Twelve Voices from Greece and Rome: Ancient Ideas for Modern Times

by Christopher Pelling, Maria Wyke

Twelve Voices from Greece and Rome is a book for all readers who want to know more about the literature that underpins Western civilization. Chistopher Pelling and Maria Wyke provide a vibrant and distinctive introduction to twelve of the greatest authors from ancient Greece and Rome, writers whose voices still resonate strongly across the centuries: Homer, Sappho, Herodotus, Euripides, Thucydides, Plato, Caesar, Cicero, Virgil, Horace, Juvenal, and Tacitus.

To what vital ideas do these authors give voice? And why are we so often drawn to what they say even in modern times? Twelve Voices investigates these tantalizing questions, showing how these great figures from classical antiquity still address some of our most fundamental concerns in the world today (of war and courage, dictatorship and democracy, empire, immigration, city life, art, madness, irrationality, and religious commitment), and express some of our most personal sentiments (about family and friendship, desire and separation, grief and happiness).

These twelve classical voices can sound both compellingly familiar and startlingly alien to the twenty-first century reader. Yet they remain suggestive and inspiring, despite being rooted in their own times and places, and have profoundly affected the lives of those prepared to listen to them right up to the present day.

Genres: History, Classics, Nonfiction, Philosophy, Reference, Cultural, Politics

290 pages, Hardcover

First published October 30, 2014

Reviews

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Twelve Voices is an excellent exploration of twelve writers of ancient Greece and Rome, writers I had varying degrees of familiarity with before opening this book. I now wish to read more. Surely this is a sign of a well-written, enjoyable text. As the author states in his preface:


The book...makes no claim to be a comprehensive
guide to classical literature. It is designed to be
suggestive; a palatable taster of what ancient
literature and culture can do for us in the present
day. (loc 33)

Beginning with Homer, the author takes the reader through not only ancient texts but also their presence and influence in more modern times and the present day world as influences on literature, literary forms, behavior. The chapter on Sappho was actually updated to include new findings and interpretations of her writings. Also from the introduction:


One theme, indeed, is the way that these texts
leave so much up to their readers. Because they are
richly textured voices they are also equivocal. Cicero
invites you to judge between opposing arguments for the
existence of a supreme deity. Virgil forces you to
weigh in the balance female against male and love
against the chaos of war. Juvenal and Lucian press you
to choose between the satirist and the targets of their
abuse. Sappho challenges you to comprehend her erotic
predicament and feel the nature of her pleasure or her
pain. These voices urge you to respond...to react...
(loc 73)


I was unfamiliar with Lucian prior to reading this but now I really must read more. I laughed aloud while reading some of his satire.

Exactly who would enjoy this book...probably anyone with an interest in classical literature, unless you are already a totally informed scholar which I am most definitely not. Anyone else is very likely to learn or have old knowledge refreshed here. As with the latest interpretations of Sappho, even the writings of these ancients aren't stagnant. Dropping in on them, even in this overview form, can be very valuable.

Supplementing the text is a detailed annotated bibliography for each chapter, a source of more reading!



A copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley for purpose of honest review.

[Víctor Jiménez Martínez · Rating 4 out of 5]

As we stand barefoot before the past eager for tranquility in our way ahead and the past looks up to the future present for hope there is a bidirectional conversation with an only active end, one where the voices of time interwine in views of portraying the human flame. Ours being a treacherous position in which voices appear as the result of a causal thread of facts we have the power -and responsability- of not assuming their meaning, but listening to them questioning our own words in turn. That's how, in this book, two experienced classicists dive us in conversations with twelve known and sound voices from antiquity that talk to us grasping the complexity of the cyclic human life.

Twelve voices from Greece and Rome is just that: conversations with thousands year old people. Starting with the Greek Homer, Sapho, Herodotus, Thucydides and Euripides, we pass to the Roman Cicero, Caesar, Virgil, Horace, Tacitus, Juvenal and Lucian. In some twenty pages each and each one of them selected for a reason, the authors analyze their figures not from a bibliographical point of view, but interpret their words looking at the dilemmas they faced. That's how we find answers to life -past and present: specific, concise, sometimes blurry and morally questionable, but answers in the end. How these ancient people lived, reacted and overcame their situations is a means in this book to question ourselves, our problems: not really far nor different from theirs. It's a crossroads full of indications and it's our work to understand them, leaving place for discussion, not making them right.

