- Hardcover: 224 pages
- Publisher: Routledge; 1st ed. edition (28 Dec 1995)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0415096790
- ISBN-13: 978-0415096799
- Product Dimensions: 2.3 x 1.4 x 0.2 cm
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,779,804 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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"This is a very evocative text...The approach is original and stimulating."
-International Journal of the Classical Tradition
-International Journal of the Classical Tradition
Product Description
First-century Alexandria vied with Rome to be the greatest city of the Roman empire. More than half a million people lived in its cosmopolitan four square miles. It was a major centre for international trade and shipping.
Little remains of Alexandria's golden age. Few papyrus records of the city survive. Archaeologists' attempts to reveal its past have been frustrated by years of subsidence, earthquakes and continuous demolition and rebuilding. Our main guide to the city is Philo, an Alexandrian Jew, who, sometimes inadvertantly, incorporated information about his home city into his copious religious writings.
In this compelling new study, Dorothy I. Sly searches through Philo's treatises for information about Alexandria. By recognising his shortcomings and prejudices, and questioning his judgements, she builds up an authentic picture of life in the first century.
Little remains of Alexandria's golden age. Few papyrus records of the city survive. Archaeologists' attempts to reveal its past have been frustrated by years of subsidence, earthquakes and continuous demolition and rebuilding. Our main guide to the city is Philo, an Alexandrian Jew, who, sometimes inadvertantly, incorporated information about his home city into his copious religious writings.
In this compelling new study, Dorothy I. Sly searches through Philo's treatises for information about Alexandria. By recognising his shortcomings and prejudices, and questioning his judgements, she builds up an authentic picture of life in the first century.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
excellent, delightful portrait
22 July 2008
Format:Hardcover
I found this book through interlibrary loan, because the three-digit price tag was too high for my budget. It's unfortunate that it is priced as a scholarly tome, because it is very accessible to ordinary readers.
Sly is very open about her own ambiguity about the subject of her work, the Jewish philosopher, Philo. He is blatantly misogynist and elitist; yet at the same time, Sly has a deep affection for him as one might for a crotchety, yet wise in his own way, grandfather. She does an enormous amount of detective work to ferret out of Philo's huge body of extant writings a richly detailed portrait of a city now lost even to archaeology.
The result is a vivid portrait of a city valuable not only for understanding Philo, but for those interested in the wider topic of the nature of this powerful city at the dawn of Christianity. I know of no other book like Sly's engaging, sparkling work. Too bad there isn't a cheaper paperback version available for those without big budgets.
Sly is very open about her own ambiguity about the subject of her work, the Jewish philosopher, Philo. He is blatantly misogynist and elitist; yet at the same time, Sly has a deep affection for him as one might for a crotchety, yet wise in his own way, grandfather. She does an enormous amount of detective work to ferret out of Philo's huge body of extant writings a richly detailed portrait of a city now lost even to archaeology.
The result is a vivid portrait of a city valuable not only for understanding Philo, but for those interested in the wider topic of the nature of this powerful city at the dawn of Christianity. I know of no other book like Sly's engaging, sparkling work. Too bad there isn't a cheaper paperback version available for those without big budgets.
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