Buy this book on-line

Edwin Murphy : The Antiquities of Egypt: A Translation, with Notes, of Book I of the Library of History of Diodorus Siculus

Transaction Publishers, New Brunswick, New Jersey, 1990

ISBN 0887383033

8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. K3 - A revised and expanded hardcover book in very good condition in very good dust jacket. Dust jacket has label residue on the front, some wrinkling and crease on the edges, chipping and corners, some scattered light scratches, rubbing and scuffing, light discoloration and shelf wear. Book has some bumped corners and dog-eared page, light discoloration and shelf wear. Revised and Expanded with Bibliography and Illustrations. 9.25"x6.25", 179 pages. Satisfaction Guaranteed. Diodorus Siculus, a prolific Greek historian of the first century B.C., wrote a detailed account of ancient Egypt for his contemporaries. Even then, Egyptian civilization was ancient, stretching back to eras far more remote to him than Greek civilization is to us. Egypt was a land of mystery to the Greeks. Its pyramids were inexplicable, its writings undecipherable, its religion unfathomable. Its strange laws and stranger customs, such as mummification, were perplexing. The very land itself was mysterious: no one knew the source of the Nile or why it overflowed its banks each year with never a drop of rain. The history and mysteries of Egypt were the sole subject of the Book I of the Library of History, Diodorus' encyclopedic attempt to gather all the historical knowledge of the world into one vast book. The Antiquities of Egypt is the translator's title for this important work of Diodorus Siculus, which covers the entire period from the emergence of civilization along the Nile, up to the conquest of Egypt by the Persians in 525 B.C. It deals with the history, myths, religion, culture, and laws of Egypt, as well as its geography, flora, and fauna. Diodorus not only consulted many earlier writers, including Ephorus, Agatharchides, and Theopompus, whose works are lost, but also visited Egypt himself and gives eyewitness accounts of its society and customs, describing monuments which the modern traveller can still visit today. The Antiquities of Egypt is the first translation of Diodorus' treatise prepared especially for the general reader but it will appeal to a wide range of scholars and specialists as well. The only other English version in print is a literal accompaniment to the edited Greek text, published over fifty years ago. This new translation is accurate and easy to read, while the notes and appendices amplify and elucidate the text setting the narrative in historical and cultural perspective for the nonspecialist. The illustrations add a graphic support to the text. Students and teachers of ancient history, Egyptology, archeology, and anthropology will find Antiquities of Egypt both accessible and valuable. Specialists in literature, mythology, and comparative religion will find it absorbing and useful introduction to early source material in their fields of study. Nonspecialists who enjoy Herodotus, Caesar, and Xenophon will discover that Diodorus is every bit as interesting.. Book Condition: Very Good. Binding: Hardcover. Jacket: Very Good

Revised and Expanded Edition

Bibliophile Bookbase for antiquarian books, maps and prints.