Hellenistic Science at Court (eBook)

Marquis Berrey, University of Iowa, Iowa City, USA.

“[...] Berrey has produced a work which will be essential reading for those interested in the political and intellectual currents in Hellenistic literature. Indeed, something which is highly revealing, but which Berrey downplays, is the position of poetry at court. He draws on research into Hellenistic poetry in explaining the aesthetics of scientific texts, i.e. their sense of belatedness or their cross-disciplinary nature.”Max Leventhal in: Bryn Mawr Classical Review 2018.08.11 "B[errey]’s book surveys an impressive cast of characters in an appealing way: here is a book that holds its own against the recent crop of excellent investigations of science in antiquity (e.g. Reviel Netz’s Ludic Proof: Greek Mathematics and the Alexandrian Aesthetic [CUP, 2009]—possibly the closest analogue). But it is so much more than a lucid exposition of ancient technological and theoretical advances. B.’s sensitivity to the ‘genres’ and discourses of scientific writing makes these (sometimes rebarbative) texts, often ignored or undervalued by classicists, historians, and archaeologists, come to life. It is precisely at the interface of cultural, social, historical, and technological factors that Berrey is at his best. Highly recommended for anyone who is interested in bringing the technical and the literary together and wants to see these texts in an exciting new light."Gary Vos in: Classics for All, 21.04.3018 https://classicsforall.org.uk/book-reviews/hellenistic-science-at-court/