Ancient history Books

Book SynopsisA richly nuanced analysis of how ancient Egyptian society regarded and dealt with pregnancy, mothers, birth, and children In ancient Egypt, a woman's primary role was that of mother, and as such she ensured her place within both her household and her community. And so, gods, doctor-magicians, as well as ghosts were all called upon to help the woman become pregnant.Pregnancy was not without risks, and the many tests, prescriptions, and spells that have survived to this day help us to understand obstetrics as it was practiced in those distant times. Once the woman had eluded the ill will of Sethwho was held responsible for miscarriagesand had reached her term, she was faced with the much awaited and yet also feared moment of birth. The successful delivery of a child into the world was seen as a gift of the gods, but it did not mean that the parent's worries were over. Indeed, it has been estimated that a third of all children did not reach the age of five yea

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Book SynopsisWhat can we know about the everyday experiences of Christians during the fourth, fifth, and sixth centuries? How did non-elite men and women, enslaved, freed, and free persons, who did not renounce sex or choose voluntary poverty become Christian? They neither led a religious community nor did they live in entirely Christian settings. In this period, an age marked by “extraordinary” Christians—wonderworking saints, household ascetics, hermits, monks, nuns, pious aristocrats, pilgrims, and bishops—ordinary Christians went about their daily lives, in various occupations, raising families, sharing households, kitchens, and baths in religiously diverse cities. Occasionally they attended church liturgies, sought out local healers, and visited martyrs’ shrines. Barely and rarely mentioned in ancient texts, common Christians remain nameless and undifferentiated. Unfinished Christians explores the sensory and affective dimensions of ordinary Christians who assembled for rituals. With precious few first-person accounts by common Christians, it relies on written sources not typically associated with lived religion: sermons, liturgical instruction books, and festal hymns. All three genres of writing are composed by clergy for use in ritual settings. Yet they may also provide glimpses of everyday Christians’ lives and experiences. This book investigates the habits, objects, behaviors, and movements of ordinary Christians by mining festal preaching by John Chrysostom, Cyril of Jerusalem, Gregory of Nyssa, and Romanos the Melodist, among others. It also mines liturgical instructions to explore the psalms and other songs performed on various feast days. “Unfinished,” then, connotes the creativity and agency of unremarkable Christians who engaged in making religious experiences: the “Christian-in-progress” who learns to work with material and bring something into being; the artisans who attended sermons; and, more widely, the bearers of embodied knowing.Trade Review"In Unfinished Christians, Georgia Frank seeks the sensory and affective experiences of non-elite Christians in late antiquity. She finds them in workshops, nighttime prayer, songs, and processions, and she comprehends them through the metaphor of craft...Frank’s lyrical prose, sensitive insights, transdisciplinary reading, and deep endnotes make this a joyous and enriching contribution to early Christian studies. But Unfinished Christians is also a model for readers in other subfields of the humanities who seek to integrate text, material, and sensation in understanding the formation of religious practices and subjectivities." * Material Religion *

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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 SynopsisSt. Gregory Palamas (ca. 12961357) is among the most well-known and celebrated theologians of late Byzantium. This book provides a comprehensive account of the essence-energies distinction across his twenty-five treatises and letters written over a twenty-year period.An Athonite monk, abbot, and later Metropolitan of Thessalonica, Gregory is remembered especially for his distinction between God's essence and energies, and his celebrated doctrine still generates a great deal of debate. What does Palamas actually mean by the term energies? Are they activities' that God performs, and if so, how can they be eternal and uncreated? Indeed, how could God be simple if he possesses energies distinct from his essence? Going beyond the Triads and the One Hundred and Fifty Chapters, this book explores Palamas's answers to these long-standing questions by analyzing all of the treatises produced by Palamas between the years 1338 and 1357. It seeks to understan

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Book SynopsisTable of ContentsContents Acknowledgments Introduction 1. Origin Stories 2. Classification Matters 3. How to Avoid Demonic Dangers 4. Legal Demons 5. Serving the Rabbinic Project 6. Exorcising Demons Conclusion Bibliography Subject Index Index of Jewish Sources

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Book SynopsisThe assassination of Emperor Commodus in 192 sparked a civil war. Septimius Severus emerged as the eventual victor and his dynasty (the Severans) ruled until 235\. He fought numerous campaigns, against both internal rivals and external enemies, extending the Empire to the east (adding Mesopotamia), the south (in Africa) and the north (beyond Hadrian's Wall). The military aspects of his reign, including his reforms of the army, are the main focus of this new study. After discussing his early career and governorship of Pannonia, Michael Sage narrates his war with Pescennius Niger, the siege of Byzantium, and the campaign in northern Mesopotamia that added it as a province. The much more difficult campaign against Clodius Albinus in Gaul is also studied in detail, as is that in North Africa. The narrative concludes with an account of the last campaign in Britain and Severus' death. The final chapters analyse Septimius' reforms of the army and assess their impact on events of the next seventy years until the accession of Diocletian. His greatest weakness was his love for his family. Like Marcus Aurelius he loved his children too much. They failed to maintain what he had bequeathed them.

