Review of Gregory Nagy, Pindar's Homer: The Lyric Possession of an Epic Past

Ralph M. Rosen, University of Pennsylvania

Article comments

Reprinted from Bryn Mawr Classical Review, February 1, 1991. Publisher URL: http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/bmcr/1991/02.01.13.html

Abstract

Although Pindar's Homer began its life as the Mary Flexner Lectures in the Humanities at Bryn Mawr College in 1982, it clearly represents far more than a revised transcript of that event. The book looks more like a lifetime's work: over five hundred pages, elegantly produced with expansive footnotes and copious bibliography, wrapped in a glossy black dustjacket that gives it an authoritative, if somewhat daunting, feel. It is, truly, a magnum opus, and although it is unlikely to be Nagy's last word on many of the subjects he treats, he has obviously taken great pains to present his material in the most comprehensive manner possible.