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Étienne-Duplessis (M.) (ed., trans.) Appien: Histoire Romaine. Tome XII, Livre XVII: Guerres Civiles, Livre V . (Collection des Universités de France publiée sous le patronage de l'Association Guillaume Budé 498.) Pp. ccxxxv + 199. Paris : Les Belles Lettres , 2013. Paper, [euro]83. ISBN: 978-2-251-00583-6 .
Reviews
In this volume E.-D., who takes over from P. Goukowsky, continues the edition of Appian's Roman History with Book 17. This book corresponds to the fifth tome of the Civil Wars and relates to the events that occurred between the aftermath of the battle of Philippi (42 b.c.) and Sextus Pompeius' death (35 b.c.). This new edition and the French translation are a valuable work, but E.-D. also provides a sizeable introduction (321 pp.), which is a book in itself. This introduction is divided into six parts.
The first part presents the main characteristics of Appian's book, with an overview of the events recounted and some considerations about the place of the book within Appian's Civil Wars - with particular attention to its pivotal role between the civil wars strictly speaking on the one hand and what Appian calls the Αá¼°γ[upsilon][pi][tau]ι[alpha]κá½± on the other hand, namely the struggle led by Octavian against Marcus Antonius and Cleopatra.
The second chapter is particularly compelling. It deals with the way the late Republican period - especially 42-35 b.c. reported in Book 5 of the Civil Wars - was treated within ancient historiography. E.-D. pays attention successively to Livy (Periochae 125-31), Velleius Paterculus, Florus and Cassius Dio, but what makes this review worthwhile is the continuous comparison with Appian. The chapter ends with a useful table where events are presented in chronological order with reference to Appian and/or Cassius Dio....