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Book SynopsisWinner of the 1990 American Book Award What is classical about Classical civilization? In one of the most audacious works of scholarship ever written, Martin Bernal challenges the foundation of our thinking about this question. Classical civilization, he argues, has deep roots in Afroasiatic cultures. But these Afroasiatic influences have been systematically ignored, denied or suppressed since the eighteenth century—chiefly for racist reasons. The popular view is that Greek civilization was the result of the conquest of a sophisticated but weak native population by vigorous Indo-European speakers—Aryans—from the North. But the Classical Greeks, Bernal argues, knew nothing of this “Aryan model.” They did not see their institutions as original, but as derived from the East and from Egypt in particular. In an unprecedented tour de force, Bernal links a wide range of areas and disciplines—drama, poetry, myth, theological controversy, esoteric religion, philosophy, biography, language, historical narrative, and the emergence of “modern scholarship.”Trade Review"In a spectacular undertaking, Martin Bernal sets out to... restore the credibility of what he calls the Ancient Model of the beginnings of Greek civilizations... Bernal makes an exotic interloper in Classical studies. He comes to them with two outstanding gifts: a remarkable flair for the sociology - perhaps one should say politics - of knowledge, and a formidable linguistic proficiency... The story told by Bernal, with many fascinating twists and turns and quite a few entertaining digressions, is... a critical inquiry into a large part of the European imagination... a retrospect of ingenious and often sardonic erudition." -- Perry Anderson * The Guardian *"An astonishing work, breathtakingly bold in conception and passionately written... salutary, exciting, and, in its historiographical aspects, convincing." -- G. W. Bowersock * Journal of Interdisciplinary History *"A work which has much to offer the lay reader, and its multi-disciplinary sweep is refreshing: it is an important contribution to historiography and the sociology of knowledge, written with elegance, wit, and self-awareness... a thrilling journey... his account is as gripping a tale of scholarly detection and discovery as one could hope to find." -- Margaret Drabble * The Observer *"Bernal's material is fascinating, his mind is sharp, and his analyses convince." -- Richard Jenkyns * Times Higher Educational Supplement *"A formidable work of intellectual history, one that demonstrates that the politics of knowledge is never far from national politics." * Christian Science Monitor *"His book should be welcome to both classicists and ancient historians, most of whom will, now at least, be inclined to agree with him." -- R. A. McNeal * Franklin and Marshall College *"Bernal's work and the stir it has occasioned have caused ancient historians and archaeologists to undertake a major reexamination of methods and motives." -- Robert L. Pounder * American Historical Review *"Colossal.... Bernal aims to revise current understanding of Ancient Middle Eastern history by taking seriously the ancient Greeks' legends that portrayed much in their civilization as originating in the Middle East, especially Egypt." * New York Times Book Review *"Demands to be taken seriously... Every page that Bernal writes is educating and enthralling. To agree with all his thesis may be a sign of naivety, but not to have spent time in his company is a sign of nothing at all." * Times Literary Supplement *"A serious work that deals in a serious way with many of the principal issues of Aegean history in the second millennium B.C., and one can ask little more of any historical work." -- Stanley M. Burstein, California State University * Classic Philology *"[Bernal's] multifaceted assault on academic complacency is an important contribution to the development of a more open, historical, and culturally oriented post-processual archaeology." * Current Anthropology *"A breathtaking panoply of archaeological artifacts, texts, and myths." * Toronto Star *"Bernal's enterprise - his attack on the Aryan model and his promotion of a new paradigm - will profoundly mark the next century's perception of the origins of Greek civilization and the role of Ancient Egypt." * Transition *"Challenges the racism implicit in the recent 'cultural literacy' movement." * Socialist Review *"A monumental and path-breaking work." -- Edward Said"[Martin Bernal] has forced scholars to reexamine the roots of Western civilization." * Newsweek *"Martin Bernal has managed to make the subject of Ancient Greece both popular and controversial." * Baltimore Sun *"Martin Bernal’s Black Athena is nothing short of a monumental achievement in scholarship that re-oriented and transformed serious study of ancient civilizations. It remains a soaring accomplishment of classical erudition of the Afroasiatic foundation of Greek history." -- Molefi Kete Asante * author of The History of Africa,Professor, Department of Africology, Temple University *"Black Athena is a powerfully written and brilliantly researched book that relentlessly unveils the historical and cultural African origins of Western civilization. Still a must read for all those in search of truth." -- Ama Mazama * Professor of Africology and African American Studies, Temple University *“Bernal has ample justification for calling into question many widely accepted hypotheses…. He shows that Egypt and its culture were misrepresented or simply ignored by European writers.” -- Mary Lefkowitz * The New Republic *"In a spectacular undertaking, Martin Bernal sets out to... restore the credibility of what he calls the Ancient Model of the beginnings of Greek civilizations... Bernal makes an exotic interloper in Classical studies. He comes to them with two outstanding gifts: a remarkable flair for the sociology - perhaps one should say politics - of knowledge, and a formidable linguistic proficiency... The story told by Bernal, with many fascinating twists and turns and quite a few entertaining digressions, is... a critical inquiry into a large part of the European imagination... a retrospect of ingenious and often sardonic erudition." -- Perry Anderson * The Guardian *"An astonishing work, breathtakingly bold in conception and passionately written... salutary, exciting, and, in its historiographical aspects, convincing." -- G. W. Bowersock * Journal of Interdisciplinary History *"A work which has much to offer the lay reader, and its multi-disciplinary sweep is refreshing: it is an important contribution to historiography and the sociology of knowledge, written with elegance, wit, and self-awareness... a thrilling journey... his account is as gripping a tale of scholarly detection and discovery as one could hope to find." -- Margaret Drabble * The Observer *"Bernal's material is fascinating, his mind is sharp, and his analyses convince." -- Richard Jenkyns * Times Higher Educational Supplement *"A formidable work of intellectual history, one that demonstrates that the politics of knowledge is never far from national politics." * Christian Science Monitor *"His book should be welcome to both classicists and ancient historians, most of whom will, now at least, be inclined to agree with him." -- R. A. McNeal * Franklin and Marshall College *"Bernal's work and the stir it has occasioned have caused ancient historians and archaeologists to undertake a major reexamination of methods and motives." -- Robert L. Pounder * American Historical Review *"Colossal.... Bernal aims to revise current understanding of Ancient Middle Eastern history by taking seriously the ancient Greeks' legends that portrayed much in their civilization as originating in the Middle East, especially Egypt." * New York Times Book Review *"Demands to be taken seriously... Every page that Bernal writes is educating and enthralling. To agree with all his thesis may be a sign of naivety, but not to have spent time in his company is a sign of nothing at all." * Times Literary Supplement *"A serious work that deals in a serious way with many of the principal issues of Aegean history in the second millennium B.C., and one can ask little more of any historical work." -- Stanley M. Burstein, California State University * Classic Philology *"[Bernal's] multifaceted assault on academic complacency is an important contribution to the development of a more open, historical, and culturally oriented post-processual archaeology." * Current Anthropology *"A breathtaking panoply of archaeological artifacts, texts, and myths." * Toronto Star *"Bernal's enterprise - his attack on the Aryan model and his promotion of a new paradigm - will profoundly mark the next century's perception of the origins of Greek civilization and the role of Ancient Egypt." * Transition *"Challenges the racism implicit in the recent 'cultural literacy' movement." * Socialist Review *"A monumental and path-breaking work." -- Edward Said"[Martin Bernal] has forced scholars to reexamine the roots of Western civilization." * Newsweek *"Martin Bernal has managed to make the subject of Ancient Greece both popular and controversial." * Baltimore Sun *"Martin Bernal’s Black Athena is nothing short of a monumental achievement in scholarship that re-oriented and transformed serious study of ancient civilizations. It remains a soaring accomplishment of classical erudition of the Afroasiatic