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The Homeric Gods – Walter F. Otto’s classic study of Greek religion, translated by Moses Hadas, in the 1983 Octagon Books hardcover printing. A remarkable association copy from the library of Ian Player, with his ownership inscription from ‘Phuzamoya’ Farm, Howick, a 1985 gift inscription to him from Vera Bührmann, and accompanying handwritten notes by Ian Player. Very good condition, without dust jacket.
1 in stock
The Homeric Gods – The Spiritual Significance of Greek Religion is Walter F. Otto’s celebrated study of the Olympian deities as Homer portrayed them, translated from the German Die Götter Griechenlands by the American classicist Moses Hadas. This is the second Octagon Books printing of 1983 (Octagon Books, a division of Hippocrene Books, New York), reprinting the 1954 Pantheon edition by special arrangement.
Otto (1874-1958) treats Greek religion as a coherent and living vision of the world rather than a loose collection of myths, examining the great gods of the Homeric poems and the older powers that preceded them. The Homeric Gods is illustrated with seven illustrations and includes an index.
What sets this copy apart is its provenance. The Homeric Gods belonged to Ian Player, the renowned Natal conservationist and founder of the Wilderness Leadership School, who lived near Howick and held a lifelong interest in the psychology of Carl Jung. The front pastedown carries Ian Player’s handwritten ownership inscription with his address at ‘Phuzamoya’ Farm, Box 192, Howick, together with his note that the book was a present, and a most treasured one, from Vera Bührmann, who stood on trail with Gloria Gearing and others who did Jungian work. The facing endpaper bears Vera’s gift inscription to Ian, thanking him for a most enriching experience in 1984 and dated November 1985. The Homeric Gods is also accompanied by handwritten notes by Ian Player, adding a further personal link to one of South Africa’s best-known conservationists.
Condition – Very Good
Hardcover in green cloth boards with gilt titling and the Octagon device on the spine and a gilt emblem on the front board, without dust jacket. The boards are clean and square with light shelf wear to the extremities. The front pastedown bears Ian Player’s handwritten ownership and provenance inscription and a small Cape Town bookseller’s ticket; the front endpaper carries the gift inscription from Vera dated November 1985. Accompanied by handwritten notes by Ian Player. There is a small faint mark to the margin of the copyright page. A very good, well-kept copy with notable South African provenance.
