Roman History, Volume III: Books 36-40 (Loeb Classical Library) [Hardcover]

Dio Cassius (Author), Earnest Cary (Translator), Herbert B. Foster (Translator)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0674990595 | ISBN-13: 978-0674990593 | Publication Date: January 1, 1914

Dio Cassius (Cassius Dio), ca. 150– 235 CE, was born at Nicaea in Bithynia in Asia Minor. On the death of his father (Roman governor of Cilicia) he went in 180 to Rome, entered the Senate, and under the emperor Commodus was an advocate. He held high offices, becoming a close friend of several emperors. He was made governor of Pergamum and Smyrna; consul in 220; proconsul of Africa; governor of Dalmatia and then of Pannonia; and consul again in 229.

Of the eighty books of Dio's great work Roman History, covering the era from the legendary landing of Aeneas in Italy to the reign of Alexander Severus (222–235 CE), we possess Books 36–60 (36 and 55–60 have gaps), which cover the years 68 BCE–47 CE. The missing portions are partly supplied, for the earlier gaps by Zonaras, who relies closely on Dio, and for some later gaps (Book 35 onwards) by John Xiphilinus (of the eleventh century). There are also many excerpts. The facilities for research afforded by Dio's official duties and his own industry make him a very vital source for Roman history of the last years of the republic and the first four emperors.

The Loeb Classical Library edition of Dio Cassius is in nine volumes.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 528 pages
• Publisher: Loeb Classical Library (January 1, 1914)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0674990595
• ISBN-13: 978-0674990593
• Product Dimensions: 6.4 x 4.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,455,396 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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5.0 out of 5 stars The First Intact Books, October 28, 2011

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Stuart McCunn (New Haven, CT) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Roman History, Volume III: Books 36-40 (Loeb Classical Library) (Hardcover)

Since there are so many of these darn things the review shall be divided into three sections. First, a brief description of the Loeb series of books and their advantages/disadvantages. Second shall be my thoughts on the author himself, his accuracy, as well as his style and the style of his translator. This is of course only my opinion and should be treated as such. The final part shall review what this particular book actually covers.

The Loeb series date back to the turn of the last century. They are designed for people with at least some knowledge of Greek or Latin. They are a sort of compromise between a straight English translation and an annotated copy of the original text. On the left page is printed the text in Greek or Latin depending on the language of the writer and on the right side is the text in English. For somebody who knows even a little Greek or Latin these texts are invaluable. You can try to read the text in the original language knowing that you can correct yourself by looking on the next page or you can read the text in translation and check the translation with the original for more detail. While some of the translations are excellent mostly they are merely serviceable since they are designed more as an aid to translation rather than a translation in themselves. Most of them follow the Greek or Latin very closely. These books are also very small, maybe just over a quarter the size of your average hardcover book. This means that you'll need to buy more than just one book to read a complete work. They are also somewhat pricey considering their size. The Loeb Collection is very large but most of the more famous works can be found in better (and cheaper) translations elsewhere. If you want to read a rarer book or read one in the original language then you can't do better than the Loeb Editions.

Cassius Dio's History is available in nine books in the Loeb series. Dio was a senator in the early third century who wrote a history from the beginning of Rome through to his own times. His last political position was that of consul under Alexander Severus. Apart from that there's pretty much nothing known of Dio's life. For the second and third century his is the biggest voice. For the first century AD his work fills in a lot of the gaps left by the fragmented state of Tacitus. For the late Republican and early Imperial period his work survives mostly intact and offers the best continuous narrative we have. All of his earlier stuff is rubbish. There are many problems with his work. To start with the most obvious, his work is mostly lost. The portions that survive are fragmented or epitomes of his actual work. The main epitomators are Zonaras and John Xiphilinus, who wrote in the 11th and 12th Century. The only section that survived relatively intact is the part dealing with the later Republic. Obviously this is a problem when dealing with an ancient author since you don't know what details his epitomator misunderstood or left out. The other major problem is his vagueness. Unlike earlier historians (all of whom covered a smaller period) Dio is not as precise as might be liked, often including phrases like "a few years later" or "a great many." This is a problem common with a lot of later historians. So much history is based off Dio that it is scary how little of his actual words survive. Another source that offers a good narrative of the Roman Civil War is Appian (Volume I, Volume II, Volume III, Volume IV). Also useful are Caesar's Gallic War, Civil Wars, Alexandrian, African, and Spanish Wars.

This volume covers the years 69-50 BC. Finally we are reading actual Dio and not merely some epitomator's idea of what Dio said. This is the period of the first triumvirate and Caesar's rise to power, as well as the beginning of the Civil War.

0 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hidden Gem, December 18, 2006

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G. Beke - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Roman History, Volume III: Books 36-40 (Loeb Classical Library) (Hardcover)

In Book 37, section 18, Cassius Dio writes about a musical derivation of the Days of the Week.

Although he alludes to the Egyptians, this Harmonic Week points to the Pythagoreans. Since Pythagoras spent many years in Egypt, that could be the source for this allusion.