Synesius: Volume 1, Letters (Translated Texts for Historians, 96)

By Simon Swain

This first volume of Synesius' complete works focusses on his letters, leaving the essays and hymns for volume two. The 156 letters show us life as an aristocrat in Pentapolis, the Roman province of Libya Superior in the north Africa of the late fourth and early fifth century. They vividly portray a man who enjoyed a top education at Alexandria under Hypatia and who passionately pursued knowledge of God and human friendship through his philosophy. We read entertaining descriptions of his family and fellow-noblemen; we witness his 'unsuitable addiction to weapons and horses' as he reminisces on hunting the ostriches he sends to friends; we see him lead his militia against the Ausurian invaders from the south. Synesius charts his struggle with the governor Andronicus. He shares his grumbles and doubts about his nomination as bishop of Pentapolis and recalls the extraordinary events that led to the governor's excommunication. We learn of his mental anguish about the deaths of his three boys, the tragedy that 'is gradually destroying me'. Public and private combine to make the letters of interest to students of history and literature and letter-writing as the most expressive art-form of its day.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 180781226X
• ISBN13: 9781807812263
• Release Date: June 2027
• Publisher: Liverpool University Press
• Length: 496 Pages
• Weight: 1.47 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.8" x 8.3"