Ancient history Books

Book SynopsisWhat does the Rosetta Stone tell us about the past? What treasures of Egyptian literature can now be read, thanks to its decipherment? What does it tell us about the history of writing and the story of our own alphabets? How do decipherments work and how can we know if they are right? Who owns the Rosetta Stone and what happens if we start to return pieces of the past to countries who claim them? These are some of the fascinating questions which are explored in this introduction to one of the true Wonders of the World.Trade Review...successfully captures the West's fascination with Egypt. Always the master of his subject, he entertains rather than lectures, is sparing with minutiae but still finds space for telling detail. -- Anthony Sattin * Sunday Times *Highly readable ...Professor Ray takes us on an ancient journey from this sunset of the ancient Egyptian world. * BBC History Magazine *

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Book SynopsisThis engaging book traces the history, archaeology, and legends of ancient Ireland from 9000 B.C., when nomadic hunter-gatherers appeared in Ireland at the end of the last Ice Age to 1167 A.D., when a Norman invasion brought the country under control of the English crown for the first time. So much of what people today accept as ancient Irish history—Celtic invaders from Europe turning Ireland into a Celtic nation; St. Patrick driving the snakes from Ireland and converting its people to Christianity—is myth and legend with little basis in reality. The truth is more interesting. The Irish, as the authors show, are not even Celtic in an archaeological sense. And there were plenty of bishops in Ireland before a British missionary called Patrick arrived. But In Search of Ancient Ireland is not simply the story of events from long ago. Across Ireland today are festivals, places, and folk customs that provide a tangible link to events thousands of years past. The authors visit and describe many of these places and festivals, talking to a wide variety of historians, scholars, poets, and storytellers in the very settings where history happened. Thus the book is also a journey on the ground to uncover ten thousand years of Irish identity. In Search of Ancient Ireland is the official companion to the three-part PBS documentary series. With 14 black-and-white photos, 6 b&w illustrations, and 1 map.Trade ReviewWell-written...informative...new and fascinating material challenging many myths. -- Lawrence J. McCaffrey, Emeritus Professor of History, Loyola University of ChicagoYour search for the roots of Irish history and culture begins here, with this marvelous book. -- Terry Golway * The New York Observer *Journeys across the centuries to explore fabled Erin's remarkable past and uncover the real story behind the island nation's rich global legacy. * Irish Connections *In bite-sized morsels that accommodate the busy lives of modern readers Search tells us about both the major figures central to momentous events and the daily lives of commoners. * Richmond Times-Dispatch *As much as can be excavated or deduced of ancient history is superbly featured with a wealth of fine detail in this fascinating and highly readable resource. * Library Bookwatch *...A clearly recommended pick for anyone interested in an updated, scholarly research tool covering the latest truths about Irish history.... Provides an important gateway to understanding early Irish roots. * The Bookwatch *...An illuminating look at the new finds and scholarship and their place in Ireland's past.... The deft and meticulously researched prose...brings ancient Ireland to vivid life. * Bostonirish.Com *A great story, interesting to read and appealing to anyone with an interest in Ireland...A readable history...poignant, not pedantic. -- Virginia Garnett * Carroll County Times *

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Book SynopsisThis translation with notes is primarily for classroom use. It aims to be true to the basic meaning of the text and tries to bring across some of the beauty of the poetry as well as the rhetorical power of the dialogue and speeches.Trade ReviewThis is a very useful edition, excellent for classroom purposes. The translation is clear and lively, and several students commented on how much they enjoyed it. The introduction provides an excellent overview of the issues in the play, as well as of earlier scholarship, making it a good resource for more advanced classes. The cover photo is an added bonus and provided the starting point for stimulating class discussion. --James B. Rives, York UniversityAn excellent translation which captures Bacchae's combination of colloquial and lyric language. The Notes and Introduction are also very helpful. --Mary-Kay Gamel, University of California, Santa Cruz

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Book SynopsisGives a clear narrative for 18 selected battles and sieges from the Classical Greek period.

