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The Pearlsong

Brief Description
The Pearlsong is an ancient poem that recounts the story of a Parthian prince sent by his parents on a mission to Egypt to retrieve a pearl from the clutches of a giant serpent. Along the way, the prince falls asleep and forgets his identity and... Read More
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The Pearlsong is an ancient poem that recounts the story of a Parthian prince sent on a mission to Egypt to retrieve a pearl from the clutches of a giant serpent. Along the way, he falls asleep, forgetting his identity. This edition includes the original Syriac text, a Greek translation, a Greek homily version, and English translation.

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The Pearlsong is an ancient poem that recounts the story of a Parthian prince sent by his parents on a mission to Egypt to retrieve a pearl from the clutches of a giant serpent. Along the way, the prince falls asleep and forgets his identity and mission. A letter from his parents awakens him, gives him a spell to put the serpent to sleep so he can retrieve the pearl, and then guides him home.

The poem was originally composed in Syriac, translated into Greek, and later paraphrased in Greek again in a homily. These three texts are all published here with a parallel English translation on facing pages, accompanied by an introduction, commentary, and Syriac and Greek glossaries.

Series: Texts and Translations of Transcendence and Transformation

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  • The Pearlsong
    The Pearlsong is an ancient poem that recounts the story of a Parthian prince sent by his parents on a mission to Egypt to retrieve a pearl from the clutches of a giant serpent. Along the way, the prince falls asleep and forgets his identity and mission. A letter from his parents awakens him, gives him a spell to put...
    Paperback
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    Ships in 3-4 weeks
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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780674301467

Publisher: Harvard University Press

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 08 July 2025

Country: United States

Imprint: Harvard University Press

Contributors:

  • Edited and translated by Adam Bremer-McCollum

Audience: Tertiary education, Professional and scholarly

DIMENSIONS

Width: 140.0mm

Height: 216.0mm

Weight: 250g

Pages: 390

About the Author

Adam Bremer-McCollum studies languages and texts from the eastern Mediterranean and Central Asia, including Old Armenian, Old Georgian, Coptic dialects, Greek, and Syriac and other Aramaic languages. He is a Research Associate at the Center for the Study of World Religions, Harvard Divinity School, and co-editor of the Texts & Translations of Transcendence and Transformation series.

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