so-soThe Fall of Egypt and the Rise of Rome, by Guy de la Bedoyere (2024)
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Premise: A history of the Ptolomaic Empire, from its beginnings in the aftermath of Alexander the Great‘s death to its end under the famed queen Cleopatra
Review: There‘s a lot of excellent content here and I was excited for a volume focusing on one of the great Hellenistic kingdoms. ⬇️
pickThis is just the 1st of 8 volumes. I went in expecting to learn a lot (and I did) but not expecting the humor and the quality of the prose. I‘m not jumping right in to volume 2, but I do hope to finish the whole thing by the end of 2026. Pic is the map on the endpapers of my edition.
And the relevance to our current situation keeps coming. Sigh.
Let‘s hope it‘s not irrevocable. And this was written in 1776. Do we never learn?
I always thought of this as something I “should” read, but didn‘t look forward to it (so it languished on my shelves for decades) but he‘s actually amusing. Just barely into Chapter 2 and I‘ve read at least four quotes out to my ever-suffering husband.
pickI really enjoyed this. I found it to be a good translation. Additionally, a good amount of helpful footnotes were provided, explaining things like dates, family relations, and other similar information. Additionally, Suetonius seemed to be relatively balanced in his writing, such as providing different explanations and stories when there was conflicting information.
"And if it came to his ears that influence was being used to acquit a criminal in some court or other, he would suddenly appear and address the jury either from the floor or the tribunal; asking them to remember the sanctity of the Law and their oath to uphold it, and the serious nature of the crime on which their verdict was required."
-Suetonius, "The Twelve Caesars"
Bookish Pair: The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt, by Toby Wilkinson (2010) 1w