Catullus: Volume 51

Catullus is amongst the most widely read of Roman authors at school and university, but courses and textbooks have traditionally concentrated on a relatively limited range of poems. This study aims to broaden the focus, giving due weight to Catullus' invective and homoerotic verse and the**xA0;carmina maiora**xA0;or 'longer poems', alongside the more famous cycle centring on the poet's relationship with Lesbia. It situates Catullus within a range of cultural and literary contexts and takes full account of recent scholarship on gender and sexuality, Roman ideals of friendship and reciprocity, and the interpretation of intertextual echoes. A final chapter is devoted to the reception of Catullus' work, from the Augustan period to the present day. The volume also includes a glossary of Latin sexual and social terminology; an appendix surveying translations, commentaries and other resources for the study of Catullus; and an extensive bibliography.