Philodemus in Italy: The Books from Herculaneum. Translated by Dirk Obbink.

From the library of Prof. Wolfgang Haase, long-time editor of ANRW and the International Journal of the Classical Tradition (IJCT). - Slightly rubbed jacket, allover very good and clean. / Leicht beriebener Umschlag, insgesamt sehr gut und sauber. - CONTENTS: Illustrations -- Abbreviations -- 1. The Villa of the Papyri at Herculaneum and Epicureanism -- 2. The Library of Philodemus -- 3. Philodemus� Epigrams as Autobiography -- 4. Reading Philodemus� On the Good King according to Homer -- 4. Philodemus and Piso: From Herculaneum to Rome -- Notes -- The Books from Herculaneum: A Guide to Editions and Translations -- Bibliography -- Index of Passages by Ancient Authors -- Index of Subjects. - Philodemus (ca. 110-35 b.c.e.) was an Epicurean poet and philosopher who settled on the Bay of Naples at Herculaneum. He was praised by Cicero and counted Virgil and Horace among his pupils in the Roman intelligentsia. Philodemus� epigrams proved him a verbal artist of the first rank, but the remainder of his writings were buried under lava in the eruption of Ml. Vesuvius. Excavated in 1752, his private library consisting of some eight hundred papyrus rolls is one of the few collections of texts recovered intact from the ancient world. Marcello Gigante�s Philodcmus in Italy, first published in Italy in 1990, provides a lively and concise survey of current scholarship on these difficult and fascinating texts. It relates the histories of the papyri and efforts to unroll and decipher the texts, then outlines the content of the texts and the scope of current research about them. The text is enhanced by illustrations depicting the plan of Herculaneum and the text of various fragments within the papyri rolls. This English translation will be warmly welcomed by scholars of the ancient world, among whom interest in the texts and library of Philodcmus runs high. It will also appeal to those interested in the histories of writing, cultural literacy, and libraries. - MARCELLO GIGANTE is Director of the Centro Internazionale per lo Studio dei Papiri Ercolanesi, University of Naples. Dirk Obbink is Lecturer in Papyrology and Greek Literature, Christ Church, University of Oxford. ISBN 9780472105694