Sibyls and Sibylline Prophecy in Classical Antiquity

McGing, B. C. und H. W. Parke:

ISBN 10: 0415076382 / ISBN 13: 9780415076388

Edité par Routledge, 1992

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256 S. äusere Gebrauchsspuren, innen sauber und ordenlich. V13 Sprache: Englisch Gewicht in Gramm: 360.

N° de réf. du vendeur 604531

Détails bibliographiques

• Titre: Sibyls and Sibylline Prophecy in Classical Antiquity
• Éditeur: Routledge
• Date de parution: 1992
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN à 10 chiffres: 0415076382
• ISBN à 13 chiffres: 9780415076388
• Reliure: 8°, gebunden Ausgabe
• État de l'article: Gut
• Poids: 360 grammes
• Catalogues du vendeur:
  • Geschichte

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Synopsis

In antiquity a considerable number of books of prophecies went under the general title of "Sibylline Oracles". Rulers as significant as Augustus consulted them in time of danger or crisis for advice and prognoses. Increasing numbers of "ex post facto" prophecies, laying a particular interpretation on facts of recent history, came to be attributed to one of the mysterious Sibyls. Perhaps the most famous of these is the Cumaean Sibyl, who guides the hero in the sixth book of Vergil's "Aeneid" . In fact she was somewhat unusual in her similiarity to other oracular prophetesses, such as the Pythia. For where the latter prophesied in response to particular inquirers, one of the distinguishing characteristics of Sibyls was that they composed discursive verses for distribution to the world at large. This, Professor Parke's last book, which was virtually complete on his death in 1986, is an account of a subject both rarely treated in recent decades and difficult to access for all but the most expert. In its pursuit of the sometimes elusive Sibyls it ranges from Heraclitus to Eusebius, from Archaic Asia Minor to Christian Rome. This book should be of interest to undergraduates, postgraduates and academics of classics.

Présentation de l'éditeur

Sibyls and Sibylline Prophecy in Classical Antiquity, first published in 1988, is an authoritative account of a subject rarely treated in recent decades and difficult to access for non-specialists.

A considerable number of books of prophecies went under the generic title of Sibylline Oracles, which rulers consulted in times of crisis, the most famous literary example being the Cumaean Sibyl’s advice to Aeneas. But in fact the Sibyls were unusual from other oracles in several respects; most characteristically, they composed discursive verses for distribution to the world at large, as opposed to specific answers to individual inquirers. They thus came to be associated with the interpretation of recent history as much as the discernment of prognoses for the future.

In his pursuit of the often elusive Sibyls the author ranges from Heraclitus to Eusebius, from Archaic Asia Minor to Christian Rome, illuminating religion, poetry and politics in the ancient world.