foundation of Greek history." -- Molefi Kete Asante * author of The History of Africa,Professor, Department of Africology, Temple University *"Black Athena is a powerfully written and brilliantly researched book that relentlessly unveils the historical and cultural African origins of Western civilization. Still a must read for all those in search of truth." -- Ama Mazama * Professor of Africology and African American Studies, Temple University *“Bernal has ample justification for calling into question many widely accepted hypotheses…. He shows that Egypt and its culture were misrepresented or simply ignored by European writers.” -- Mary Lefkowitz * The New Republic *Table of ContentsPreface and Acknowledgements Transcription and Phonetics Maps and Charts Chronological Table Introduction Background Proposed historical outline Black Athena, Volume I: a summary of the argument Greece European or Levantine? The Egyptian and West Semitic Components of Greek Civilization / a summary of Volume 2 Solving the Riddle of the Sphinx and Other Studies in Egypto-Greek Mythology / a summary of Volume 1 The Ancient Model in Antiquity Pelasgians Ionians Colonization The colonizations in Greek tragedy Herodotos Thucydides Isokrates and Plato Aristotle Theories of colonization and later borrowing in the Hellenistic world Plutarch’s attack on Herodotos The triumph of Egyptian religion Alexander son of Ammon 2 Egyptian wisdom and Greek transmission From the Dark Ages to the Renaissance The murder of Hypatia The collapse of Egypto-Pagan religion Christianity, stars and fish The relics of Egyptian religion: Hermeticism, Neo-Platonism and Gnosticism Hermeticism – Greek, Iranian, Chaldaean or Egyptian? Hermeticism and Neo-Platonism under early Christianity, Judaism and Islam Hermeticism in Byzantium and Christian Western Europe Egypt in the Renaissance Copernicus and Hermeticism Hermeticism and Egypt in the 16th century 3 The triumph of Egypt in the 17th and 18th centuries Hermeticism in the 17th century Rosicrucianism: Ancient Egypt in Protestant countries Ancient Egypt in the 18th century The 18th century: China and the Physiocrats The 18th century: England, Egypt and the Freemasons France, Egypt and ‘progress’: the quarrel between Ancients and Moderns Mythology as allegory for Egyptian science The Expedition to Egypt 4 Hostilities to Egypt in the 18th century Christian reaction The ‘triangle’: Christianity and Greece against Egypt The alliance between Greece and Christianity ‘Progress’ against Egypt Europe as the ‘progressive’ continent ‘Progress’ Racism Romanticism Ossian and Homer Romantic Hellenism Winckelmann and Neo-Hellenism in Germany Göttingen 5 Romantic linguistics The rise of India and the fall of Egypt, 1740–1880 The birth of Indo-European The love affair with Sanskrit Schlegelian Romantic linguistics The Oriental Renaissance The fall of China Racism in the early 19th century What colour were the Ancient Egyptians? The national renaissance of modern Egypt Dupuis, Jomard and Champollion Egyptian monotheism or Egyptian polytheism Popular perceptions of Ancient Egypt in the 19th and 20th centuries Elliot Smith and ‘diffusionism’ Jomard and the Mystery of the Pyramids 6 Hellenomania, 1 The fall of the Ancient Model, 1790–1830 Friedrich August Wolf and Wilhelm von Humboldt Humboldt’s educational reforms The Philhellenes Dirty Greeks and the Dorians Transitional figures, 1: Hegel and Marx Transitional figures, 2: Heeren Transitional figures, 3: Barthold Niebuhr Petit-Radel and the first attack on the Ancient Model Karl Otfried Müller and the overthrow of the Ancient Model 7 Hellenomania, 2 Transmission of the new scholarship to England and the rise of the Aryan Model, 1830–60 The German model and educational reform in England George Grote Aryans and Hellenes 8 The rise and fall of the Phoenicians, 1830–85 Phoenicians and anti-Semitism What race were the Semites? The linguistic and geographical inferiorities of the Semites The Arnolds Phoenicians and English, 1: the English view Phoenicians and English, 2: the French view Salammbô Moloch The Phoenicians in Greece: 1820–80 Gobineau’s image of Greece Schliemann and the discovery of the ‘Mycenaeans’ Babylon 9 The final solution of the Phoenician problem, 1885–1945 The Greek Renaissance Salomon Reinach Julius Beloch Victor Bérard Akhenaton and the Egyptian Renaissance Arthur Evans and the ‘Minoans’ The peak of anti-Semitism, 1920–39 20th-century Aryanism Taming the alphabet: the final assault on the Phoenicians 10 The post-war situation The return to the Broad Aryan Model, 1945–85 The post-war situation Developments in Classics, 1945–65 The model of autochthonous origin East Mediterranean contacts Mythology Language Ugarit Scholarship and the rise of Israel Cyrus Gordon Astour and Hellenosemitica Astour’s successor? – J. C. Billigmeier An attempt at compromise: Ruth Edwards The return of the Iron Age Phoenicians Naveh and the transmission of the alphabet The return of the Egyptians? The Revised Ancient Model Conclusion Appendix Were the Philistines Greek? Notes Glossary Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisAnimals pervade our lives, both today and in the past. From the smallest bug through pets and agricultural animals to elephants and blue whales, the animals themselves, animal-derived products and representations of animals can be found everywhere in our daily lives. This book focuses on the representations of animals in the past: How were animals represented in iconography, and how is the craftsperson interpreting animals within his or her own cultural context? What do the representations tell us about the role and function of both animals and the representations themselves? A series of papers explore these questions through images of animals. This is, for example, done by using technologies like 3D models to emphasize the dimensionality of objects, or through theoretical and interdisciplinary approaches that examine the intersection of the human and the animal. The papers challenge the notion of animals purely as objects, instead focusing on the many ways in which humans and animals interact. The importance of animals in all aspects of our lives means that the study of human-animal relations is an extremely relevant one both in the past and today. The papers take us on a journey through time and space, demonstrating exactly this relevance. Starting in the Neolithic and ending in the Medieval period, from the Mediterranean and Northern Europe through Siberia and the Baltic to the other side of the world in Australia, we have the privilege of encountering lions, horses, dogs, monkeys, birds, kangaroos and octopuses, among many other wonderful creatures. The book is an important and exciting contribution to the study of human-animal relations. It should be of interest to anyone working on this topic and the interpretation of images - both modern and ancient.Trade Review"A young and fresh attempt to tackle a subject which has long stood in the shadow of the study and interpretation of anthropomorphic imagery." Professor Louis Nebelsick, Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski University, WarsawTable of Contents1. Introduction: The Third Dimension and Animal Iconography in Archaeology Laerke Recht and Katarzyna Zeman-Wiśniewska 2. Zoomorphic Terracotta Figurines in Halaf Culture and New Evidence of Secondary Products Exploitation in the 6th Millennium BC in Northern Mesopotamia Nicola Scheyhing, PhD Candidate, Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg 3. Neolithic Vessels with Animal Characteristics: Modifications of Material Corporeal Signs, Negotiations of Clay Bodyscapes Evangelia Voulgari, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki 4. The Minoan Monkey: Ties between the Aegean and Indus River Valley via Mesopotamia Marie Nicole Pareja, University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Millersville University and Pennsylvania State University 5. How Many Tentacles? Octo-pus and x-pus in the Greek Bronze Age: A New Archaeozoological Approach Lucia Alberti, National Research Council of Italy, and Giambattista Bello, University of Bari (retired) 6. Bird-shaped Vessels of Bronze Age Cyprus as Three-dimensional Objects Katarzyna Zeman-Wiśniewska 7. ‘Flying Gallop’ Iconography and its Representations in the Burial Rites of the Eurasian Bronze Age Emma Usmanova, Saryarka Archaeological Institute. Buketov Karaganda State University (Kazakhstan), Olga Gumirova, journalist, and Igor Chechushkov, Institute of History and Archaeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences 8. The Role of the Horse in Ancient Egyptian: In Society and Imagery Lonneke Delpeut, PhD Candidate, Leiden University 9. Horns as Symbols in Bronze Age Scandinavian Southern Tradition Rock Art Joanna M. Lawrence, PhD Candidate, University of Cambridge 10. Lions and Other Animal Representations Found in Funerary Contexts in Archaic Macedonia Nathalie del Socorro, Museum of Nogent-sur-Seine in France, University of Nanterre. 11. Buckle up! A Comparison of Ornamental Design on Pazyryk Riding Gear of the Sites Pazyryk-1, Berel’11 and Ak-Alakha-3 in Regards to Supra-regional Exchange during the 3rd Century BC Anna-Elisa Stümpel, ReMa student, University of Groningen 12. Dogs of Roman Britain: Secular, Sacred or Consumed? Branka Franicevic, PhD Candidate, University of Bradford 13. Dragons, Griffins and Leucrottas: Supernatural Creatures in the Eastern Baltic Tõnno Jonuks, Literary Museum in Tartu

