Review of Mitchell, Cyrus the Great

BRYN MAYR CLASSICAL REVIEW: Cyrus the Great: a biography of kingship.

Lynette Mitchell, Cyrus the Great: a biography of kingship. Routledge ancient biographies. New York: Routledge, 2023. Pp. 206. ISBN 9781138024106

Review by
Bodil Due, Aarhus University. bdue@au.dk

... A central merit of the book is the demonstration of the rich pool of storytelling that existed in the Near East. Its different patterns of narrative, which emerge in stories of the King as warrior, or as gardener, or as stranger king, destroyer of cities as well as builder, as elected and protected by the gods and maybe in Cyrus’ case their equal. The many different Cyruses incorporate almost all of these patterns, but differently in different works and authors. ...

I noted the publication of the book here. For many PaleoJudaica posts on Cyrus, follow the links from there, plus here.

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