Aristophanes: Birds

This is an abridgement of Nan Dunbar's 1995 Oxford edition of Birds, one of Aristophanes' masterpieces (and the source of the word 'Cloudcuckooland'). The introduction and notes retain all the material designed to help the less advanced student of Greek to understand, interpret, and enjoy the play. Aristophanes' references to birds are elucidated in the light of modern ornithological knowledge.

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Of the 1995 full-length edition:

`Aristophanes addicts unite! This book is for us. It has everything that we always wanted to know about Birds and we were unable to find in one place.' Greek Gazette
`The commentary elucidates with an experts knowledge of syntax, meter, and artifacts.... The volume will remain authoritative for generations.' Religious Studies Review
Birds is generally recognized as one of Aristophanes' masterpieces, for its imaginative plot (it is the source of the word `Cloudcuckooland'), and its charming and original lyrics.

This is an abridgement of Nan Dunbar's widely acclaimed edition of Birds published in 1995, which was the first comprehensive edition in any language. The abridged version retains all the material designed to help the less advanced student of Greek or the non-specialist to translate, understand, and enjoy the play. It retains the notes on staging, but the metrical, textual, and ornithological problems are dealt with more summarily, and purely illustrative parallels are omitted.

The Introduction covers more concisely the same ground as that of the full-length edition, but omits the detailed discussions of the individual manuscripts and their interrelations.