Alcaeus's beautiful and delicate poetry is often overshadowed by the literary reputation of Sappho, his fellow poet and compatriot. R J Dent's sensitive translation of the Poems & Fragments from ancient Greek into lively modern English promises to rescue Alcaeus's ethereal poetry from obscurity. There is no other published translation of Alcaeus's Poems & Fragments in existence. "Alcaeus's nobility, conciseness and sweetness combine forcefully with his use of metaphor and his clarity." - Dionysius of Halicarnassus, 'On Imitation' "His poetry smells of vine-leaves and the sea." - Peter Levi, 'A History of Greek Literature'