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PROCOPIUS CAESARIENSIS

Anekdota [greek]. Arcana historia, qui est liber nonus Historiarum

Lyon
Andrea Brogiotti (col. Jean Julliéron)
1623

€180 - €240

In-folio, (12), XXIII, (1), 135, (1); 142, (19) pp, title printed in red and black and with large engraved printer's device, engraved illustrations in text, woodcut head- and tail-pieces and decorative initials. Parallel Latin and Greek text. Age-toned. Dark brown calf binding, first hinge weak

The publisher, Niccolò Alemanni, was the custodian of the Vatican Library, where he discovered a manuscript by Procopius of Caesarea which had remained secret until then. Although the work describes many of the events contained in the official history, there are also some passages that refer to Justinian and his wife, the Empress Theodora, describing in detail their behavior and scandals. Ref. Hoffmann III, 298; Schweiger I, 277. Ref. Nadine Elizabeth Korte in The McGill Journal of Classical Studies (2005) : "As if Procopius' accusation of Theodora as a demon in disguise were not enough, the author also goes on to tell of her greed, her bloodthirstiness, and her sexual escapades" "Justinian's wife Theodora is described in graphic sexual detail as a loose and immoral woman

Greek History