The New Posidippus A Hellenistic Poetry Book

The Milan Papyrus ( P. Mil. Volg. VIII. 309), containing a collection of epigrams apparently all by Posidippus of Pella, provides one of the most exciting new additions to the corpus of Greek literature in decades. It not only contains over 100 previously unknown epigrams by one of the mostprominent poets of the third century BC, but as an artefact it constitutes our earliest example of a Greek poetry book. In addition to a poetic translation of the entire corpus of Posidippus' poetry, this volume contains essays about Posidippus by experts in the fields of papyrology, Hellenistic andAugustan literature, Ptolemaic history, and Graeco-Roman visual culture.

Kathryn Gutzwiller is Professor in the Department of Classics, University of Cincinnati.

1. Introduction, Kathryn Gutzwiller2. The Poems of Posidippus, Frank NisetichI. Papyrus Rolls, Readers, and Editors3. Back from the Dead with Posidippus, Colin Austin4. The Posidippus Papyrus: Bookroll and Reader, William Johnson5. The Editor's Toolbox: Strategies for Selection and Presentation in the Milan Epigram Papyrus, Nita Krevans6. New Old Posidippus and Old New Posidippus: From Occasion to Edition in the `Epigrams', Dirk ObbinkII. A Book in Sections7. The Politics and Poetics of Geography in the Milan Posidippus, Section One: In Stones, Peter Bing8. Cabinet Fit for a Queen: The `Lithika' as Posidippus' Gem Museum, Ann Kuttner9. Posidippus on Weather Signs and the Tradition of Didactic Poetry, David Sider10. Posidippus and the Truth in Sculpture, Andrew Stewart11. The Art of Poetry and the Poetry of Art: The Unity and Poetics of Posidippus' Statue-Poems, Alexander SensIII. Posidippus in a Ptolemaic Context12. Battle of the Books, Susan Stephens13. `Posidippus' at Court: The Contribution of the `Hippika' of P. Mil. Volg. VIII. 309 to the Ideology of Ptolemaic Kingship, Marco Fantuzzi14. Posidippus, Poet of the Ptolemies, Dorothy J. ThompsonIV. A Hellenistic Book and its Literary Context15. The Literariness of the Milan Papyrus, or What Difference a Book?, Kathryn Gutzwiller16. The Search for the Perfect Book: A PS to the New Posidippus, Alessandro Barchiesi