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Book SynopsisJulius Caesar has been the inspiration to countless military commanders over the last two millennia. Born into an aristocratic family, his early military campaigns, part of his progression along the cursus honorum, included campaigning in the east, Spain and in the early Roman civil wars. His participation in the Gallic Wars is known mainly through the commentary on the wars that he wrote and published, along with his incursions into Britain. This concise history details his military life, and how it impacted with his political career, from his youth through the civil wars that resulted in his becoming the dictator of Rome, and his legacy.Trade ReviewI personally enjoyed reading this book and would recommend it wholeheartedly. * Battlefield Magazine *Ideal for the beginner to this subject. * Miniature Wargames *

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Book SynopsisDiodoros of Sicily (c.90c.30 BC) spent thirty years producing an encyclopedic compendium of world history from its mythical beginnings to his own day. His is the only surviving, connected account of Greek affairs from 480/79 to 302/1. The books translated in this volume cover the years from the end of the Peloponnesian War to the aftermath of the Battle of Mantineia in 362/1. These were crucial years in the struggle for supremacy in Greece amongst the Greek states, Sparta, Athens and Thebes, before they were overtaken by the unexpected rise of Macedon. Diodoros also provides the only extant account of the career of Dionysios I of Syracuse and the Cypriot war between Persia and Evagoras of Salamis. The translation is supported by extensive notes and the Introduction examines Diodoros'' moral and educational purpose in writing, the plan of his work, his sources, and his qualities as a historian.Trade Review'… Harding does an excellent job of providing a historical context for Diodorus' narrative …' Frances Pownall, HistosTable of ContentsPreface; Abbreviations; List of Maps; Introduction; Book 14; Book 15; Glossary; Appendix: Chronological Outline; Bibliography; Index.

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Book SynopsisIn this groundbreaking work, Elizabeth Donnelly Carney examines the role of royal women in the Macedonian Argead dynasty from the sixth century BC to 168 BC. Carney shows that the wives, mothers, and daughters of kings played important roles in Macedonian public life and occasionally determined the course of national events.

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Book SynopsisAn abridgement of Stanley Lombardo's translation of the "Odyssey", this book offers more than half of the epic, including all of its best-known episodes and finest poetry, while providing concise summaries for omitted books and passages.

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Book SynopsisWhile preserving the basic narrative of the Iliad, this bare-bones abridgement highlights the epic's high poetic moments and essential mythological content, and will prove especially useful in surveys of world literature, and in Western civilization surveys.

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewA lucid, well-paced translation, natural enough sounding in the dialogue to make a good acting version, and remarkably successful in making the choruses clear, lyrical, and yet part of the dramatic movement. Woodruff's rendering of the choruses especially impresses me by the way he manages to render complex syntax and imagery of the original--often tangled and occasionally obscure in its allusiveness--into clear and genuinely poetic English. --Joseph Russo, Haverford CollegeWhen a play has been translated as many times as the Antigone, a new version has to have some remarkable qualities in order to merit attention. Happily, Woodruff's Antigone has just that. Most notably, his text is performable: when read aloud it displays real pace and force. . . . Of course, performability is often gained at the expense of what we might call 'faithfulness' to the original text--and in practical terms, this means that a performance translation rarely serves well as a teaching text. Woodruff, then, has pulled off a remarkable feat in that this edition will serve the teacher and student of Sophocles as well as it would the actor. The original line numbers are preserved and the text is seldom distorted: Woodruff is aware that the words used by Sophocles matter, and employs footnotes to good effect to explain points of linguistic and cultural interest in a concise and accessible way. The flavour of Sophocles' play is also preserved by the stage directions, which are envisaged in terms of the ancient rather than the modern stage. The choral odes--which are translated with particular clarity--are also marked and divided into strophes and antistrophes. What also sets the translation apart is the quality of the introduction and appendices, which are both well informed and address the reader in a direct way. Woodruff succeeds in being straightforward but not patronizing and whilst his target audience is presumably a student of A-level or university level, this edition would be a good starting point for any intelligent adult who wished to read the play. Woodruff frames scholarly debates in such a way as to invite reaction from the reader and to encourage informed debate. Notable, too, is that he strives to keep the text 'open': as well as presenting different scholarly views on the play, he even provides 'Endnotes' where he provides information on readings of the manuscripts, thus providing access to debates from which the student is normally excluded. As part of this project--and refreshingly in my view--he makes his own presence felt: he informs us as to his own views on the play and spells out his objectives as a translator, thus opening up yet another aspect of investigation and debate. This is a provocative edition of the Antigone, which fulfills many of its high ambitions. For me, the vibrancy of Woodruff's approach to the play shines through, giving us a text just waiting to be read aloud, discussed and debated. --James Robson, The Joint Association of Classical Teachers Review