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"One of Medium.com’s Books of the Year 2017""One of The Times Literary Supplement’s Books of the Year 2017""One of the Forbes.com “Great Anthropology and History Books of 2017” (chosen by Kristina Killgrove)""One of The Federalist’s Notable Books for 2017""Honorable Mention for the 2018 PROSE Award in Classics, Association of American Publishers""One of Strategy + Business's Best Business Books in Economics for 2018""One of Choice Reviews' Outstanding Academic Titles of 2018""I read a lot of history in my spare time, and as best I can tell modern scholarship is telling us that Rome really was something special. What I learned from Peter Temin, and at greater length from Kyle Harper, was that Rome wasn’t your ordinary pre-industrial economy. . . . Harper notes that Rome was held back in some ways by a heavy burden of disease, an unintentional byproduct of urbanization and trade that a society lacking the germ theory had no way to alleviate. But still, the Romans really did achieve remarkable things on the economic front."---Paul Krugman, New York Times"A work of remarkable erudition and synthesis, Harper’s timely study offers a chilling warning from history of 'the awesome, uncanny power of nature'."---P. D. Smith, The Guardian"Original and ambitious. . . . [Harper] provide[s] a panoramic sweep of the late Roman Empire as interpreted by one historian's incisive, intriguing, inquiring mind."---James Romm, Wall Street Journal"Ingenious, persuasive. . . . Lucidly argued." * Publishers Weekly *"A view of the fall of Rome from a different angle, looking beyond military and social collapse to man's relationship to the environment. There is much to absorb in this significant scholarly achievement, which effectively integrates natural, social, and humanistic sciences." * Kirkus *"An excellent new book. . . . [Harper] has managed a prodigious scholarly output that uses date-driven, twenty-first-century methods to solve enduring problems of ancient history."---Noel Lenski, Times Literary Supplement"[A] sweeping retelling of the rise and fall of an empire, [that] was brought down as much by ‘germs as by Germans.'"---Keith Johnson, Foreign Policy"Harper argues his case brilliantly, with deep scientific research into weather, geology and disease."---Harry Mount, The Spectator"An ambitious and convincing reappraisal of one of the most studied episodes of decline and fall in human history."---Ellie Robins, Los Angeles Review of Books"Beautifully and often wittily written, this is history that has some of the impact of a great work of dystopian science fiction."---Tom Holland, BBC History Magazine"This beautifully written book is ground-breaking stuff, both for its method and content, and one of the most important of the year."---Adrian Spooner, Classics for All"Harper’s focus is resolutely historical, dealing only glancingly with modern climate concerns. But the book’s theme is essentially a timeless one: how big, complex societies handle strain and shocks from factors outside of their control. That gives it some relevance to the challenges we face today. . . . If the Fate of Rome proves anything, it’s that nature always has the last laugh."---Asher Elbein, Earther.com"Harper offers a striking reinterpretation with worrisome implications for the present day. . . . Today, we inhabit a global system with a very similar combination of climatologic disturbances, urbanization, less diverse diets, and globalization. Ancient history reveals the risks we run."---Andrew Moravcsik, Foreign Affairs"The Fate of Rome is one of the most immediately readable histories of the year, always investing even the most well-known subjects with the vigor of fresh perspective."---Steve Donoghue, Open Letters Monthly"A recent book makes a convincing case that we need to be more cognizant of the natural world’s role in all this. The Fate of Rome: Climate, Disease and the End of An Empire, by the University of Oklahoma’s Kyle Harper, makes a strong argument for the role of plague and a shifting climate in the confluence of political, economic, and social processes that we label the fall of the Roman Empire."---Patrick Wyman, Deadspin"Drawing on cutting-edge research into ice cores, cave stones, lake deposits, and other sediments, Harper explores the influence of the changing climate on Rome’s history. With a storyteller’s flair, he describes how the climate’s impact was by turns subtle and overwhelming, alternately constructive and destructive, but that the changing climate was ultimately a ‘wild card’ that transcended all the other rules of the game. . . . Harper reveals how the fate of Rome was decided not just by emperors, soldiers, and barbarians, but also by climate instability and pernicious disease."---Lucia Marchini, World Archaeology"[Harper's] aim in The Fate of Rome, however, is to foreground one class of explanations that has hitherto been relatively neglected by historians: the influence of climate and disease. Such explanations are not new, but Harper brings to the table a large body of recent scientific research into the evolution of ancient diseases, disease ecology and historical climate variations. . . . The wealth of new detail Harper offers to support his general theses is the true strength of his book."---Jeffrey Mazo, Survival"Harper . . . has assembled compelling evidence that Rome died mainly from natural causes: pandemic diseases and a temperamental climate. . . . We know far more about both the causes of climate change and the ecology of germs than our ancient ancestors did. Perhaps we have a fighting chance of avoiding Rome’s fate, if we heed the true lessons of its fall."---Madeline Ostrander, Undark Magazine"The Fate of Rome should probably sit on shelves next to Gibbon’s masterwork. In time, one feels, it will be seen every bit as much an essential text."---Andrew Masterson, Cosmos Magazine"Gibbon’s is just one of myriad theories as to why Rome fell after a millennium of unprecedented (and never repeated) strength. [Harper] adds a fascinating theory to the corpus—one that could only be ventured at this particular point in history . . . because his thesis rests entirely on modern science. Harper, an able and often eloquent writer argues, Rome was brought down by two environmental components: pestilence and climate. And when these two worked in concert, things really got bad."---Tony Jones, Christian Century"This is an exciting book that provides a fresh look at a perennial topic, the fall of the Roman Empire, in sparkling prose accessible to all economic historians. . . . Others interested in plagues will find time lines and stories to ground the biology in its Roman context. And anyone who is attempting to use the fall of the Roman Empire as an example in contemporary life should read this book before expounding one or another outmoded theory of the fall of the Roman Empire."---Peter Temin, EH.net"Harper has produced a wonderful case study that demands a general rethinking of how we view the decline and fall of the Roman Empire."---Williamson Murray, The Strategy Bridge"[T]he author takes pains not to descend into the kind of reductive or utterly contingent account of the Roman experience that eliminates human agency from the story. Instead Harper furnishes a richly detailed account of the environment in which—and with which—Romans and their enemies contended."---W. Jeffrey Tatum, Quarterly Review of Biology"I recommend The Fate of Rome: Climate, Disease, and the End of an Empire by Kyle Harper. Given all of the other threats we face we thankfully don’t have to deal with the added dual challenges of climate change or new pandemics—right?"---William F. Wechsler, Atlantic Council"The Fate of Rome is the book every scholar wants to write once during his or her career. . . . In the end, The Fate of Rome is nothing short of monumental. . . . An important work need not be an excellent one—this is both."---Carson Bay, H-Net Reviews"This is an important book . . . . [Harper] should be congratulated on his attempt to create closer connections between traditional visions of Roman imperial history and the emerging scientific evidence regarding past populations and their environments."---Adam Izdebski, Environment and History"The Fate of Rome is engaging and accessible for readers of all stripes. Historians will appreciate the fuller picture gained from incorporating nonhuman forces into our understanding of the past . . . . Its story will also resonate with those interested in climate change, empire, and science."---John Bowlus, Energy Reporters

