Funerary Epigrams of Ancient Greece

Funerary Epigrams of Ancient Greece: Reflections on Literature, Society and Religion

Taking a wide selection of Greek funerary epigrams from the 6th to 4th centuries BC, this volume considers their historical and chronological contexts to draw out information about the society that created them. Using both Hansen's corpus of epigrams and wider examples, it gives priority to those cases where the whole monument ensemble is preserved, both text and image, enabling a much better understanding of the significance of the texts. A thematic structure within a broader chronological framework provides a valuable lens on the epigrams, allowing readers to compare particular types across the time period. After introducing the funerary landscape in which the selected epigrams fit, Gonzalez briefly considers the literary form of epigrams as a foil for the rest of the book. The remaining chapters focus on epitaphs of individuals in the most significant stages of life, where gender differences are most marked: themes include untimely death, women and wives, friendship, piety and non-kin love. All epigrams are offered in Greek, followed by an English translation. The analysis focuses on the literary aspects of the epigrams, as well as on the information they provide about both society and religion of ancient Greece.

Review: This is a useful contribution to the study of funerary epigram in ancient Greece ... Gonzalez's book ... will become standard reading for anyone interested in Greek funerary epigrams. * Christos Tsagalis, Bryn Mawr Classical Review *
A useful and accessible introduction for readers who are new to the subject. It offers a wide variety of epigrams, all presented in the original Greek ... together with G.G.'s English translations ... Provides an indication of the epigraphic and iconographic source material along with a rich and up-to-date bibliography. * The Classical Review *
The book's main strength lies primarily in the fact that it examines a wide range of sources, and that it reaches a wide audience: teachers and students, but also scholars who wish to familiarize themselves with other areas of specialism. Although the archaeological and iconographic approaches remain largely superficial, archaeologists will find it valuable to be guided into a deeper understanding of the epigrams, and of their literary context. Philologists, on the other hand, will be able to grasp the social context in which the literary texts were produced, and for what purposes. * Journal of Greek Archaeology *
Since it offers a clear summary of a very rich bibliography, and it tackles the most important topics of the genre with great acuity, this work constitutes a very good introduction to studying ancient and classical funerary epigrams. * Revue des Etudes Anciennes (trans. by Bloomsbury Academic) *
This book offers a survey of Greek funerary epigram up to the 4th century and introduces readers to its development and several of its most salient themes. Those new to the subject will find much of value within its pages. -- Donald E. Lavigne, Associate Professor of Classics, Texas Tech University, USA
The Ancient Greeks commemorated some of their dead with grave monuments that included statues or relief sculptures and epitaphs written in poetic verse. This book offers an excellent, highly readable introduction to these mixed-media memorials that can still bring tears to the eyes with their records of young people dead before marriage and sad testimonies to the pain of parents, husbands, and dear friends who commissioned the monuments. -- Joseph Day, Emeritus Professor of Classics, Wabash College, USA