The Derveni Papyrus: Cosmology, Theology and Interpretation [Hardcover]

"With valuable indexes and bibliography, Betegh's study is the definitive account of DP currently available. Essential."
-Choice

"Betegh has made a major contribution to understanding both the thought of the Derveni author and the Orphic poem which [the Derveni author] interprets; his reconstruction of the Orphic theogony and of the author's physical system should command wide assent."
-Richard Janko, University of Michigan, Bryn Mawr Classical Review

"The author, his editor, Cambridge University Press, and all involved in the production of this book are to be commended."
-Thomas M. Banchich, Canisius College, Buffalo, New York, The Classical Review

Gábor Betegh presents the first systematic reconstruction and examination of the Derveni papyrus and analyzes its role in the intellectual milieu of its age. Found in 1962 near Thessaloniki among the remains of a funeral pyre, it is one of the earliest surviving Greek papyri and is a document of primary importance for understanding religious and philosophical developments of the time of Socrates. The book will appeal strongly to classicists, philosophers and historians of religion.

This is the first comprehensive study of the Derveni Papyrus. The papyrus, found in 1962 near Thessaloniki among the remains of a funeral pyre, is one of the earliest surviving Greek papyri. It is a document of primary importance for a better understanding of the religious and philosophical developments of the time of Socrates. Here, Gábor Betegh offers the first systematic reconstruction and analysis of the papyrus and discusses its place in the intellectual milieu of the age. The book will appeal strongly to classicists, philosophers and historians of religion.

Gábor Betegh is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at the Central European University, Budapest.