"How closely do the theoretical notions of ""metaphor"" and ""allegory"" developed by ancient rhetoricians reflect the practice of Classical writers? This question is tackled through eleven new papers by a team of distinguished academics. Ancient theories of metaphor are compared with twentieth-century alternatives; theory is tested against practice; and allegory—a distinctive though neglected feature of ancient literature and philosophy—is explored against the background of the rhetoricians' claim that it is one form of metaphor."