A Critical Appreciation of the Amatory Epigrams of Dioscorides

Abstract

<p>The amatory epigrams of Dioscorides have been largely ignored by scholars. The bulk of the comment that his erotic poems have received has concerned the text; little has been written in way of appreciation of the poetic craft of the epigrammatist. In this thesis I have focused on developing a critical appreciation of the amatory epigrams of Dioscorides. I have devoted each chapter to one of the thirteen epigrams of Dioscorides, with the exception of chapters four, seven and eight. In these chapters I have dealt with the epigrams which seem to have been written in the same tradition. The chapters break down as follows: chapter one deals with A.P. 5. 138; chapter two 5. 55; chapter three 5. 54; chapter four 12. 37 and 5. 56; chapter five 12.42; chapter six 12. 14; chapter seven 5. 53 and 193; chapter eight 5.52 and 12. 170; chapter nine 12. 171; chapter ten 12. 169.</p>