The book is written from heart and the text shows the sense of attachment and sincere fondness of both authors for these characters, their personas, their histories and their motivations. They introduce us to them not as abstract historical figures, but as people who lived their live raising their voices, standing out. They are counselors, appreciated, humane ones.

With a light and neat narrative, the slightly academic tone is merged with examples of personal and historical annecdotes and renderings, which makes it extremely accessible regardless of background. Thus, we learn about the tragedies of unheard voices in war through Homer, about love through Sapho, about the curiosity of inquiring the past through Herodotus, about the humane loss of war through Thucydides, about confronting stablished morals through Euripides, about double morals through Cicero, about power through Caesar, about capturing human experiences with words through the poets, from the epic of Virgil to the indignity of Juvenal. The authors cover for all kind of topics, their context, their interpretations and importance throughout history. And the importance of still looking for them for answers.

A good book that brings you the past home and carries the present to past, it is an excellent companion to travel through all the flavours of existence. And alas, voices of the past, still heard, invoke in us the reflective sense of action, of living, appealing to the current voices that, perhaps, will be heard in the furure.

[Elaine Aldred · Rating 5 out of 5]

Twelve Voices explores the works of twelve key ancient Greek and Latin writers. Although written by academics, this book is anything but dry and very much in touch with the audience it wants to reach out to; those who are curious about what these ancient authors have to offer the modern reader.
The book manages to provide each writer’s background, the context in which the works were written and then relates it to the modern day, without being too wordy or patronising. What emerges is that each writer has a very distinctive and interesting voice.
Relevant and sometimes very full extracts are used to highlight and reveal the moves made by each writer to bring their message home or express and idea or emotion. The book also uses novel ways to bring new dimensions to each ancient writer's work, for example a modern opera singer describes how to sing Queen Dido's lament. The background for one of the Aeneid’s translators is also addressed, because Robert Fitzgerald’s experience as a soldier in the Second World War has relevance to his approach to Virgil’s epic.
Although using a primary translation for the quotes and comments, other translations are referred to (for example John Dryden's of The Aeneid) so that a reader can compare and contrast the different translation approaches, should they to choose to explore them.
The act of zooming into the detail of word use and grammar and then pulling out for an overview really does draw out the complex textures of the ancient works. This cleverly orchestrated exercise in orientation really does help a reader to enjoy the skill of the ancient authors. This in turn gives a greater appreciation of these works in more depth as well as being able to see them in a new light.
Care has also been taken to ensure the most up to date information is at hand, particularly the new writing of Sappho that came out just as the book was going to press.

[GONZA · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very nice, although from Italian and lover of literature, I had already read all of these authors and their best works. In addition, the Greek authors more than once made ​​me regret not having studied ancient greek at school, even though I was so bad in Latin,that perhaps it is better so. Anthology with the best poetry and issues by the 12 best ancient authors, that have nothing to envy to those present.

Molto bello, anche se da italiana e amante della letteratura, avevo giá presenti tutti questi autori e le loro opere migliori. Inoltre gli autori greci piú di una volta mi hanno fatto rimpiangere di non aver studiato greco antico a scuola, anche se considerato quanto ero scarsa in latino, forse é stato meglio cosí. Antologia con i migliori brani e le tematiche piú belle affrontate da 12 autori antichi di capolavori, che non hanno niente da invidiare a quelli attuali.

THANKS TO NETGALLEY AND OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS FOR THE PREVIEW!

[Rob M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable read, especially for someone not over familiar with their classics.

The book avoids many of the 'big names' of ancient philosophy (e.g. Socrates, Plato etc) and takes a more literary approach, which I quite enjoyed.

To be honest, I'm not really sure how well the authors really managed to relate Greek and Roman ideas to modern times. The text was accessible to a modern reader, with ancient contexts explained clearly and engagingly. Beyond that, however, there was very little that explicitly related Greco-Roman thought to modern political problems.

