G. C. Macaulay
English scholar, translator of Herodotus (1890)
- Born
- 1852
- Died
- 1915, Great Shelford, Cambridgeshire
- Known for
- The History of Herodotus, translated into English (1890)
- Other work
- Edition of the complete works of John Gower (1899–1902)
- Positions
- Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge; professor at Aberystwyth
Cambridge scholar whose 1890 Herodotus records the Egyptian priests' claim that the sun had risen in the west four times.
What is G. C. Macaulay known for?
George Campbell Macaulay was an English classical and medieval scholar. Educated at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge, where he became a Fellow, he taught at Rugby School, was Professor of English at the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth, and lectured at Cambridge. His daughter was the novelist Rose Macaulay.
His two-volume translation The History of Herodotus appeared in 1890. He also edited the complete works of the medieval poet John Gower (1899–1902).
In book 2 of the Histories, Herodotus reports what Egyptian priests told him: that over a very long run of kings the sun had four times risen out of its usual place, twice rising where it now sets. Herodotus is careful to present this as what he was told. Modern writers have linked it to pole shifts or calendar drift; historians generally treat it as a misunderstanding or a priestly tale. Macaulay's version is public domain.
The site quotes Macaulay's 1890 Herodotus for the Egyptian priests' claim that the sun had changed where it rose.
Sources
- Wikipedia, 'G. C. Macaulay'Reference
- Project Gutenberg, 'The History of Herodotus, Volume 1', tr. G. C. MacaulayPrimary text
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