Athenaeus: The Deipnosophists, Volume I, Books 1-3.106e (Loeb Classical Library No. 204) [Hardcover]

Athenaeus (Author), Charles Burton Gulick (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1927

Athenaeus (AD ca. 170–ca. 230), a Greek of Naucratis in Egypt, lived in Rome and wrote a historical work now lost. Of the fifteen books of his surviving Deipnosophists ('Sophists at Dinner'), the first two and parts of the third, eleventh, and fifteenth exist only in summary, the rest apparently complete. In it he pretends to tell a friend about a banquet at a scholar's house whither the learned guests brought extracts from poetry for recitation and discussion. Much of the matter however concerns the food provided and accessories. One learns about cooks, strange dishes, wines, menu cards, and countless other matters. Athenaeus was an antiquarian. The whole work, which mentions nearly eight hundred writers and two thousand five hundred writings, is a large treasury of information not only about table matters but also music, dances, games, and all sorts of literary subjects. And it abounds in quotations, mostly made direct by Athenaeus himself, from authors whose writings have not survived.

The Loeb Classical Library edition of The Deipnosophists is in seven volumes. There is a comprehensive index in the final volume.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Athenaeus (AD ca. 170–ca. 230), a Greek of Naucratis in Egypt, lived in Rome.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 624 pages
• Publisher: Loeb Classical Library; Revised edition (January 1927)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0674992245
• ISBN-13: 978-0674992245
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,555,206 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the gastronomers, September 25, 2004

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Amazon Customer (US) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Athenaeus: The Deipnosophists, Volume I, Books 1-3.106e (Loeb Classical Library No. 204) (Hardcover)

the work of athenaeus comes in seven volumes, all of them on amazon:

ISBN 0-674-99224-5
ISBN 0-674-99229-6
ISBN 0-674-99247-4
ISBN 0-674-99259-8
ISBN 0-674-99302-0
ISBN 0-674-99361-6
ISBN 0-674-99380-2

this edition has a very appealing appearance; there are even some illustrations of various drinking vessels in the back pages of volume V. each volume contains a very thorough index in the back, and volume vii, the last one, contains a 200 page comprehensive index to all of the volumes (200 pages of index should give you an idea of how much invaluable information the deipnosophistae contains).

each volume has a very readable translation with concise footnotes and crossreferences on nearly every page.

the discussion, perhaps stylistically inept, but thoroughly informative, is mostly on cuisine, as noted above, but then, there is also an intriguing book xiii, especially dedicated to women (with extensive quotations from various authors on harlots, eros (love), women, and 'lads')

to make a long story short, this edition of the deipnosophistae is a necessary addition to the shelf of any dedicated reader of the classics.

(despite the hefty price of the seven volumes combined)

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Scholars at Dinner, Sophists at Dinner, Profs at Dinner...", January 20, 2004

By 

"acominatus" (Johnson City, TN United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Athenaeus: The Deipnosophists, Volume I, Books 1-3.106e (Loeb Classical Library No. 204) (Hardcover)

There are supposed to be 7 volumes of this work in the
Loeb Classical Series published by Harvard Univ. Press.
So far, I have only been able to pull up two of them
on Amazon.com
The first volume of Athenaeus, which contains Books
I -- III, 106c (one through three, up to the part,
106c) has the ISBN: 0674992245.
The second volume of Athenaeus, which contains Books
III (106c) -- V (three, 106c through five) has the
ISBN: 0674992296.
According to the information on the inside cover flap,
there were originally many more volumes, but there still
survives a great part of the original in whole.
The "plot" of the work is a recounting of a dinner,
or supper, at which notable scholars were present, who
apparently had such incredible memories that they could
call forth citations from authors which related to almost
any subject or even food preparations that appeared in
the classical authors' works. That's pretty amazing
in itself. Might qualify this work for the fantasy-fiction
genre. But regardless of who had the knowledge, whether
is was Athenaeus himself, or his "guests," that is an
amazing knowledge of literature.
While some might find the reading, "boring," for the
true questing mind these delicious bites of knowledge
about food and authors and works are irresistible. For
instance, how many works of literature could you recall
that mention fried liver wrapped in a caul? Well, the
guest at the dinner, in Vol. 2, can rattle off the exact
authors in whose works that special term appears.
"What did they live on?" said Alice, who always took
great interest in questions of eating and drinking.
"They lived on treacle," said the Dormouse, after
thinking a minute or two. [-Alice in Wonderland-.]
By the by, how often are the two words, "scholars"
and "dinner" used in conjunction? More than you
might think -- seems the ol' boys like to gather,
gobble, and gabble. -- Robert Kilgore.