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Book SynopsisThucydides was the first ancient Greek historian to double as a social scientist. He set out to understand human events entirely in human terms, without recourse to myth. He sought to know why people go to war and how they are affected by its violence. He studied the civil war in Corcyra, which began when radicals burst into the council house and killed leaders who favored democracy. The strengths and weaknesses of democracy are a major theme of his History. Its larger story shows how the Athenians tried to expand their empire too far and came to a crushing defeat. Here are vivid stories of land and sea battles, interspersed with fascinating and disturbing debates about war and policy. All of Thucydides’s History is here, either in summary or translation, in a volume short enough for a wide readership. This Second Edition is expanded to include all the important debates and battle scenes, and the entire translation has been revised in accord with the latest scholarship.The Essential Thucydides (Hackett, fall 2021) is the second edition of Paul Woodruff's On Justice, Power, and Human Nature: Selections from The History of the Peloponnesian War (first published by Hackett Publishing Company in 1993, paperback ISBN 978-0-87220-168-2, cloth ISBN 978-0-87220-169-9).Trade Review"At last—a good way to navigate the choppy waters of Thucydides’s account of the Great War! Woodruff has focused on themes of lasting importance—human nature, justice, and war itself. These have guided his skillful selection of passages and his deft explanatory comments, all in a fast-moving, readable style." —W. R. Connor, Andrew Fleming West Professor of Classics, Emeritus, Princeton University

