Reviews for Q. Aurelius Symmachus: A Political Biography

The average rating for Q. Aurelius Symmachus: A Political Biography based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2017-07-04 00:00:00 Ronald Retsch An interesting look into a time long gone - these letters are survivors from 5th Dynasty to 21st Dynasty Egypt, covering a period of about 1500 years all BCE. The most recent letters in the book still date to around 1000BCE, so the newest of them are 3000 years old minimum. It's amazing they have lasted as long as they have. The compilation is in roughly chronological order, oldest to newest, with chapters for letters from royalty and the viziers. In several cases there are actually a series of letters to and from the same person, giving a better glimpse into an individual life - astonishing after so long a time. The letters themselves offer a sort of comforting continuity - 3000 years ago, spouses wrote to each other about taking care of children, sending stuff back and forth, and don't neglect to write. Supervisors told their subordinates what to do and when to do it; subordinates wrote back reporting on what they had done and asking for acknowledgement. Businesses sent receipts and requested delivery of goods. Children asked their parents to send stuff; parents asked if the child had received their previous letter and why hasn't the child written to them lately? It's nice to know that while so many things have changed over time, others remain the same - communications now may be email, phone, and Facebook, instead of papyrus and ostraca, but the conversations haven't changed all that much. Anyone with a serious interest in ancient Egypt would enjoy this book, even when the letters are dull.

Review # 2 was written on 2007-04-25 00:00:00 Robert Fincham Definitely one of the more interesting collections of primary source material that I've run across ... to my knowledge, the Old Kingdom letters might be the oldest vernacular/everyday-type writing in existence? Many of the letters are relatively dull (a governor telling the vizier that everything is going swimmingly in Osiris's temple in Thebes or whatever) but the book as a whole is quite compelling.