Author Description

The Derveni Papyrus is one of the most interesting new texts from the ancient Greek world to have been discovered in this century. It is the oldest literary papyrus ever found, and one of the very few from Greece itself. The eschatological doctrines and an allegorical commentary on an Orphic theogony in terms of Presocratic physics which it contains make it a uniquely important document for the history of ancient Greek religion, philosophy, and literary criticism. This book is the first to have been published on the text. It includes a full and reliable translation of the Papyrus together with a range of articles by leading European and American classicists who are internationally recognized experts in Greek religion and philosophy.