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Book SynopsisTelling the story of a man who stood against the overwhelming power of the mighty Roman empire, Hannibal is the biography of a man who, against all odds, dared to change the course of history. Over two thousand years ago one of the greatest military leaders in history almost destroyed Rome. Hannibal, a daring African general from the city of Carthage, led an army of warriors and battle elephants over the snowy Alps to invade the very heart of Rome's growing empire. But what kind of person would dare to face the most relentless imperial power of the ancient world? How could Hannibal, consistently outnumbered and always deep in enemy territory, win battle after battle until he held the very fate of Rome within his grasp? Hannibal appeals to many as the ultimate underdog—a Carthaginian David against the Goliath of Rome—but it wasn't just his genius on the battlefield that set him apart. As a boy and then a man, his self-discipline and determination were legendary. As a military leader, like Alexander the Great before him and Julius Caesar after, he understood the hearts of men and had an uncanny ability to read the unseen weaknesses of his enemy. As a commander in war, Hannibal has few equals in history and has long been held as a model of strategic and tactical genius. But Hannibal was much more than just a great general. He was a practiced statesman, a skilled diplomat, and a man deeply devoted to his family and country. Roman historians—on whom we rely for almost all our information on Hannibal—portray him as a cruel barbarian, but how does the story change if we look at Hannibal from the Carthaginian point of view? Can we search beneath the accounts of Roman writers who were eager to portray Hannibal as a monster and find a more human figure? Can we use the life of Hannibal to look at the Romans themselves in an unfamiliar way— not as the noble and benign defenders of civilization but as ruthless conquerors motivated by greed and conquest?Trade Review"Freeman writes beautifully and with picturesque vision when chronicling Hannibal’s most famous feat." * Merion West *"Freeman gives his readers much to consider in learning about a totally alien world in an easy, uncomplicated lively prose about an epic tale." * New York Journal of Books *“A thorough account of the career of one of the ancient world’s most indelible and complex figures. Freeman vividly, almost cinematically, brings to life the career of Hannibal Barca, the great but ill-fated Carthaginian general whose tactical and strategic brilliance is still studied today. A simultaneously propulsive and nuanced account that hums on the page.” * Kirkus, Starred Review *"Roman historians have cast Hannibal Barca as a cruel, uncouth barbarian, but Philip Freeman’s panoramic biography Hannibal supplies evidence that the great Carthaginian military leader was an educated statesman and diplomat, notable for his devotion to his country, family, and troops. Hannibal is an epic biography of the military genius who nearly ended Rome’s imperial expansion." * Foreword Reviews *“Freeman offers a highly readable, well-organized military and personal biography of the Carthaginian general who nearly changed history, vividly revealing more amazing scenarios in Hannibal’s life and battles than any writer could concoct in a novel. Freeman ends with fascinating speculation on how the modern world would look if Hannibal had won. [A] vivid, fast-moving account.” * Booklist *Praise for Philip Freeman’s Julius Caesar and Alexander the Great:“Freeman’s cultural and historical knowledge bring the emperor to life and humanize him in a way no writer before him has succeeded in doing.” * Publishers Weekly *“Here, in vivid and exciting detail, are all the familiar highlights of Alexander’s career: the battles, the tempestuous relationships, the dazzling ambitions, the mysterious death in Babylon. Mr. Freeman’s ambition, he tells us in his introduction, was ‘to write a biography of Alexander that is first and foremost a story.’ It is one he splendidly fulfills.” * The Wall Street Journal *“Freeman does not hero worship Alexander, and does not paper over his subject’s many faults. At times, Alexander can seem like an almost mythic figure, but, as Freeman shows, he was all too human.” * The Boston Globe *"The greatest victory of the book, however, is Freeman’s storytelling. This biography stands out from others written about Alexander thanks to its smooth flow and interesting narrative. It is, as Freeman hopes, a history book for those readers who are not already experts on Alexander or his world.” * The Saturday Evening Post *

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Book SynopsisBook IX of the Odyssey is one of the most often read and discussed sections of Homeric poetry. It contains Odysseus'' narrative of his encounter with Polyphemus the Cyclops, which not only typifies him as the trickster-hero that he is, but also resonates thematically with later parts of the narrative. This edition provides solid support in reading, understanding, and enjoying this essential episode. The Commentary is designed to be helpful to undergraduates, postgraduates, and scholars, providing assistance in understanding Homeric language from elementary to advanced levels. The constant attention to narratological details contributes to the literary appreciation of the episode. The Introduction offers a particularly full guide to Homeric meter, language and dialect as well as discussing in detail the place which the Cyclops episode occupies both in the Odyssey as a whole and in Greek mythology and culture as an expression of the colonial imagination.

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Book SynopsisThis is the story of one of the great forgotten wars of history - which led to the division of one of the biggest empires the world has ever seen. Alexander the Great built up his huge empire in little more than a decade, stretching from Greece in the West, via Egypt, Syria, Babylonia, and Persia through to the Indian sub-continent in the East. After his death in 323 BC, it took forty years of world-changing warfare for his heirs to finish carving up these vast conquests. These years were filled with high adventure, intrigue, passion, assassinations, dynastic marriages, treachery, shifting alliances, and mass slaughter on battlefield after battlefield. And while the men fought on the field, the women schemed from their palaces and pavilions. Dividing the Spoils revives the memory of Alexander''s Successors, whose fame has been dimmed only because they stand in his enormous shadow. In fact, Alexander left things in a mess at the time of his death, with no guaranteed succession, no administration in place suitable for such an enormous realm, and huge untamed areas both bordering and within his ''empire''. The Successors consolidated the Conqueror''s gains. Their competing ambitions, however, meant that consolidation inevitably led to the break-up of the empire. Astonishingly, this period of brutal, cynical warfare was also characterized by brilliant cultural developments, especially in the fields of philosophy, literature, and art. As well as an account of the military action, this is also the story of an amazing cultural flowering. In some senses, a new world emerged from the dust and haze of battle - the world of Hellenistic Greece. A surprising amount of the history of many countries, from Greece to Afghanistan, began in the hearts and minds of the Successors of Alexander the Great. As this book demonstrates, their stories deserve to be better known.Trade ReviewGripping. * Simon Sebag Montefiore, New York Times Book Review *He provides us with a brilliant work of history and humanity, facts within cautionary tales. * John Shosky, The European Legacy *Review from previous edition Robin Waterfield has produced an excellent introduction...He conveys the drama of the aftermath of Alexander's death with the intensity of a novelist. * Military Times *A briskly readable march through tumultuous events which continue to reverberate. * Daily Express *Robin Waterfield's coruscating cultural-political narrative does full and equal justice to all the major dimensions of this extraordinary half-century. * Paul Cartledge, author of Ancient Greece, A History in Eleven Cities *A gripping and often unsettling account of a formative period of ancient history. As Robin Waterfield points out, it deserves to be far better known than it is -- and now, thanks to the author himself, it is as accessible as it has ever been. * Tom Holland, author of Persian Fire: The First World Empire and the Battle for the West *Table of ContentsPreface ; Acknowledgements ; Maps ; 1. The Legacy of Alexander the Great ; 2. The Babylon Conferences ; 3. Rebellion ; 4. Perdiccas, Ptolemy, and Alexander's Corpse ; 5. The First War of the Successors ; 6. Polyperchon's Moment ; 7. The Triumph of Cassander ; 8. Hunting Eumenes in Iran ; 9. Antigonus, Lord of Asia ; 10. The Restoration of Seleucus ; 11. Warfare in Greece ; 12. The End of Antigonus ; 13. The Kingdoms of Ptolemy and Seleucus ; 14. Demetrius Resurgent ; 15. The Fall of Demetrius ; 16. The Last Successors ; Time Line ; Cast of Characters ; Genealogies ; Notes ; Bibliography ; Index

