Ancient Greek Lyrics collects Willis Barnstone's elegant translations of Greek lyric poetry—including the most complete Sappho in English, newly translated. This volume includes a representative sampling of all the significant poets, from Archilochos, in the 7th century BCE, through Pindar and the other great singers of the classical age, down to the Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine periods. William E. McCulloh's introduction illuminates the forms and development of the Greek lyric while Barnstone provides a brief biographical and literary sketch for each poet and adds a substantial introduction to Sappho—revised for this edition—complete with notes and sources. A glossary and updated bibliography are included.

"Armed with this book a teacher can more readily convince the Greekless that Greek lyric poetry was one of the supreme achievements of literary history."—The Classical Bulletin
"There have been many translations of Sappho's work by gifted and well-meaning writers. . . . None quite connects the shards and fragments with the same satisfying verve and flair as Willis Barnstone. Barnstone is one of the greatest translators of literary expression from a foreign language into English."—New Letters
"With the work of more than seventy poets from the Greek, Hellenistic, Byzantine, and Roman periods, the distinguished translator Willis Barnstone offers us a very rich selection. ...William E. McCulloh's fine introduction traces the development of the Greek lyric, while Barnstone's notes on the poets provide valuable contexts. It is hard to conceive of a more satisfying anthology than this . . . .Jan./Feb. 2010"—Peter Skinner, ForeWord

Willis Barnstone is Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Comparative Literature and Spanish and Portuguese at Indiana University Bloomington. He has published more than 60 books of poetry, scholarship, translation, and memoir, including We Jews and Blacks (IUP, 2004).