Classical Love Poetry, The

Description:
Love is a ubiquitous theme in Classical poetry, from erotic Sappho, to bawdy Ovid, to the high poetics of Virgil. Whether describing unrequited love, the pain of being left behind, or simply how best to impress your girlfriend, the themes differ little from our preoccupations with love and romance today. This collection takes the best from Classical poetry, with excerpts from Homer, Sappho, Catullus, Virgil, Horace and Ovid, to name but a few, and illustrates them with some of the finest examples of Greek and Roman art in the British Museum. Images are also used from the Museum's later European collections, a testimony to the popularity and endurance of Classical themes in Western art. With a brief introduction to the poems, and a short biographical note about each of the major poets, Classical Love Poetry will be the perfect introduction to the treasures of Classical literature and art.

Author Biography:
Jonathan Williams read Classics at Oxford University and wrote a doctoral thesis on the history of the Roman Republic. He is curator of Iron-age and Roman coins in the department of Coins and Medals in the British Museum, and has published widely on Roman history and numismatics. Clive Cheesman read Classics at Oxford University and wrote a doctoral thesis on the names and titles of the Emperor Augustus. He was formerly a curator in the department of Coins and Medals in the British Museum.