1610 – Aristaenetus, Byzantine Greek Letters | Epistolae Graecae Love Letters

Epistolae Graecae by Aristaenetus is a collection of 5^th – 6^th century erotic letters. Each of these fictional letters was written by an unknown author who, today, is known simply as Aristaenetus. These love letters depict flirting, physical desire, and even romantic misadventures based on the styles and models writers such as Alciphron and Philostratus.

This 1665 edition is notable for including both Greek and Latin translations

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Aristainetou epistolai = Aristaeneti Epistolae graecae: cum Latina interpretatione & notis
• Author(s): Aristaenetus
• Contributor(s): Josias Mercier (Translator)
• Publisher: Apud Marcum Orry, Parisiis
• Edition: Third Edition. 1610.
• Binding: Full leather
• Format: (12mo), single volume
• Size:  7 in x 4.25 in (17.8 cm x 10.8 cm)
• Collation: [8], 295, [1] p.
• Contents Include:
  • Epistolae Eroticae (Books I–II)
  • Praefatio Translatoris
  • Marginal notes and Latin commentary by Mercier
• Provenance: Heraldic embossment on covers, faint but present
• Reference(s): Hoffmann II, 256

Condition:

Very Good. Full contemporary leather binding, tight and secure. Modest wear to edges and sides; gilt titles on spine remain legible and attractive. Faint heraldic stamp visible on upper cover. Text block clean and complete with mild, even toning consistent with age.

Why Collect This?

• Parisian printing of an early Greek-Latin edition of Aristaenetus
• Early example of erotic epistolary fiction in Byzantine Greek
• Appeals to collectors of classical and Renaissance Greek prose

Item Number: # 29705