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"[Lamb] introduces his readers to another Augustine. This Augustine was not a pessimist but a champion of hope. He encouraged his hearers to hope for the well-being of the city. And he possessed an expansive vision of Christians and non-Christians working together to improve their lives on earth."---Aaron Alexander Zubia, Wall Street Journal"A fascinating revisionist view of the political thought of St. Augustine. Contrary to a popular perception of Augustine as an otherworldly thinker who accents ‘darkness and pessimism,’ Lamb sketches a persuasive portrait of a thinker who ‘encourages a realistic hope for a better form of community not only in heaven but on earth.’"---E.J. Dionne, The Washington Post"Michael Lamb offers a compelling and timely defense of the virtue of hope, presenting Augustine as a significant resource for those who seek to foster political community today . . . [and] a major contribution to the work of rehabilitating Augustine as a vital interlocutor for those seeking to promote good citizenship."---Veronica Roberts Ogle, Perspectives on Politics"[Lamb] enters a thoroughly overcrowded senior common room, but he does so with panache in this his first major book. He writes clearly and demonstrates an impressive knowledge of primary and secondary sources. . . . Any thoughtful Christian who engages with secular colleagues in the public domain today might learn from this new book."---Canon Robin Gill, Church Times"Michael Lamb’s A Commonwealth of Hope: Augustine’s Political Thought is an important intervention not only in Augustine studies, but also in our politics of stagnation and hopelessness."---Terence Sweeney, Public Discourse"Excellent."---Frank Litton, The Irish Catholic"A new and innovative interpretation of Augustine’s political thought that supports political engagement with the expectation of improvements in this world." * Choice *"Erudite and compelling. . . . A Commonwealth of Hope is a beautifully written, carefully argued, and illuminating reexamination of Augustine’s political thought that presents a richer picture of Augustine’s political thought."---Matthew H. Young, Religious Studies Review"With A Commonwealth of Hope, Michael Lamb has provided what I take to be a faithful and powerful reading of Augustine that should become indispensable, if not normative, for future uses of the bishop of Hippo within political theory. . . . I whole-heartedly recommend this book to any scholar of Augustine, be they interested in the explicitly political aspects or not."---Adam Ployd, Augustinian Studies

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Book SynopsisIn Plato's "Letters", Ariel Helfer provides to readers, for the first time, a highly literal translation of the Letters, complete with extensive notes on historical context and issues of manuscript transmission. His analysis presents a necessary perspective for readers who wish to study Plato's Letters as a work of Platonic philosophy. Centuries of debate over the provenance and significance of Plato's Letters have led to the common view that the Letters is a motley collection of jewels and scraps from within and without Plato's literary estate. In a series of original essays, Helfer describes how the Letters was written as a single work, composed with a unity of purpose and a coherent teaching, marked throughout by Plato's artfulness and insight and intended to occupy an important place in the Platonic corpus. Viewed in this light, the Letters is like an unusual epistolary novel, a manner of semifictional and semiautobiographical literary-philosophic experiment, in which Plato sought to provide his most demanding readers with guidance in thinking more deeply about the meaning of his own career as a philosopher, writer, and political advisor. Plato's "Letters" not only defends what Helfer calls the "literary unity thesis" by reviewing the scholarly history pertaining to the Platonic letters but also brings out the political philosophic lessons revealed in the Letters. As a result, Plato's "Letters" recovers and rehabilitates what has been until now a minority view concerning the Letters, according to which this misunderstood Platonic text will be of tremendous new importance for the study of Platonic political philosophy.