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Book SynopsisThis edition of Cicero’s texts on Stoic ethics, De Finibus Bonorum et Malorum Liber III and Parodoxa Stoicorum, presents the arguments to the modern reader in a clear and accessible form, and in a way that allows those with only a little Latin to follow the original text. Text with facing translation, introduction and commentary.Table of Contents Introduction I. Background II. Goodness, Knowledge and Happiness Socrates Plato Aristotle Cyrenaics and Cynics III. Epicurus IV. The Stoics V. Philosophy at Rome VI. De Finibus Bonorum et Malorum VII. Paradoxa Stoicorum VIII. The TextNotes to the IntroductionTexts and Translations De Finibus III Paradoxa StoicorumAppendix: Pro Murena 61–63Commentary on De Finibus IIISummary of De Finibus IIICommentary on Paradoxa StoicorumGlossary of Stoic TermsBibliographyIndex of PassagesIndex of Names

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Book SynopsisA new evaluation of the origins and causes of the Peloponnesian War, based on evidence produced by modern scholarship and on a careful reconsideration of the ancient texts.Trade ReviewA profound analysis of the relation of strategy to politics, a sympathetic but searching critique of Thucydides' masterpiece, and a trenchant assessment of the voluminous modern literature on the war. -- Bernard Knox * The Atlantic Monthly *Kagan's book is a contribution of considerable distinction, scrupulously fair, carefully argued, and lucidly written. And, what is more, it is persuasive.... Kagan sets out the story in detail and with acumen. The case has been adumbrated before—but never presented with such thoroughness. * Journal of Interdisciplinary History *Kagan's book is based on complete control of both the ancient evidence and modern scholarship. * Choice *The temptation to acclaim Kagan's four volumes as the foremost work of history produced in North America in the twentieth century is vivid.... Here is an achievement that not only honors the criteria of dispassion and of unstinting scruple which mark the best of modern historicism but honors its readers. To read Kagan's 'History of the Peloponnesian War' at the present hour is to be almost unbearably tested. -- George Steiner * The New Yorker *Table of ContentsIntroductionPart One: The Alliance System and the Division of the Greek World 1. The Spartan Alliance 2. The Origins of the Athenian Empire 3. Sparta after the Persian War 4. Athens after the Persian WarPart Two: The First Peloponnesian War 5. The War in Greece 6. The Crisis in the Aegean 7. The End of the WarPart Three: The Years of Peace 8. Athenian Politics: The Victory of Pericles 9. Athens and the West: The Foundation of Thurii 10. The Samian Rebellion 11. The Consolidation of the Empire 12. Athenian Politics on the Eve of the WarPart Four: The Final Crisis 13. Epidamnus 14. Corcyra 15. Megara 16. Potidaea 17. Sparta 18. AthensPart Five: Conclusions 19. The Causes of the War 20. Thucydides and the Inevitability of the WarAppendixes A. The Willingness of the Members of the Delian League to Accept Athenian Leadership B. The Historicity of Diodoms' Account of the Spartan Assembly in 475 C. Chronology of Events between ca. 470–453 D. Reconstruction of the Athenian Tribute Lists E. The Papyrus Decree F. The Foundation of Thurii G. Athenian Actions in the West between the Wars H. Athenian Treatment of Byzantium I. The Date of Pericles' Pontic Expedition J. The Site and Date of Brea K. The Date of the Battle of PotidaeaBibliography General Index Index of Ancient Authors and Inscriptions Index of Modern Authors

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Book SynopsisClio is Muse of history, her 'cosmetics' the adornments of rhetoric. Peter Wiseman's influential book, first published in 1979 and now for the first time in paperback, concerns the writing of history during the first century BCE, when Rome was in process of becoming the centre of the Greek, as much as her own, literary world. Historians, trained in the schools of rhetoric, prized elegant plausibility above the empirical objectivity we expect of them today. Legend and history intermingled; history and poetry overlapped.This study divides into three distinct parts. The first treats the problems that arise from reading first century history as if it were written by modern, non-rhetorical standards. The second examines the pseudo-history of the gens Claudia, fabricated during the first century and transmitted to us by Livy and Dionysius of Halicarnassus. The third discusses Catullus' dedication of his poetry to the historian Cornelius Nepos against the background of the two authors' common intellectual heritage. The book represents a significant contribution towards an appreciation of ancient historiography and Roman culture. History is viewed here as rhetoric, as myth-making, and as poetry.Trade ReviewShould stimulate, entertain and enlighten anyone who wants to know something about ancient historians. * Times Literary Supplement *Clio's Cosmetics is an intelligent and provocative book about historical writing in the Roman Republic. It is acute and well-written, and has important things to say. * The Journal of Roman Studies *The general reader will learn a lot from this book, which can be enjoyed without a great knowledge of Latin ... Republican Rome, the period of which he (Wiseman) has shown himself the best intellectual historian now writing. * History Today *Table of Contents Preface PART I Clio's Cosmetics 1. 'Fucatio' 2. Annals and History 3. History and Rhetoric 4. Unhistorical Thinking PART II The Legends of the Patrician Claudii 5. Attus Clausus and the Two Traditions 6. Claudian Arrogance and Claudian Wisdom 7. The Date of Composition 8. Authors and Motives PART III Catullus and Cornelius Nepos 9. Poetry and History 10. The Intellectual Background 11. The Dedication Poem 12. The Collection Bibliography Index

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Book Synopsis

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Book SynopsisReveals Epizephyrian Locri - a Greek colony on the Adriatic coast of Italy - as a third way in Greek culture, neither Athens nor Sparta. Drawing on a range of literary and archaeological evidence, this work offers an account of this poorly understood Greek city-state, and in particular the distinctive role of women and marriage therein.Trade Review"The Locrian Maidens actually uncovers something new in the heavily trodden terrain of the classics, and in today's academy that amounts to a rara avis."--Tom Meaney, New Criterion "In this engrossing report on a quarter century of work, James Redfield reconstructs the distinctive culture of Epizephyrian Locri from rubble, rumors, and art to offer an unsuspected model of Greek social organization... The book shows a rare combination of rigorous documentation and theoretical imagination... This is a book of great learning and great charm."--Frederick T. Griffiths, New England Classical JournalTable of ContentsPreface ix Acknowledgments xiii Abbreviations xv Introduction 1 PART ONE: Sexual Complementarity 15 One: The Sexes in Cosmos and History 17 Two: Women in Civil Society 27 Three: The Theology of Consent 57 PART TWO: The Locrian Maidens at Troy 83 Four: The Locrian Maidens at Troy 85 EXCURSUS 151 Five: On Development 153 PART THREE: Epizephyrian Locri 201 Six: Epizephyrian Locri 203 Seven: Locrian Culture: Locri, Locris, Sparta (and Crete) 241 PART FOUR: Four Iconographic Essays 309 Eight: Nymphs 311 Nine: The Tortoise and the Knucklebone 318 Ten: The Ludovisi and Boston Thrones 332 Eleven: The Locrian Pinakes 346 EPILOGUE 387 Twelve: Pythagoras at the Locrian Frontier 389 Appendix: Ritual Prostitution at Locri 411 Bibliography 417 Index 435

