Odissea Per Raphaelem Volaterranum in Latinum Conversa (The Odyssey of Homer translated by Raphael of Volterra in Latin).

HOMER. TRANSLATED BY RAPHAELLO MAFFEI,.

$30,000.00

Item Number: 88060

Rome: Per Lacoubum Mazochium, 1510.

One of the earliest Latin translations of Homer’s epic poem, translated from the Greek by Roman Hellenic scholar Raphaello Maffei (Raphael of Volterra). Quarto, bound in contemporary vellum, rebacked, woodcut titles and printer’s device to the title page and at end of text. From the library of Robert R. Dearden, Jr. of Philadelphia with his bookplate to the front panel. American bibliophile and author Robert R. Dearden was known for his extensive rare bible collection with a focus on early editions of American Bibles. He authored the book The Guiding Light on the Great Highway (1929), elaborately illustrated with photographs of his collection. Minor wear and a few small repairs to the title page. A very good example of this important work which has survived over five centuries.

Attributed to the singular ancient Greek poet Homer, the Iliad and the Odyssey are considered to be the most important works of ancient Greek literature. The Iliad, set in the midst of the ten-year Trojan War focuses on the quarrel between King Agamemnon and the warrior Achilles. The Odyssey tells the epic tale of the journey of Odysseus, King of Ithaca after the fall of Troy. The Homeric Question, concerning the tales' true authorship, continues to be debated - with some scholars believing the poems to be the work of many contributors over the course of centuries. In addition to his best-known work Commentariorum rerum urbanarum libri XXXVIII, Italian humanist, historian and theologian Raffaello Maffei translated from Greek into Latin the Odyssey of Homer, the Oeconomics of Xenophon, and the Gothic War of Procopius.