Focus Classical Reprint of Selections from Ovid offers a classic reader on Ovid from Charles W. Dunmore, professor emeritus at New York University. The text contains extensive selections from Ovid's primary works, all in Latin, with commentary and a glossary. Selections from Ovid: Metamorphoses, the Fasti, Heroides, Tristia, Epistulae ex Ponto, Amores, and Ars Amatoria.

"Henderson has a real gift for capturing Aristophanes' voice, and does not hesitate to leap totally over the top, just like his author."
      —New England Classical Journal

"This is a fine translation, both fluent and accurate. It captures the range of tonalities of the original in elegant English that is neither stiffly formal nor cheaply colloquial. . . . The supplementary matter is appropriate and useful. The introduction is crisp and clear, the interpretive essay illuminating. . . . Scully has done a sound and serious job of translating and annotating for the general reader. Above all, his translation is excellent in respect to style and clarity: really a pleasure to read."
     —David Konstan, Brown University

This volume offers the fruits of Peter Meineck and Paul Woodruff's dynamic collaboration on the plays of Sophocles' Theban cycle, presenting the translators' Oedipus Tyrannus (2000) along with Woodruff's Antigone (2001) and a muscular new Oedipus at Colonus by Meineck. Grippingly readable, all three translations combine fidelity to the Greek with concision, clarity, and powerful, hard-edged speech. Each play features foot-of-the-page notes, stage directions, and line numbers to the Greek. Woodruff's Introduction discusses the playwright, Athenian theatre and performance, the composition of the plays, and the plots and characters of each; it also offers thoughtful reflections on major critical interpretations of these plays.