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Book SynopsisRecent scholarship has recognized that Philip II and Alexander the Great adopted elements of their self-fashioning and court ceremonial from previous empires in the Ancient Near East, but it is generally assumed that the advent of the Macedonian court as a locus of politics and culture occurred only in the post-Alexander landscape of the Hellenistic Successors. This volume of ground-breaking essays by leading scholars on Ancient Macedonia goes beyond existing research questions to assess the profound impact of Philip and Alexander on court culture throughout the ages. The papers in this volume offer a thematic approach, focusing upon key institutional, cultural, social, ideological, and iconographical aspects of the reigns of Philip and Alexander. The authors treat the Macedonian court not only as a historical reality, but also as an object of fascination to contemporary Greeks that ultimately became a topos in later reflections on the lives and careers of Philip and Alexander. This collection of papers provides a paradigm-shifting recognition of the seminal roles of Philip and Alexander in the emergence of a new kind of Macedonian kingship and court culture that was spectacularly successful and transformative.

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Book SynopsisAppian (ca. AD 95–161) is a principal source for the history of the Roman Republic. His theme is the process by which Rome achieved her contemporary prosperity, and his method is to trace in individual books the story of each nation’s wars with Rome up through her own civil wars. This Loeb edition replaces the original by Horace White (1912–13).Trade ReviewA superb, nuanced translation…It is not simply that McGing updates the translation to reflect contemporary idiom; he also breathes new life into Appian’s prose on almost every page…This exceptionally well executed Loeb is a welcome resource that will be deeply appreciated by all those interested in Appian and his remarkable Roman History as well as expand his appeal to a new generation of readers. -- Alain M. Gowing * Bryn Mawr Classical Review *I have not read any fictions that have more dramatic tension, philosophy, or narrative curiosities than this history of Appian’s. * Pennsylvania Literary Journal *

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Book SynopsisGladiator, rebel slave leader, revolutionary: a collection of essays dissecting four seasons of STARZ Spartacus

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Gardner is able to shed new light on rabbinic poverty relief, and to let rabbinic poverty discourse illuminate other, related areas in rabbinics research." * The Journal of Religion *Table of ContentsContents Acknowledgments Abbreviations and Conventions Introduction 1. The Wealth of the Early Rabbis 2. Harvest Allocations for the Poor 3. Charity Laws 4. Giving Mammon (Wealth) 5. Pay for the Giver 6. Charity as an Investment 7. Poverty Relief and the Anxiety of Wealth 8. Some Further Perspectives: Early Christian and Later Rabbinic Traditions Notes Bibliography Index of Ancient Sources General Index

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Book SynopsisThis volume offers the fruits of Peter Meineck and Paul Woodruff''s dynamic collaboration on the plays of Sophocles'' Theban cycle, presenting the translators'' Oedipus Tyrannus (2000) along with Woodruff''s Antigone (2001) and a muscular new Oedipus at Colonus by Meineck. Grippingly readable, all three translations combine fidelity to the Greek with concision, clarity, and powerful, hard-edged speech. Each play features foot-of-the-page notes, stage directions, and line numbers to the Greek. Woodruff''s Introduction discusses the playwright, Athenian theatre and performance, the composition of the plays, and the plots and characters of each; it also offers thoughtful reflections on major critical interpretations of these plays.

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Book SynopsisProvocative reading for anyone interested in Roman culture in the late Republic and early Empire.? Religious Studies ReviewWas religious practice in ancient Rome cultic and hostile to individual expression? Or was there, rather, considerable latitude for individual initiative and creativity? Jörg Rüpke, one of the world’s leading authorities on Roman religion, demonstrates in his new book that it was a lived religion with individual appropriations evident at the heart of such rituals as praying, dedicating, making vows, and reading. On Roman Religion definitively dismantles previous approaches that depicted religious practice as uniform and static. Juxtaposing very different, strategic, and even subversive forms of individuality with traditions, their normative claims, and their institutional protections, Rüpke highlights the dynamic character of Rome’s religious institutions and traditions.In Rüpke&rTrade ReviewDrawing on the contemporary methodology of 'lived religion,' Rüpke examines a variety of texts, practices, and religious artifacts to discover how Romans individualized their religion. He persuasively demonstrates that religious individuality can be seen in domestic cults, public sanctuaries, and personal visionary experiences.... This is a groundbreaking study by a leading historian of Roman religion. Summing Up: Essential. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty. * Choice *A lucid, thought-provoking, and highly persuasive attempt to access 'lived ancient religion.'... The book as a whole is enormously fertile, and really is essential reading for anyone interested in 'Roman religion.' * Reading Religion *Provocative reading for anyone interested in Roman culture in the late Republic and early Empire. * Religious Studies Review *

