This book is a guide to the extraordinarily diverse literature ofthe Hellenistic period. A guide to the literature of the Hellenistic age, from thedeath of Alexander the Great in 323 BCE to the Battle of Actium in31 BC Provides overviews of the social, political, intellectual andliterary historical contexts in which Hellenistic literature wasproduced Introduces the major writers and genres of the period Provides information about style, meter and languages to aidreaders with no prior knowledge of the language in understandingtechnical aspects of literary Greek Distinctive in its coverage of current issues in Hellenisticcriticism, including audience reception, the political and socialbackground, and Hellenistic theories of literature