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Book SynopsisThe first war between Jews and Romans (AD 66 to 74), which saw the fall of Jerusalem's temple (AD 70), is among the West's most consequential conflicts. This book revisits its context and causes, its phases and key players.Trade Review'No study of the Jewish-Roman war approaches this one in level of sophistication, thoroughness, sweep of erudition, provocative ideas, and originality.' Erich S. Gruen, University of California, Berkeley'This is an engagingly written, well-researched, well-argued, highly original, and provocative book. Steve Mason, by relentless examination of his literary and material evidence in essence turns upside down pretty much all received notions of 'what really happened' in the Jewish-Roman War prosecuted by Nero and then the Flavians. And as such he forces the reader to rethink the whole received historical narrative of Roman-era Judaea, the destruction of Jerusalem, and its much-studied aftermath.' T. Corey Brennan, Rutgers University, New Jersey'In A History of the Jewish War Steve Mason has produced, on the basis of his magisterial familiarity with the writings of Josephus and other contemporary sources, the Roman world, the nature of war and the historiography of war, and modern scholarly literature, and with an insistence upon the distinction between understanding sources and reconstructing human events, a highly readable and innovative history of an axial event of the first century.' Daniel R. Schwartz, Hebrew University of Jerusalem'Steve Mason's many perceptive arguments may or may not lead us to a new understanding of the reasons why so many Jews took up arms against Rome in 66. But his book provides a new starting point in the search for better answers to questions about a war that is not - and may never be - over.' Guy MacLean Rogers, Michigan War Studies Review'Massively researched and carefully argued, this wonderfully well-written study offers a veritable clinic in historiography, skillfully synthesizing discussions ranging from archeology and numismatics to chronology to political science and military theory. The text brims with the authority of an expert at the height of his powers and the result is not disappointing.' Recensions'Mason's book is a striking achievement - erudite, wide-ranging in its reference and original in its conclusions. Anyone who thought that they understood the first Jewish revolt and its causes will, after reading this book, have to be prepared to return to what they thought was familiar and think again.' Early Christianity'… Mason shuttles easily between inquiries into the [Jewish War] and Josephus' account of it. He is also a marvelous stylist, unafraid to deploy sarcasm, humor, and other tools not often used by scholars.' James Romm, The New York Review of BooksTable of ContentsPart I. Contexts: 1. A famous and unknown war; 2. Historical evidence: understanding Josephus' Judean War; 3. Parthian saviours, sieges, and morale: ancient warfare in human perspective; Part II. Investigations: 4. Why did they do it? Circumstances, conditions, and 'causes'; 5. Nero's war I: the 'blunder' of Cestius Gallus?; 6. Nero's war II: Flavians in Galilee; 7. Flavian war I: the education of Titus; 8. Flavian war II: coins, councils, and the siege of Jerusalem; 9. Machaerus and Masada: a tale of two fortresses.

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Book SynopsisPositioned at the boundary of traditional biblical studies, legal history, and literary theory, Deuteronomy and the Hermeneutics of Legal Innovation shows how the legislation of Deuteronomy reflects the struggle of its authors to renew late seventh century Judean society. Seeking to defend their revolutionary vision during the neo-Assyrian crisis, the reformers turned to earlier laws, even when they disagreed with them, and revised them in such a way as to lend authority to their new understanding of God''s will. Passages that other scholars have long viewed as redundant, contradictory, or displaced actually reflect the attempt by Deuteronomy''s authors to sanction their new religious aims before the legacy of the past. Drawing on ancient Near Eastern law and informed by the rich insights of classical and medieval Jewish commentary, Levinson provides an extended study of three key passages in the legal corpus: the unprecedented requirement for the centralisation of worship, the law transforming the old Passover into a pilgrimage festival, and the unit replacing traditional village justice with a professional judiciary. He demonstrates the profound impact of centralisation upon the structure and arrangement of the legal corpus, while providing a theoretical analysis of religious change and cultural renewal in ancient Israel. The book''s conclusion shows how the techniques of authorship developed in Deuteronomy provided a model for later Israelite and post- biblical literature. Integrating the most recent European research on the redaction of Deuteronomy with current American and Israeli scholarship, Levinson argues that biblical interpretation must attend to both the diachronic and the synchronic dimensions of the text. His study, which provides a new perspective on intertextuality, the history of authorship, and techniques of legal innovation in the ancient world, will engage pentateuchal critics and historians of Israelite religion, while reaching out toward current issues in literary theory and Critical Legal Studies.Trade ReviewIn my judgment it provides a better model than any previously developed for understanding the motivation and interpretative techniques that lie behind Deuteronomy. * John Barton, Journal of Religion *Through his detailed examination of texts, Levinson documents a revolution in ancient Israel's religious life and social history. * The Journal of Theological Studies *Table of Contents1. Textual Revision and Cultural Transformation: The Hermeneutics of Legal Innovation in Deuteronomy ; 2. The Innovation of Cultic Centralizaion in Deuteronomy 12 ; 3. The Transformation of Passover and Unleavened Bread in Deuteronomy 16 ; 4. The Transformation of Justice in Light of Centralizaion ; 5. The Revisionary Hermeneutics of Deuteronomy ; Bibliography ; Author Index ; Subject Index ; Index of Scriptural and Other Sources

