The Sisters

Name: The Sisters
Rating: 2.5 (5 reviews)

by Georg Ebers Book 2 in the Ptolemaic and Hellenistic Egypt series.

First published 1880

Amazon Gutenberg EPUB

2.5(5)

Memphis, 164 BCE. The sisters Klea and Irene live in service to the Serapeum while Egypt is ruled by the rival Ptolemaic brothers Ptolemy VI Philometor and Ptolemy VIII Euergetes II. Their very different temperaments draw them into a web of affection, jealousy and political danger that reaches from the temple precinct to the royal court.

Ebers contrasts the sisters’ intimate concerns with the divided monarchy and the mingling of Egyptian, Greek and Roman influences in Ptolemaic society. Historical courtiers and rulers move through a story that treats religion, class and royal faction as forces capable of reshaping ordinary lives.