[Both title-pages in Greek and Latin] Pausaniæ Accurata Graeciae descriptio, qua lector ceu manu per eam regionem circumducitur… [bound with] Aristophanis Comoediae vndecim cvm scholiis antiqvis… Francofurti [Frankfurt]: apud hæredes Andreæ Wecheli, [and] Aureliæ Allobrogum [Geneva]: sumptibus Caldorianæ societatis, 1583 and 1607

Written in the second century AD by an antiquary with an eye for detail, Pausanias' description of Greece survived in a single manuscript which was copied in the 15th century, and finally printed for the first time by the Aldine press in 1516.

As a ‘periegesis’ – a travelogue – it was a guide (and sometimes literary model) for the more adventurous 18th and 19th century philhellenes making the grand tour. It has proved enormously valuable for the study of ancient Greece, leading Schliemann to the royal tombs at Mycenae and aiding in the interpretation of other sites, such as the complex of sanctuaries and treasuries excavated at Delphi.

Ours is the second printing of the Greek text, which was corrected in many places by Wilhelm Xylander, with the Latin translation by Romulo Amaseo newly revised by Friedrich Sylburg. Our edition of Aristophanes’ eleven surviving comedies was edited by Edouard Bizet de Charlais and Emilio Porto.

Condition & Materials

Two works bound as one, folio. Pausanias: pp. [xii], 1-377, cols. 378-507; p. 508, pp. [lxxxi]; [xii], 302, cols 303-352, [i]. Aristophanes: pp. [xxxvi], 916, [xxvii]. Text in Greek and Latin. One or two light spots and stains, with light waterstaining to the upper corner towards the end of the volume; a few scattered annotations in different old hands; paper fault towards the gutter of the title page of Aristophanes, not affecting letters of text. Early 17th century vellum, title inked to spine, lettered ‘STPD’ to upper cover with the date 1609, somewhat worn with short (7 cm) split at the foot of the front joint; endpapers renewed in the late 19th century.

Ownership inscription on the title of Otto Friedrich Plagemaar, who purchased the book in 1724; on the front free endpaper is an inscription by Carl Stuhlmann, who bought the book in August 1874 and renovated it in September 1877 (presumably including the endpapers); 20th century bookplate on the pastedown.

References

Pausanias: Dibdin II, 272. OCLC: 2553521. Aristophanes: Dibdin I, 298, OCLC: 8692612.

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Early Editions of Pausanias & Aristophanes