Beyond Greek: The Beginnings of Latin Literature

by Feeney

A History Today Best Book of the Year
A Choice Outstanding Academic Title of the Year

Virgil, Ovid, Cicero, Horace, and other authors of ancient Rome are so firmly established in the Western canon today that the birth of Latin literature seems inevitable. Yet, Denis Feeney boldly argues, the beginnings of Latin literature were anything but inevitable. The cultural flourishing that in time produced the Aeneid , the Metamorphoses , and other Latin classics was one of the strangest events in history.

“Feeney is to be congratulated on his willingness to put Roman literary history in a big comparative context…It is a powerful testimony to the importance of Denis Feeney’s work that the old chestnuts of classical literary history―how the Romans got themselves Hellenized, and whether those jack-booted thugs felt anxiously belated or smugly domineering in their appropriation of Greek culture for their own purposes―feel fresh and urgent again.”
―Emily Wilson, Times Literary Supplement

“[Feeney’s] bold theme and vigorous writing render Beyond Greek of interest to anyone intrigued by the history and literature of the classical world.”
― The Economist

Genres: History, Classics

400 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2016

Reviews

[Colin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great analysis of the unlikely origins of Latin literature in a world dominated by Greek literature, influenced by and in response to that literature. A magisterial work on the origins of Latin literary tradition and early Latin literature. Highly recommended to anyone in the field of Classics, particularly Latinists . . .

[Jay Fisher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although the main point of the book, that the systematic adaptation of Greek literature by the Romans is an unexpected development, it is the sub arguments that make the book for me. Another startlingly original take on an often discussed moment in history.

[Bonnie_blu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even though I have a Master Degree in history and have studied ancient Rome for decades, the subject matter in this book was new, and fascinating, to me. I had always assumed (and we know what they say about "assume!) that Latin literature was a natural evolution resulting from native Latin literature encountering other cultures' literature through time. After reading Feeney's exceptional analysis, I now know that my assumption was a biased modern one and that such "natural" evolution did not occur in the ancient Mediterranean.

While I could explicate this statement in detail, I would simply be restating what Christopher has written in his excellent review on Goodreads. Thus, from Christopher:

"The thesis of this book is essentially threefold: the translation of Greek literature into Latin in the 3rd century BC by Livius Andronicus etc., marked the start of Latin literature as the distinct tradition that would continue through the rest of Antiquity; that this tradition we call “Latin literature” was wholly shaped by Hellenistic views of literary works as written texts with criticism applied to them (as opposed to whatever oral literature had existed in Italy before); and that this is a remarkable historical development, since no other Mediterranean people created a vernacular literature so grafted onto the Greek tradition."

The fact that no other ancient Mediterranean culture had latched onto Greek (or any other) literature and integrated it into their own literary culture was a true surprise for me, especially when considering the length of time Greek literature had to influence other cultures, especially in the eastern Mediterranean. In addition, the Romans didn't simply absorb Greek literature, they translated/interpreted it to encompass oral Latin traditions, and they "massaged" Greek history to join the two cultures into a shared history that spanned centuries. Truly a remarkable event in Mediterranean history.

I highly recommend the book to readers interested in the history of linguistics, ancient Mediterranean history, and ancient Roman history. However, I must point out that the text is extremely detailed and may not be appealing to the casual history reader.

[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

The thesis of this book is essentially threefold: the translation of Greek literature into Latin in the 3rd century BC by Livius Andronicus etc., marked the start of Latin literature as the distinct tradition that would continue through the rest of Antiquity; that this tradition we call “Latin literature” was wholly shaped by Hellenistic views of literary works as written texts with criticism applied to them (as opposed to whatever oral literature had existed in Italy before); and that this is a remarkable historical development, since no other Mediterranean people created a vernacular literature so grafted onto the Greek tradition.

Feeney’s views in general are well-argued, though I have docked a star because in some places he seems a little too confident about some claims; the evidence that has come down to us about Roman culture and society prior to the late Republic is, of course, limited. Nevertheless, this was a consistently fascinating book, thoroughly cited, and containing a wealth of interesting trivia.