Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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)

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.