Solon and Early Greek Poetry

Elizabeth Irwin is Research Fellow at Girton College Cambridge. She is the author of articles on Greek literature and a contributor to The Hesiodic Catalogue of Women (editor Richard Hunter) (Cambridge University Press, 2005).

• Introduction; Part I. The Politics of Exhortation: Introduction; 1. Understanding the political in martial exhortation; 2. Synthesising content and context; 3. Contextualising the city: archaic verse inscriptions and the 'rise' of the polis; Part II. Political Poetics: Solon's Eunomia: Introduction; 4. Solon 4 and martial poetry; 5. Solon's Odyssey; 6. Solon 4 and Hesiod; Part III. Poetry and Political Culture: Introduction; 7. Solon and the language of the tyrant; 8. Rewriting (some) history: Solon and Peisistratus; Conclusion.

Review of the hardback: 'It is simply superb scholarship, impressively documented and combining to a rare degree both literary and historical/political aspects … To reveal all the many virtues of this splendid book would require a multi-page review. It must suffice to say that not only is Irwin's book important for understanding some of Solon's poetry and the political and social conditions in Athens during his lifetime, but also for much earlier poetry, especially Homer (with particular emphasis on the Odyssey), Hesiod and Tyrtaeus.' The Classical Review