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 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.

Author: Adam Bremer-McCollum
Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Published: 07/08/2025
Series: Texts and Translations of Transcendence and Transformation
Pages: 390
Weight: 1.06lbs
ISBN: 9780674301467