7 h 36 minAudiobook6 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if the search for your beloved leads through forests, ruined cities, and monuments covered in mysterious signs?
Poliphilo lies awake in distress, longing for Polia, then sinks into sleep. His dream carries him through woods and into a landscape of vast ancient structures. A pyramid, a sculpted horse, and an elephant carrying an obelisk stand along his path. His search for one woman becomes a journey through marvels.
In Hypnerotomachia: The Strife of Love in a Dream, attributed to Francesco Colonna, love meets art and learning. Nymphs guide Poliphilo through palaces and gardens, teasing and testing him. A queen presents a choice among ways of life. Around them, inscriptions, fountains, and processions reveal how Renaissance minds imagine the ancient world.
What you’ll discover
- A dream shaped by longing Follow Poliphilo as his love for Polia gives purpose to a landscape of wonders.
- Architecture that invites wonder Explore grand buildings, carved gateways, and gardens where ancient beauty fills the dream.
- Guides who test the dreamer Meet playful nymphs whose welcome brings teasing, guidance, and choices along the way.
- Signs worth lingering over Look closely at inscriptions and monuments as Poliphilo learns to read the signs around him.
- Two loves woven together Discover a romance that joins longing for a person with love for the ancient world.
Who will love it
You will love this book if you enjoy dream journeys, ancient myth, buildings and gardens described down to the last stone, riddles, hieroglyphs and love stories told with a scholar's imagination.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A sleepless lover falls into a frightening dream
- A pyramid and obelisk rise from a ruined valley
- Strange statues hold riddles for the traveler
- The great gate teaches how beauty is built
- A dragon drives him into the dark
- Five nymphs welcome him and tease him
- Queen Eleutherillida holds a banquet and a living chess game
- Reason and will guide him to three gates
- Pleasure tests the dreamer's devotion
Who’s who
- PoliphilusA lover and the dreamer who tells the story, he wanders an unknown world in search of his beloved Polia.
- PoliaThe woman Poliphilus loves and longs to find, her image is fixed in his heart.
- Queen EleutherillidaA generous queen whose palace holds a great banquet, and who sends Poliphilus on toward the three gates to recover Polia.
- LogisticaA nymph who stands for reason, she explains the riddles and monuments and warns Poliphilus against the lure of pleasure.
- ThelemiaA nymph who stands for will and desire, she guides Poliphilus gently and lets him choose his own gate.
- ApheaOne of five nymphs who greet Poliphilus, they represent the five senses and lead him to the baths.
- Queen TelosiaA changing queen who rules the three gates, her moods decide whether a seeker meets joy or disappointment.
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- Read by Lucas Linden, complete. It opens once the recording is online.
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- Hardcover
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- Large print paperback
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- Large print hardcover
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Hypnerotomachia: Der Liebesstreit im Traum
by Francesco Colonna · 1499
A dreamer wanders from a dark wood to a ruined pyramid, chasing a woman named Polia through a world of marvels.
Challenging5–10 hours to readDeutsch
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In short
A lover cannot sleep, and when he finally does, he wakes inside another world. Hypnerotomachia, written by Francesco Colonna, tells how Poliphilus wanders through a dark wood, ruined monuments and gardens, searching for his beloved Polia.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A sleepless lover falls into a frightening dream
The story opens at dawn with a man who has spent the night awake, thinking about a love that is not returned. His name is Poliphilus, and the woman he longs for is Polia. Exhausted, he finally sleeps.
In the dream he finds himself on a quiet, empty plain, and then in a thick wood full of thorns. He cannot find a path, and he fears wild beasts. He calls on Ariadne, who once gave Theseus a thread to escape the labyrinth, and at last he stumbles free.
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Details
- First published
- 1499
- Language
- Deutsch
- Level
- Challenging
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What is Hypnerotomachia Poliphili about?
It tells of Poliphilus, a lover who dreams himself into a strange land while searching for his beloved Polia. He meets ruins, nymphs and a queen, and he learns the meaning of many symbols.
What does the title Hypnerotomachia mean?
The Greek-based title means the strife of love in a dream.
Who are Poliphilus and Polia?
Poliphilus is the dreamer who tells the story. Polia is the woman he loves and seeks. His name marks him as a lover of Polia.
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