VIRIDITAS

Ion is generally regarded as one of Euripides' most attractive plays. A skilfully organised plot, charming characters, exciting situations and thought-provoking themes make it an excellent introduction to the study of Greek drama generally and of Euripides in particular. The introduction deals with Euripides' adaptation of the myth of Ion, his treatment of the theme of autochthony and his attitude to the seemingly licentious behaviour of Apollo. There is also a discussion of the play's date, its structure, form and language. The commentary is designed to encourage students to read the play in a responsive way and to pay attention to matters of form, language and dramatic technique. Greek text with facing-page English translation, introduction and commentary.Plato's Meno is the dialogue which more than any other occupies a transitional position between the early Socratic dialogues and the developed middle period theory of the Phaedo, Symposium and Republic. It is thus of particular interest for the insights that it gives us into the process by which Plato arrived at that theory. The issues which it raises are philosophically interesting in themselves: how can we know that we have the right answer to a question, unless we knew what the answer was before we asked the question in the first place? Is excellence (arete) something that we can acquire by being taught, or is it something that we are born with? And the dialogue is of historical interest for the evidence it provides, both for ancient Greek notions of what constitutes excellence, and for contemporary attitudes to the Sophists, who claimed to teach excellence and took larger fees for doing so. First published in 1985, this edition was revised in 1991, and the preface and bibliography updated in 2004. Greek text with facing-page English translation, introduction, notes and commentary.Peter Levi's final collection contains the moving lyrics he composed, often while walking round the green in the Gloucestershire village where he lived, as well as other poems written since 'Reed Music' (1997). Despite his increasing blindness, his poems retained their vivid delight in the natural world and its relationship with both the social and spiritual dimensions of life.