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'Here Phillip, a father, laid down his highest hope: a twelve year old son, Niccolites.' 'This is the tomb of Megistias, Slain by the Medes at Thermopylae. Famous prophet, he knew what was coming. Still, he wouldn't leave the Spartan side.' A superb bilingual collection of 127 short, witty and often tender epigrams that span one thousand years of the written word. The book is evidence that Ancient Greek life was not only celebrated in great heroic epics, but was also commemorated in hundreds of artfully composed verse epitaphs, preserved in anthologies and gleaned from weathered headstones. These miniature masterpieces testify to the richness and variety of ancient life and to the wry dignity of commemorations to loved ones. It is a treasure trove of the obsessions, passions, fears, drudgeries, shortcomings and victories of ordinary Greeks and a reminder of death as a goad to the well-lived life. With introduction and biographies of the poets. 178pp, paperback.