ABSTRACT
Towards the end of the fifth century BC Ctesias of Cnidus wrote his 23 book History of Persia. Ctesias is a remarkable figure: he lived and worked in the Persian court and, as a doctor, tended to the world’s most powerful kings and queens. His position gave him special insight into the workings of Persian court life and access to the gossip and scandal surrounding Persian history and court politics, past and present. His History of Persia was completed at a time when the Greeks were fascinated by Persia and seems very much to cater to contemporary interest in Persian wealth and opulence, powerful Persian women, the institution of the harem, kings and queens, eunuchs and secret plots.
Presented here in English translation for the first time with commentaries, Ctesias offers a fascinating insight into Persia in the fifth century BC.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
part |87 pages
Introduction
chapter |3 pages
Outline of the History of Persia
part |4 pages
Ctesias' History of Persia
chapter |1 pages
Translator's Preface
chapter |2 pages
Key to the Conventions used in this Edition
part |16 pages
Testimonia on the Life and Work of Ctesias
part |109 pages
Fragments of Ctesias' History of Persia