Each chapter relates to the work specific thinker, arranged chronologically by the era that each thinker lived, starting with Homer (born ~1000BC) and ending with Lucian (died ~180AD). As such, it also serves as quite a useful overview of the political, military, and intellectual changes which took place throughout over 1000 years of human history in the Mediterranean.

[Ruby Steele · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did find this a little bit hard to follow at times, probably because I'd never read most of the texts and didn't know much about any of the writers. What it did really well though is linking ancient texts to lasting themes and exploring we we should be and why we are still engaged, interested in and moved by literature that is just so old. I particularly enjoyed the chapters on Homer, Euripides, Horace and Juvenal :).

[Andy Todd · Rating 4 out of 5]

The authors take 12 ancient writers and explore how their ideas may still be relevant today. It's a book to read in bites - a chapter a night at bedtime would be ideal. Targeting the educated layperson with erudition sensibly kept to a minimum.,

[Meg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyable exploration of 12 classical authors by ancient Greek and Roman specialist academics.
The only criticism I have is that I would have liked to see a couple of different authors chosen. Pindar perhaps, or Plato.

[Justine Cucchi-Dietlin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read half of it for class, and tried to finish it at the recommendation of my professor. It was just as bad as the parts I had read.

[Juli Rahel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I find it fascinating how certain "authors" from the past have remained with us, somehow never becoming irrelevant and always finding an audience. No matter how they have been passed down to us, through their own writing or the words of others, there are some names which have remained with us for centuries. So when I saw Twelve Voices I snapped it up immediately. Thanks to Netgalley and Oxford University Press for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Much of Western civilization does seem built upon Ancient Greece and the Roman Empire. I say 'seem' because when we think of these two we usually have both very distinct and vague image in our heads. The Greeks wore togas and the Romans were gladiators, right? I studied Greek and Latin in high school and am currently studying as a Medievalist, so my view of both Greece and Rome continuously changes. I have come to the conclusion that since we'll never know exactly what these places and eras were like, it is more fruitful to look at what relevance they still have to us. As such, Twelve Voices from Greece and Rome is incredibly topical and useful. The list of voices up for discussion is in many ways a Who's Who of philosophy and history. Even if you've never read anything by them or about them, you will probably have heard of Homer, Plato, Caesar or Virgil. And yet there are also definitely voices amongst these twelve which aren't as widely known, such as Sappho, Thucydides and Juvenal. By bringing these together Pelling and Wyke are able to show the links between them, the things they share and how they come together to remain relevant.

Pelling and Wyke both focus in on small details, words, phrases, lines, to show the direct emotional effect of the writing, as well as addressing such massive works as Caesar's Commentarii de Bello Gallico as a whole. On the one hand this approach means that readers completely new to Classic authors get a great introduction to various aspects of these authors' works. However, at times the chapters also feel a little bit unfocused because of that. At the end of each chapter you know that you're interested and want to know more, but there's also no specific message to take away. What makes up for this is how incredibly up to date the book is, including some of Sappho's most recently discovered poems, etc.

Twelve Voices from Greece and Rome was a really interesting and fun read. Pelling and Wyke are engaging writers who bring in their own experiences to show the reader that just because these voices are centuries old they aren't outdated. I'd recommend this to those with an initial interest in the Classics or those wanting to refresh their knowledge.

For full review: http://universeinwords.blogspot.co.uk...

[Hansel5]

Was looking for something to read at NYPL and stumbled upon this book. The text on the back and inside flaps made it sound interesting. However it was not.

I found it a bit dry. I had the feeling it was going to be a book about how the writings of Antiquity, folks like Homer, Sappho, Herodot, Virgil, resonate in our world today. I made me think of Michel de Montaigne and how his common sense writings reflect the human condition -- the fact that it does not change -- through the ages.

But this book was not that. I was disappointed. Found it poorly written.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful introduction to age-old but vibrantly eloquent and contemporary voices from the past.

Highly recommended if you don't know your Homer from your Hesoid, or if you do but want to give some arguably lesser-known lights a fresh look.

[Mark]

COCC PA3001 .P35 2014

[Uri · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent, very well-written book, enjoyed it very much. An informal, sometimes even personal introduction to infamous classic authors by two scholars.