The New Posidippus

The papyrus containing over 100 epigrams by the Hellenistic poet Posidippus is artefactually the earliest example of Greek poetry book. This volume contains a translation of Posidippus' poetry as well as essays about the papyrus by experts in the fields of papyrology, Greek and Roman literature, Ptolemaic history, and visual culture.

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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 most prominent 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 and Augustan literature, Ptolemaic history, and Graeco-Roman visual culture.