Hellenistic Poetry in Context

This volume is devoted to Hellenistic poetry in the context of the

contemporary world of third century Alexandria and beyond. This topic

fits in with the increasing interest in the role of literature in

ancient society in recent research, which has already been applied

successfully to various aspects of Hellenistic poetry. The subject also

has an added interest because for a long time there has been a tendency

to regard this kind of poetry as art for art’s sake, a kind of

autonomous poetry and display of virtuosity among scholar-poets, who

indulged in being as sophisticated as possible without being in touch

with the real world. This view has been rightly challenged in recent

years and the articles in this volume reflect this new approach, as the

authors investigate the ways in which Hellenistic poetry, played a part

in its social and cultural context.