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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Book SynopsisQueen Boudica, leader of the Iceni, revolted against the Romans in AD60 only to have her efforts avenged by a humiliated Roman army. This lively and fascinating book examines in detail the evidence and theories which surround these events.Table of ContentsIntroduction; Chapter 1 Sources; Chapter 2 The Opposing Forces and the State of Britain 54 BC; Chapter 3 Britain between the Invasions 54 BC—AD 43; Chapter 4 The Conquest of AD 43; Chapter 5 The Storm Breaks AD 60; Chapter 6 The Evidence from the Ground; Chapter 7 The Trail of Destruction;

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Book SynopsisSelections from both the Iliad and the Odyssey, made with an eye for those episodes that figure most prominently in the study of mythology.Trade Review"A good idea—its utility far outweighs qualms purists have about students not reading every last item in the catalogue of ships. The translation is vigorous and readable." —Andrew Ford, Princeton University"Not only does one get an excellent translation of both Homer's Iliad and Odyssey under one cover, but the selections included are infinitely better and longer than what one normally gets in anthologies of Greek literature. For courses in which entire texts cannot be used, this is by far the best choice available today." —Kostas Myrsiades, Westchester University"The Essential Homer fills a long-felt need for an edition that offers a sizable selection of the books and passages most likely to be used in undergraduate courses. It's a wonderful help." —Richard P. Martin, Stanford University"This is a wonderful translation—readable, lively, preserves the essential spirit. Students get caught up in it. The abridgment is a good text for general classes." —Nicolle Hirschfeld, California State University, Long Beach"A fine poetic translation that today's students can understand. The selections are very well chosen for a course in which time limitations prevent reading the whole of either epic." —Lillian Doherty, University of Maryland

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewIn these new translations Meineck and Woodruff have struck a near-ideal balance between accuracy and readability, formality and colloquialism. Their versions are simply a pleasure to read, conveying with remarkable vividness the powerful characterizations and poetic variety of the originals. The addition of succinct but illuminating notes makes this an exemplary volume for anyone interested in Sophocles' dramatic art. --Andrew Szegedy-Maszak, Department of Classics, Wesleyan University[T]his sequel to the same pair's well-received translation of the Theban plays hits an appropriate mean . . . a text that I could happily adopt for teaching. --Malcolm Heath in Greece and RomeTable of ContentsIntroduction; Notes on the Translations; Map: Sophoclean geography; House of Pelops Family Tree; Ajax; Women of Trachis; Electra; Philoctetes; Endnotes.

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Book SynopsisThe major works by Josephus are History of the Jewish War, from 170 BC to his own time, and Jewish Antiquities, from creation to AD 66. Also by him are an autobiographical Life and a treatise Against Apion.

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Book SynopsisLivy (Titus Livius, 64 or 59 BC AD 12 or 17), the Roman historian, presents a vivid narrative of Rome's rise from the traditional foundation of the city in 753 or 751 BC to 9 BC and illustrates the collective and individual virtues necessary to maintain such greatness. The fourth decad (31 40) focuses on Rome's growing hegemony in the East.Trade ReviewThese new Loebs are superior to the old ones in almost every way…The true superiority of Yardley’s work lies, first of all, in the translation: he is an outstanding translator of Livy. -- Joseph B. Solodow * Bryn Mawr Classical Review *

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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Book SynopsisBy one of the foremost historians and translators in the field of Classics, Peter Green—an authoritative, modern translation of a long-neglected historian whose work covers the most vital century in ancient Greek history.Table of Contents Preface Abbreviations Introduction Diodorus Siculus: The Bibliothêkê Book 11: 480-451 BCE Book 12: 450-415 BCE Book 13: 415-405 BCE Book 14.1-34: 404-401 BCE Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisThe mysteries of Ancient Egypt, the wonderland of the Pharaohs, have always held the world in awe. Now available in new covers, this volume provides a comprehensive history of this fascinating land from its earliest days to the conquest of Alexander the Great in 332 B.C. Gardiner presents background on Egyptian language, the writing, the land, its neighbors, and resources, with a special section devoted to the Egyptian method of determining chronological dates. He then follows with a concise history of Egypt from the time of the Old Kingdom, through the Ramesside period, up to the last days of Egyptian independence around 323 B.C. Authoritative andmeticulously researched, Egypt of the Pharaohs is an enticing introduction to the study of this ancient civilization.Trade Review"A magnificent book."--New Statesman "Outstanding, both for the meticulous scholarship for which the author is renowned among Egyptologists and for the humanity and understanding with which he approaches this subject."--Times Literary Supplement "Presented with an authority which cannot be surpassed...with notable frankness, and with a detached enthusiasm...which reflect the long life of a scholar whose vocation has at the same time been his hobby."--The Spectator "A 'must' for students of Egyptian history."--John W. Betlyon, University of North Florida