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Book SynopsisOne of the principal characteristics of the European Neolithic is the development of monumentality in association with innovations in material culture and changes in subsistence from hunting and gathering to farming and pastoralism. The papers in this volume discuss the latest insights into why monumental architecture became an integral part of early farming societies in Europe and beyond. One of the topics is how we define monuments and how our arguments and recent research on temporality impacts on our interpretation of the Neolithic period. Different interpretations of Göbekli Tepe are examples of this discussion as well as our understanding of special landmarks such as flint mines.The latest evidence on the economic and paleoenvironmental context, carbon 14 dates as well as analytical methods are employed in illuminating the emergence of monumentalism in Neolithic Europe. Studies are taking place on a macro and micro scale in areas as diverse as Great Britain, Denmark, Sweden, Poland, Germany, the Dutch wetlands, Portugal and Malta involving a range of monuments from long barrows and megalithic tombs to roundels and enclosures. Transformation from a natural to a built environment by monumentalizing part of the landscape is discussed as well as changes in megalithic architecture in relation to shifts in the social structure. An ethnographic study of megaliths in Nagaland discuss monument building as an act of social construction. Other studies look into the role of monuments as expressions of cosmology and active loci of ceremonial performances. Also, a couple of papers analyse the social processes in the transformation of society in the aftermath of the initial boom in monument construction and the related changes in subsistence and social structure in northern Europe.The aim of the publication is to explore different theories about the relationship between monumentality and the Neolithic way of life through these studies encompassing a wide range of types of monuments over vast areas of Europe and beyond.Table of ContentsIntroduction. Gebauer, A. B., Sørensen, L., Teather, A. & A. C. Valera. List of contributors. List of content. Thoughts on Monumentalism Chapter. 1. Teather, A. Neolithic monumentality for the 21st Century. Origin of Monumentalism Chapter. 2. Watkins, T. Monumentality in Neolithic Southwest Asia: making memory in time and space Chapter. 3. Kinzel, M. and Clare, L. Monumental compared to what? A Perspective from Göbekli Tepe Chapter. 4. Hodder, I. From communal to segmentary: an alternative view of Neolithic ‘monuments’ in the Middle East. Comments on chapter 2 and 3 Chapter. 5. Jeunesse, Chr. Elite houses or specialised buildings? Some comments about the special buildings of Göbekli Tepe in relation to chapter 2 and 3 Chapter. 6. Response to comments by Ian Hodder and Christian Jeunesse by Trevor Watkins Chapter. 7. Response to comments by Ian Hodder and Christian Jeunesse by Lee Clare and Moriz Kinzel with notes on a potential Upper Mesopotamian “Late PPNA Hunter-Crisis” Monuments and social change Chapter. 8. Sørensen, L. Monuments and social stratification within the early Funnel Beaker Culture in South Scandinavia . Chapter. 9. Behrens, A. Do Hundreds of megalithic monuments signify a full Neolithic way of life? The establishment of Neolithic societies on Rügen Island, Germany Chapter. 10. Brozio, J. P. From hierarchies in balance to social imbalance - transformation processes in the later Funnel Beaker north societies in the western Baltic Sea region (3100-2900 BCE) Chapter. 11. Müller, J., J. P. Brozio, W. Dörfler and W. Kirleis Narratives of third millennium transformations: new biographies of Neolithic societies, landscapes and monuments Chapter. 12. Nobles, G. Settling the Monumental Issue in the Dutch Wetlands Chapter. 13. Wunderlich, M. Celebrating stones – Megalith building traditions among Angami-Naga, Northeast-India Chapter. 14. Wadskjær, A.V. & G. Hjortlund Megalithic structures and settlements in the Valley of Posic, Amazonas, Northern Peru Funerary monuments Chapter. 15. Larsson, L. Stones as Boundaries – Stones as Markers. A megalithic tomb in Southern Portugal Chapter. 16. Pospieszny, Ł., M. Jakubczak and G. Kiarszys Putting earthen long barrows back on map. Remarks about the Middle Neolithic monumentality of northern Poland Chapter. 17. Papiernik, P., R. Brzejszczak, D. Kacper Płaza, J. Wicha, and P. Wronecki In the search of the lost heritage. Non-invasive exploration of the monumental Funnel Beaker culture long barrows in the area of Wietrzychowice in central Poland Chapter. 18. Sheridan, A. and R. Schulting Making sense of Scottish Neolithic funerary monuments: tracing trajectories and understanding their rationale Chapter. 19. Gebauer, A. B. Group benefits? The story of a cluster of megalithic monuments in Danish Funnel Beaker society Enclosures and Landscapes Chapter. 20. Parkinson, E., S. Stoddart, C. Malone, C. Brogan and R. McLaughlin Storied Structures, Sustainability and Resilience in late Neolithic Malta: Excavations at the Santa Verna, Gozo Chapter. 21. Valera, A. C. Ephemeral and Cosmological Monumentality: the ‘strange’ ditched enclosures of Chalcolithic South Portugal Chapter. 22. Sanches, M. J. and A. M. Vale Connecting stories of the Neolithic in North-Eastern Portugal. Walled enclosures and their relationships with the genealogy of the landscape. Chapter. 23. Czerniak, L., A. Matuszewska, M. Dziewanowski, L. Pospieszny, M. Jakubczak and M. Szubski The Neolithic roundel and its social context on the furthest reaches of the Danubian World. Chapter. 24. Andersson, M. and M. Artursson, The living and the dead – the Early Neolithic monumental landscape of southwestern Scania, southern Sweden. Conclusion: Chapter. 25. Thomas, J. The Lives of Monuments and Monumentalising Life

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Book SynopsisWhen the First Emperor of China died 2,000 years ago, he was buried in a giant tomb. In 1974, this tomb was discovered along with an army of over 6,000 terracotta warriors. Discover the army for yourself and the reason they were buried with the Emperor.Gold/Band 9 fiction offers developing readers literary language and stories with distinctive characters.Text type: An information bookCurriculum links: History: How are our toys different from those in the past; Art and Design: What is sculpture?This book has been quizzed for Accelerated Reader.

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Book SynopsisBy Steppe, Desert, and Ocean is nothing less than the story of how humans first started building the globalized world we know today. Set on a huge continental stage, from Europe to China, it is a tale covering over 10,000 years, from the origins of farming around 9000 BC to the expansion of the Mongols in the thirteenth century AD. An unashamedly ''big history'', it charts the development of European, Near Eastern, and Chinese civilizations and the growing links between them by way of the Indian Ocean, the silk Roads, and the great steppe corridor (which crucially allowed horse riders to travel from Mongolia to the Great Hungarian Plain within a year). Along the way, it is also the story of the rise and fall of empires, the development of maritime trade, and the shattering impact of predatory nomads on their urban neighbours. Above all, as this immense historical panorama unfolds, we begin to see in clearer focus those basic underlying factors - the acquisitive nature of humanity, the differing environments in which people live, and the dislocating effect of even slight climatic variation - which have driven change throughout the ages, and which help us better understand our world today.Trade Review[This book] demonstrates how wrong Kipling was: East may be East and West may be West, but over the millennia the twain have repeatedly met. * Tom Holland, Books of the Year 2015, History Today *the author's modest, mellifluous style, and his honed skill for storytelling, make the read pleasurable and stimulating, and - ven at 500 pages - hard to put down. * Mike Pitts, British Archaeology *By Steppe is a masterpiece of multidisciplinary historical narrative ... Beautifully and clearly written, also lavishly illustrated, this is a work of astounding learning and succinct authority by one of the best archaeologists in the world. He happens also to be a skilled storyteller. Revel in the wonderful book's delights, for the archaeological blank is no longer. You won't regret it. * Prof Brian Fagan, Current World Archaeology *[Sir Barry Cunliffe] is our greatest living archaeologist - and writer on the subject. Who else could have told this epic 10,000-year-old tale? ... Written in his usual clear, authoritative, elegant style not a word is wasted. What a pleasure it is to read ancient history written in English as she should be spoken. * Lindsay Fulcher, Minerva *Cunliffe is a master storyteller, explaining his carefully researched conclusions through polished language and apropos turns of phrase that make his book a breeze despite its depth and breadth. * Publishers Weekly *This magnificent study should inspire many more journeys of discovery. * Andy Ffrench, The Oxford Times *In tracing the rise of Eurasian civilization, Cunliffe makes clear that history is much more than just one thing after another. As migrations and conquests pile up in the book, it becomes apparent that a dizzying array of forces interacted to produce the modern world. * Science News *Table of Contents1: The Land and the People 2: The Domestication of Eurasia, 10,000-5000 BC 3: Horses and Copper: the Centrality of the Steppe, 5000-2500 BC 4: The Opening of the Eurasian Steppe, 2500-1600 BC 5: Nomads and Empires: The First Confrontations, 1600-6000 BC 6: Learning from Each Other: Interaction along the Interface, 600-250 BC 7: The Continent Connected, 250 BC-AD 250 8: The Age of Perpetual War, AD 250-650 9: The Beginning of a New World Order, AD 650-840 10: The Disintegration of Empires, AD 840-1150 11: The Steppe Triumphant, AD 1150-1300 12: Looking Backwards, Looking Forwards Guide to Further Reading Illustration Sources Index

