Theophrastus' Characters is a collection of 30 short character-sketches of various types of individuals who might be met in the streets of Athens in the late fourth century BC. It is a work which had a profound influence on European literature, and this is a detailed and elaborate treatment of it. This edition presents an improved text, a translation which is designed both to be readable and to bring out fully the nuances of the very difficult Greek, and a commentary which covers every feature of the text and its interpretation and offers particularly full elucidation of the often enigmatic references to contemporary social practices and historical events. There is also a lengthy introduction, which discusses the antecedents and affiliations of the work, its date, its purpose, and the manuscript tradition. Extensive indexes are also provided, including an Index Verborum.

This edition offers an improved text and translation of the collection, with a comprehensive commentary.

About the Author
James Diggle is Professor of Greek and Latin at Cambridge and a Fellow of Queens' College. His publications include Studies on the Text of Euripides (OUP, 1981), The Textual Tradition of Euripides' Orestes (Oxford University Press, 1991), and Euripidea: Collected Essays (Oxford University Press, 1994). He was University Orator at Cambridge for eleven years, and has published a selection of his speeches in Cambridge Orations 1982-1993 (Cambridge University Press 0521 466180).

Reviews
'Its elegance makes it a useful introduction for students, while its comprehensive textual analysis should insure that it will be the substantial contribution to the literature on Theophrastus' engaging, puzzling Characters for some time to come.' Nancy Worman, Classical World
' This is a masterly achievement in virtually all respects, and one whose great wealth of erudition will make it an invaluable source of reference for anyone seriously concerned with the private and public psychologies of life in classical Athens.' Hermathena
'... Diggle has elegantly repackaged in an inviting school edition his magisterial text, translation and commentary on Theophrastus: Characters that is fun to read and appropriate for a number of pedagogical applications.' James J. Clauss, Bryn Mawr Classical Review



Book Information
ISBN 9780521045766
Author Theophrastus
Format Paperback
Page Count 612
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Weight(grams) 798g
Dimensions(mm) 216mm * 140mm * 35mm