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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Book SynopsisNow available to an English-speaking audience, this book presents a groundbreaking theoretical analysis of memory, identity and culture. Dr Assmann defines two theoretical concepts of cultural memory and applies this theoretical framework to case studies of four specific cultures, concluding that memory can be a powerful and dynamic tool in shaping culture.Trade Review'Jan Assmann's work on cultural memory is essential for notions of memory and memorialization. I know of no modern scholarly study on collective memory and aspects relating to it, from Thucydides to modern Israel, from Genesis to modern Germany, that has not in some form drawn on Jan Assmann's theories on the relation between collective and cultural memory. In short, this book is an absolute classic, and will be invaluable to English-speaking scholars.' Susanna Elm, University of California, Berkeley'More than canonical since its original publication in Germany, Cultural Memory and Early Civilization is one of the most important works of cultural analysis of the past two decades. Spanning cultural and media studies, sociology, ancient history, and numerous other fields, it has already underwritten volumes of research and theory in Europe. Its translation was long awaited, and will surely transform discourse in Anglophone scholarship as well. It is a genuine tour-de-force.' Jeffrey Olick, University of Virginia'Fantastically readable …' The Times Higher Education SupplementTable of ContentsIntroduction; Part I. The Theoretical Basis: 1. Memory culture; 2. Written culture; 3. Cultural identity and political imagination; Part II. Case Studies: 4. Egypt; 5. Israel and the invention of religion; 6. The birth of history from the spirit of the law; 7. Greece and disciplined thinking; Cultural memory: a summary.

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Book SynopsisHow did the city-state of Athens defeat the invaders from Persia, the first world empire, on the plain of Marathon in 490 BCE? Scholars skeptical of our earliest surviving source, Herodotus, have produced one ingenious theory after another. This book argues that Herodotus was right after all.Trade Review"'Historians, topographers, reenactors, and general readers alike will all be indebted to cutting-edge military historian Peter Krentz's original, insightful, witty, provocative, and brilliantly illustrated account of one of the world's most significant battles ever. 'Marathon' is now not only a magic word but also a magical exercise in ancient historiography.' (Paul Cartledge, University of Cambridge) 'Important new evidence, rigorous research and clear-headed analysis are combined to great effect in this original and persuasive study. The best book yet on the fateful events at Marathon.' (Hans van Wees, author of Greek Warfare: Myths and Realities)"

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Book SynopsisGreek temples captivate anyone with an interest in antiquity, and the Doric, Ionic and Corinthian columnar orders that clad them launched the classical architectural tradition down to modern times. This title proposes new theories in both areas as it elucidates the nature and function of Greek architecture.

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Book SynopsisThe modern Cyprian town of Polis Chrysochous - 'City of Gold' - lies above the city of Arsinoe and the earlier city - kingdom of Marion. Combining archaeological investigation and historical analysis, this book relates the discoveries establishing that these cities had close ties with Greece and with regions from Egypt to Anatolia.Trade ReviewBest Book of the Year, 2012—Philadelphia Inquirer * Philadelphia Inquirer *

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Book SynopsisPlutarch''s Life of Caesar deals with the best known Roman of them all, Julius Caesar, and his vivid narrative covers most of the major events of the last generation of the Republic, as well as painting an insightful picture of this man who sacrificed everything for power. Pelling''s volume gives a new translation of the Life together with a full introduction and running commentary on the events it describes. Culminating in the crossing of the Rubicon, Caesar''s victory in the Civil War, and finally his assassination on the Ides of March, 44 BC, it goes on to trace the first stages of the new phase of civil war which followed and, in its turn, led to the establishment of the principate. The volume also discusses both the historical and the literary aspects of the Life, relating it both to the broader history of the Republic and to Plutarch''s other works, especially the Life of Alexander with which it forms a pair of Parallel Lives. A separate section of the Introduction also discussTrade Review[an] awe-filling, exemplar of how decades of excellent scholarship have produced a book that will be in use for many decades, and generations, to come. * Brad L. Cook, Bryn Mawr Classical Review *Table of ContentsLIST OF MAPS ; ABBREVIATIONS ; INTRODUCTION ; 1. Plutarch and the Caesars ; 2. TheLife of Caesar ; a) Biography and History ; b) Alexander and Caesar: Pair and Series ; 3. Sources and Methods ; a) Gathering the Material ; b) The Sources ; c) Remoulding the Material ; 4. Plutarch and Roman Politics ; 5. Caesar and Julius Caesar: Plutarch and Shakespeare ; TRANSLATION ; COMMENTARY ; INDEXES ; Names ; General Index

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Book Synopsis

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