Ctesias’ ‘History of Persia’: Tales of the Orient (Routledge Classical Translations) 1st Edition by Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones (PDF)

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Towards the end of the fifth century BC Ctesias of Cnidus wrote his 23 book History of Persia. Ctesias is a remarkable figure: he lived and worked in the Persian court and, as a doctor, tended to the world’s most powerful kings and queens. His position gave him special insight into the workings of Persian court life and access to the gossip and scandal surrounding Persian history and court politics, past and present. His History of Persia was completed at a time when the Greeks were fascinated by Persia and seems very much to cater to contemporary interest in Persian wealth and opulence, powerful Persian women, the institution of the harem, kings and queens, eunuchs and secret plots. Presented here in English translation for the first time with commentaries, Ctesias offers a fascinating insight into Persia in the fifth century BC.

User’s Reviews

Editorial Reviews: About the Author Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐Translations of major classical texts have been done to death. Everyone who teaches Greek at a university level has a go at translating Plato or Sophocles or Plutarch. Between the Loeb Classical Library, Oxford World Classics and Penguin Classics most works have been translated multiple times. So if is a rare thing to find a fairly substantial classical text that has not received a modern translation. With this volume this what we have with Ctesias!Ctesias (active in the late 5th/ early 4th century) was a doctor from Cnidus who entered into Persian service as the doctor to King Artaxerxes II around 405/404 BC. He wrote a Persica (on Persian history). The work was massive. According to ancient testimony it consisted of 23 ‘books’ This work does not survive as a complete work but as a summary by the great Patriarch of Constantinople from the 9th century. Along with this summary are included a series of ancient testimonies from other ancient authors on the life and work of Ctesias. There are also quotes (‘fragments’) from other ancient authors who used Ctesias. All of this adds up to a fairly substantial volume. There are about 150 pages of translated texts (from pages 95 to 219).Ctesias was seen as an expert on Persia and his subject matter was seen as exotic so he was widely used. I particularly found his account of how Darius seized the throne interesting when compared to Herodotus. Ctesias was selling the ‘official’ story that he heard at the Persian court.The introduction is clear and informative but I don’t particularly like their slant of viewing Ctesias as a peddler of ‘oriental tales’. This volume is a self-contained that includes all there is to know about Ctesias. The paperback edition makes this book affordable.

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⭐Part of the problem for anyone interested in and fascinated by Persian history, is that most of what we read about pre-Muslim Persia was written by its enemies. But Ctesias at least provides an alternative angle, in spite of being Greek. It is a pity so much of his history is lost.

⭐Well-written humanist study and compilation! Joy to read and magnificent source of information.

⭐De las pocas traducciones que hay de Ctesias, estamos ante la mejor de todas. Su introducción es magnífica y el orden de los fragmentos conservados estupendo.good

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