Ananios of Kleitor
by George Economou
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Poetry. Translated from the Greek by George Economou. ANANIOS OF KLEITOR introduces to the revolving stage of world literature the work of an ancient Greek poet largely unknown and hitherto unread outside of a small circle of cognoscenti. The poet's extant poems and fragments, as well as the record of their reception and preservation, are presented in this one-of-a-kind book of the sort that would have appealed to Menippus of Gadara and his followers, a medley of verse and prose and a show more diversity of genres, ranging from the epistolary novel to scholarly annotations and an Index Nominum. Ananios and his scholars and commentators perform their work at the edge of the real world and the margins of a thoroughly historicized and critically acute context. Ananios was born in 399 BC in the Arcadian city of Kleitor according to the third century AD author Theonaeus, who refers to a lost work by Chamaemelon of Patrae on the poets of Achaia and Arcadia in which the poet's birth is said to have occurred during the Nemean Crown Games following the 95th Olympiad. Forty-one poems and fragments of his have survived, along with twenty-five passages of verse attributed to him in quotations cited in various commentaries and literary works extending from the second century BC to the eleventh century AD. The fragmentary nature of so much of his writing makes it impossible for us to speak with full confidence about the range of his subject matter, though the ancient and Byzantine attestations, sparse as they may be, primarily identify him as an amatory poet. show lessTags
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This is one of the best books I've read this year despite its being a scholarly study of the poetry written by Ananios of Kleitor (not, of course, to be confused with the sixth-century iambic poet Ananios) several centuries B.C.E. and so a far cry from my usual reading.
What remains of Ananios's work has come down to us on papyrus and thus the poems are really only fragments, though even these scraps are suggestive of a distinctive voice: 'Dance through the forest [ ] deer season (cakes?) [ / Artem]is shouts and shoots [ / as the moon r [ ] on flying feet [ / ]the precipice / ]fisherman's net [ ] my heart, my love [ '. Economou gives us his own sometimes startling translation of them and provides as well endnotes, information on the show more various commentators, and general background and in fact it would be a good idea to have two or three bookmarks to hand before beginning his book.
A fair bit of Ananios of Kleitor comprises commentary from a range of characters through the centuries, from The Anonymous Alexandrian to 20th-century academics. Of particular interest is how their interpretations of the poems are skewed by their own inclinations and how much about them is revealed in their discussions of the poetry: amongst the references to other classical authors, comments on prosody, and attempted reconstruction of the fragments there are outpourings of fierce religiosity, an account of a third-century dinner party bore, and of course sniping, squabbling, and possibly plagiarism between modern academics. (In fact, my only--minor--objection to the book is Economou's decision to include letters between these last containing personal information he might have thought significantly revelatory but that for me were not.)
I don't think one need have any but a basic familiarity with the classics, mythology, and scholarly commentary to enjoy this book, though when I re-read it I'll do so with The Reader's Dictionary and Lempriere beside me as I've little doubt there were significant bits I overlooked on first reading. It's a book that does, though, require close attention--which will be generously rewarded.
I can't recommend this highly enough: I was held rapt by Ananios of Kleitor and noticed as soon as the second page that I was smiling, as I was to be through almost all the book. Admirers of rather similar scholarly work of Charles Kinbote might be especially likely to enjoy this, though I think Economou puts Nabokov in the shade. show less
What remains of Ananios's work has come down to us on papyrus and thus the poems are really only fragments, though even these scraps are suggestive of a distinctive voice: 'Dance through the forest [ ] deer season (cakes?) [ / Artem]is shouts and shoots [ / as the moon r [ ] on flying feet [ / ]the precipice / ]fisherman's net [ ] my heart, my love [ '. Economou gives us his own sometimes startling translation of them and provides as well endnotes, information on the show more various commentators, and general background and in fact it would be a good idea to have two or three bookmarks to hand before beginning his book.
A fair bit of Ananios of Kleitor comprises commentary from a range of characters through the centuries, from The Anonymous Alexandrian to 20th-century academics. Of particular interest is how their interpretations of the poems are skewed by their own inclinations and how much about them is revealed in their discussions of the poetry: amongst the references to other classical authors, comments on prosody, and attempted reconstruction of the fragments there are outpourings of fierce religiosity, an account of a third-century dinner party bore, and of course sniping, squabbling, and possibly plagiarism between modern academics. (In fact, my only--minor--objection to the book is Economou's decision to include letters between these last containing personal information he might have thought significantly revelatory but that for me were not.)
I don't think one need have any but a basic familiarity with the classics, mythology, and scholarly commentary to enjoy this book, though when I re-read it I'll do so with The Reader's Dictionary and Lempriere beside me as I've little doubt there were significant bits I overlooked on first reading. It's a book that does, though, require close attention--which will be generously rewarded.
I can't recommend this highly enough: I was held rapt by Ananios of Kleitor and noticed as soon as the second page that I was smiling, as I was to be through almost all the book. Admirers of rather similar scholarly work of Charles Kinbote might be especially likely to enjoy this, though I think Economou puts Nabokov in the shade. show less
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"DAIMONIH,..." - Blurbers
- Perloff, Marjorie; Rothenberg, Jerome
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- Fiction and Literature, Poetry
- DDC/MDS
- 881.01 — Literature & rhetoric Classical & modern Greek literatures Classical Greek poetry Different categories of Greek classical poetry Philosophy and Theory
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- PA3866 .A13 .E26 — Language and Literature Greek language and literature. Latin language and literature Greek literature Individual authors
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