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Book SynopsisAn ambitious yet accessible account of Britainâs Neolithic Revolution that examines how the early agricultural settlers on our island shaped their landscape â and thus our own.Trade Review'Illuminating … As layered as the strata of an archaeological dig, this is a moving portrait of a people at a cultural and technological tipping point' - Nature'Colourful and lively writing and an eye to current issues and idioms play their part … This is first-person scholarship at its most humane' - Literary Review'[Miles] presents his scholarly findings with glints of good-humoured individuality which make his book pleasantly readable, even by lay persons' - Spectator'David Miles takes this archetypal artefact as a launchpad to explore a vast sweep of prehistory[…] with absorbing detail and an amiable turn of phrase … this new edition includes a thought-provoking afterword that brings the story up to date' - Current ArchaeologyTable of ContentsPreface • Prologue: A gift from the past • Part One: The Emergence of Humans • Part Two: The First Farmers • Part Three: Crossing the Water to Britain

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Book SynopsisAlcibiades was one of the most dazzling figures of Athens's Golden Age. A friend of Socrates, he was spectacularly rich, bewitchingly handsome and charismatic, a skilled general, and a ruthless politician. He was also a serial traitor. David Stuttard tells a spellbinding story of Alcibiades's life and the turbulent world he set out to conquer.Trade ReviewAlcibiades will always be remembered as one of the slipperiest statesmen in history…Nemesis is a rich and rewarding biography, as thorough as it is bracing and as measured as it is entertaining. Stuttard is to be praised for capturing the complexity of both the man and the world he lived in with such sensitivity and clarity. -- Daisy Dunn * New Criterion *Stuttard is skilled at drawing together background information that adds context to his characters’ actions, seamlessly smuggling exposition of Greek and Persian society and customs into his narrative. Nemesis demonstrates how readable and entertaining popular narrative ancient history can be. -- Carol Atack * Times Literary Supplement *Stuttard’s new life of Alcibiades is a lively, fast-paced and eminently readable attempt to bring the insolent young monster back to life. -- Peter Thonemann * Literary Review *[A] robust new biography of Alcibiades. -- Thomas W. Hodgkinson * Spectator *It’s quite the tale, told with rare gusto and precision by David Stuttard—an astute inquisitor of the conflicting sources with an eye for the telling anecdote. -- Jonathan Wright * Catholic Herald *Stuttard’s work is laudable especially in its depth and its use of available sources. -- Samuel Ortencio Flores * Bryn Mawr Classical Review *As an entertaining biography of a scoundrel, Nemesis is superb…Stuttard eloquently tells the reader of the rise and fall of a man and his city, who both angered the gods through their acts and attitudes. * Choice *No one before has come anything like as near as David Stuttard to penetrating the inner recesses of the mainsprings of Alcibiades’ often outrageous, sometimes statesmanlike, always commanding public performances. Dr. Stuttard’s mastery of the ancient sources and his narrative exposition are dazzling throughout, bringing to singing life the mercurial, magnetic, passionate, and persuasive personality of this still hugely controversial Athenian aristocrat of the fifth century BC. -- Paul Cartledge, author of Democracy: A LifeDavid Stuttard is a recognized expert at making the ancient Greek world come alive for modern audiences. In Nemesis, he conveys the horror and the glory of the years of Athens’ greatness and decline. Central to these processes was the flamboyant Alcibiades, and Stuttard, wearing his learning lightly, gives us a hugely entertaining biography that is simultaneously an exciting adventure story and a pithy history of the period. -- Robin Waterfield, author of Creators, Conquerors, and Citizens: A History of Ancient GreeceStuttard has offered us a colorful, lively, engaging analysis of one of ancient Greece’s most fascinating and slippery characters: Alcibiades. With deft skill, Stuttard navigates the ancient sources to offer the portrait not simply of a hero, or a villain, but of a man with equal talents and failings who managed to captivate the attention of the ancient world. -- Michael Scott, author of Ancient Worlds: An Epic History of East and West

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Book SynopsisThe ink writing-tablets, first indentified at Roman Vindolanda, just south of Hadrian''s Wall, in 1973, revealed a hitherto unknown papyrus-substitute, thin leaves of wood for day-to-day book-keeping and letters. Dating mostly from the years AD 90-125 (Hadrian''s Wall was begun in 122), these unique tablets represent the largest collection of original Roman letters ever found. The book paints a detailed picture of two Roman auxilary regiments, the 9th Cohort of Batavians and the 1st Cohort of Tungrians. Among the 400 named officers and personnel, the Batavian prefect Flavius Cerialis features prominently, together with his wife Sulpicia Lepidina, who received the now famous birthday party invitation from her friend Claudia Severa, wife of Cerialis'' colleague and fellow hunting enthusiast Aelius Brocchus. In addition to covering officers and familes, friends and colleagues, this book brings to life the ordinary soldiers and their names and duties; military routine, duty-reports, leave

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Book SynopsisCarpe diem 'eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die!' is a prominent motif throughout ancient literature and beyond. This wide-ranging, interdisciplinary study reveals its significance in ancient poetry and art, especially in creating the almost magical impression that something is happening here and now.Table of Contents1. The archaeology of Carpe Diem: Sardanapallus, monuments, epigrams, and false beginnings; 2. A moveable feast: Wine storage-places as drinkable calendars in Horace; 3. Gathering leaves: Horace, choice of words, cyclical time, and the production of presence; 4. The pleasure of images: Epigrams and objects 100 ʙᴄ – ᴀᴅ 100; 5. As is the generation of leaves, so are the generations of cows, mice, and gigolos…: Excerpe Diem! or excerpts of 'Carpe Diem'.

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