Aspasia: A romance of art and love in ancient Hellas: Classic Book Guide and Free Edition
Aspasia: A romance of art and love in ancient Hellas: author and translator credits, catalogue synopsis, subjects and links to the Gutenberg reading formats.
Aspasia: A romance of art and love in ancient Hellas is catalogued by Project Gutenberg with author credits for Hamerling, Robert (1830–1889). The listed translation credits are Safford, Mary J. (Mary Joanna) (1842–1916).
Catalogue synopsis
Project Gutenberg supplies this automated synopsis of the opening text:
“Aspasia: A Romance of Art and Love in Ancient Hellas” by Robert Hamerling is a historical novel written in the late 19th century. The book focuses on ancient Greece, blending themes of art, politics, and romance, with central figures drawn both from historical record and imaginative reconstruction. The probable main characters include Pericles, the influential Athenian statesman, and Aspasia, the intriguing Milesian woman renowned for her beauty and intellect. The novel appears to explore the intersections of personal and national destiny, with the flourishing of Greek art, the conflicts of moral and aesthetic values, and the magnetic attraction between gifted individuals as key elements. The opening of “Aspasia” sets the scene in bustling, resurgent Athens during the age of Pericles. It introduces a cast of prominent Athenians—Pericles the statesman, Phidias the sculptor, and others in their intellectual circle—against a detailed backdrop of public life, ongoing artistic achievements, and the arrival of the Delian League’s treasure. The focus sharpens on a striking, unnamed woman (later revealed as Aspasia), whose presence stirs both fascination and artistic rivalry. The narrative moves from the city’s vibrant agora to a contest between sculptors, where debates about the nature of beauty, the divine, and the political responsibilities of art unfold. The section closes by shifting to Pericles’ household, revealing tensions between public duty and private life, as well as introducing other key figures such as Pericles’ wife Telesippe and the philosopher Anaxagoras. The early chapters establish the layered interplay between historical circumstance, artistic ambition, philosophical dialogue, and the personal entanglements at the heart of Athenian society.
Book and edition facts
- Title: Aspasia: A romance of art and love in ancient Hellas
- Author credits: Hamerling, Robert (1830–1889)
- Catalogue language: English
- Translator credits: Safford, Mary J. (Mary Joanna) (1842–1916)
Catalogue subjects
- Aspasia -- Fiction
- Athens (Greece) -- Fiction
- Greece -- History -- Athenian supremacy, 479-431 B.C. -- Fiction
- Mistresses -- Fiction
- Pericles, approximately 495 B.C.-429 B.C. -- Fiction
- Statesmen -- Fiction
Gutenberg collections
- Category: Historical Novels
- Category: Novels
- Category: Romance
Read this edition
View the complete Gutenberg catalogue record. Project Gutenberg identifies this edition as public domain in the United States; that designation does not establish its copyright status in every country.
Source notes
Catalogue metadata is public domain and is supplied through Gutendex, which imports Gutenberg's machine-readable catalogue. The automated synopsis is source-supplied, not an independently verified review. Author dates above describe the credited people; no ebook release date is presented as the book's original publication date.
Sources
More in Books & Authors
Keep reading
