Dracontius’ Orestes

This is the first English translation of Dracontius’ Orestes: a Latin poem from Vandal North Africa that tells the mythic story of the cycle of murder and vengeance suffered by the family of Agamemnon.

This book provides the reader with a highly accurate and readable English translation of the Orestes, which is accessible for both scholarly and non-scholarly readers; it is accompanied by a full introduction and notes. The introduction discusses the literary, educational, and rhetorical culture of Vandal North Africa, as well as the most important literary aspects of the Orestes including its major themes, the main literary influences upon it, its structure, and style. Roche also includes a biography of Dracontius and examines the Orestes’ relationship to his other poetry, his Christianity, and to the Vandals. The notes explain all important allusions to earlier literature; they highlight themes and issues raised by each section of the poem; and they provide a comprehensive overview of each section of the work so that all readers can understand and appreciate the Orestes against the backdrop of ancient and late-antique literature.

Dracontius’ Orestes is of interest to students and scholars of ancient literature, especially the Latin poetry of late antiquity, ancient epic, the reception of tragedy and comparative literature. It is also suitable for scholars of late antiquity and the general reader interested in the ancient world more broadly.