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Aspects of Roman History 82BC–AD14: A Source-based Approach
By Mark Everson Davies, Hilary Swain. 2010
Aspects of Roman History 82BC–AD14 examines the political and military history of Rome and its empire in the Ciceronian and…
Augustan ages. It is an indispensable introduction to this central period of Roman History for all students of Roman history, from pre-university to undergraduate level. This is the first book since H.H. Scullard’s From the Gracchi to Nero, published two generations ago, to offer a full introductory account of one of the most compelling and vital periods in the history of Europe. Aspects of Roman History 82BC–AD14: brings to life the great figures of Pompey, Caesar, Antony, Cleopatra and Augustus, and explores how power was gained, used and abused covers the lives of women and slaves, the running of the empire and the lives of provincials, and religion, culture and propaganda offers both a survey of the main topics and a detailed narrative through the close examination of sources introduces students to the problems of interpreting evidence, and helps develop the knowledge and skills needed to further the study of ancient history.Divining the Etruscan World
By Jean Macintosh Turfa. 2012
The Etruscan Brontoscopic Calendar is a rare document of omens foretold by thunder. It long lay hidden, embedded in a…
Greek translation within a Byzantine treatise from the age of Justinian. The first complete English translation of the Brontoscopic Calendar, this book provides an understanding of Etruscan Iron Age society as revealed through the ancient text, especially the Etruscans' concerns regarding the environment, food, health, and disease. Jean MacIntosh Turfa also analyzes the ancient Near Eastern sources of the Calendar and the subjects of its predictions, thereby creating a picture of the complexity of Etruscan society reaching back the before the advent of writing and the recording of the calendar.Greek Rational Medicine: Philosophy and Medicine from Alcmaeon to the Alexandrians
By James Longrigg. 1993
The ancient Greek medical thinkers were profoundly influenced by Ionian natural philosophy. This philosophy caused them to adopt a radically…
new attitude towards disease and healing. James Longrigg shows how their rational attitudes ultimately resulted in levels of sophistication largely unsurpassed until the Renaissance. He examines the important relationship between philosophy and medicine in ancient Greece and beyond, and reveals its significance for contemporary western practice and theory.The Uses of Greek Mythology
By Ken Dowden. 1992
In an innovative sequence of topics, Ken Dowden explores the uses Greeks made of myth and the uses to which…
we can put myth in recovering the richness of their culture. Most aspects of Greek life and history - including war, religion and sexuality - which are discernable through myth, as well as most modern approaches, are given a context in a book which is designed to be useful, accessible and stimulating.Greek and Roman Technology: Annotated Translations of Greek and Latin Texts and Documents
By John P Oleson, John W Humphrey, Milo Nikolic, Andrew N Sherwood. 1997
In this volume the authors translate and annotate key passages from ancient authors to provide a history and an analysis…
of the origins and development of technology. Among the topics covered are:* energy* basic mechanical devices* agriculture* food processing and diet* mining and metallurgy* construction and hydraulic engineering* household industry* transport and trade* military technology.The sourcebook presents 150 ancient authors and a diverse range of literary genres, such as, the encyclopedic Natural Histories of Pliny the Elder, the poetry of Homer and Hesiod, the philosophy of Plato, Aristotle and Lucretius and the agricultural treatise of Varro.Humphrey, Oleson and Sherwood provide a comprehensive and accessible collection of rich and varied sources to illustrate and elucidate the beginnings of technology. Glossaries of technological terminology, indices of authors and subjects, introductions outlining the general significance of the evidence, notes to explain the specific details, and a recent bibliography make this volume a valuable research and teaching tool.Greek Tragic Theatre (Understanding the Ancient World)
By Rush Rehm. 1993
Emphasizing the political nature of Greek tragedy, as theatre of, by and for the polis, Rush Rehm characterizes Athens as…
a performance culture; one in which the theatre stood alongside other public forums as a place to confront matters of import. In treating the various social, religious and practical aspects of tragic production, he shows how these elements promoted a vision of the theatre as integral to the life of the city - a theatre focussed on the audience.The Cambridge Companion to the Roman Historians
By Andrew Feldherr. 2009
No field of Latin literature has been more transformed over the last couple of decades than that of the Roman…
historians. Narratology, a new receptiveness to intertextuality, and a re-thinking of the relationship between literature and its political contexts have ensured that the works of historians such as Livy, Sallust, and Tacitus will be read as texts with the same interest and sophistication as they are used as sources. In this 2009 book, topics central to the entire tradition, such as conceptions of time, characterization, and depictions of politics and the gods, are treated synoptically, while other essays highlight the works of less familiar historians, such as Curtius Rufus and Ammianus Marcellinus. A final section focuses on the rich reception history of Roman historiography, from the ancient Greek historians of Rome to the twentieth century. An appendix offers a chronological list of the ancient historians of Rome.Reading Roman Friendship
By Craig A. Williams. 2006
This book invites us to approach friendship not as something that simply is, but as something performed in and through…
language. Roman friendship is read across a wide spectrum of Latin texts, from Catullus' poetry to Petronius' Satyricon to the philosophical writings of Cicero and Seneca, from letters exchanged by the Emperor Marcus Aurelius and his beloved teacher Fronto, to those written by men and women at an outpost in northern Britain. One of the most innovative features of this study is the equal attention it pays to Latin literature and to inscriptions carved in stone across the Roman Empire. What emerges is a richly varied and perhaps surprising picture. Hundreds of epitaphs, commissioned by men and women, citizens and slaves, record the commemoration of friends, which is of equal importance to understanding Roman friendship as Cicero's influential essay De amicitia.The Limits of Altruism in Democratic Athens
By Matthew Christ. 2012
Athenians in the classical period (508-322 BC) were drawn to an image of themselves as a compassionate and generous people…
who rushed to the aid of others in distress, both at home and abroad. What relation does this image bear to actual Athenian behavior? This book argues that Athenians felt little pressure as individuals to help fellow citizens whom they did not know. Democratic ideology called on citizens to refrain from harming one another rather than to engage in mutual support, and emphasized the importance of the helping relationship between citizen and city rather than among individual citizens. If the obligation of Athenians to help fellow citizens was fairly tenuous, all the more so was their responsibility to intervene to assist the peoples of other states; a distinct pragmatism prevailed in the city's decisions concerning intervention abroad.Genesis: Procreation and the Politics of Identity
By Mark G. Brett. 2000
Combining insights from social and literary theory as well as traditional historical studies, Mark Brett argues that the first book…
of the Bible can be read as resistance literature.Placing the theological text firmly within its socio-political context, he shows that the editors of Genesis were directly engaged with contemporary issues, especially the nature of an authentic community, and that the book was designed to undermine the ethnocentism of the imperial governors of the Persian period (fifth century BCE).Sport and Democracy in the Ancient and Modern Worlds
By Paul Christesen. 1829
This book explores the relationship between sport and democratization. Drawing on sociological and historical methodologies, it provides a framework for…
understanding how sport affects the level of egalitarianism in the society in which it is played. The author distinguishes between horizontal sport, which embodies and fosters egalitarian relations, and vertical sport, which embodies and fosters hierarchical relations. Christesen also differentiates between societies in which sport is played and watched on a mass scale and those in which it is an ancillary activity. Using ancient Greece and nineteenth-century Britain as case studies, Christesen analyzes how these variables interact and finds that horizontal mass sport has the capacity to both promote and inhibit democratization at a societal level. He concludes that horizontal mass sport tends to reinforce and extend democratization.Thucydides and the Modern World
By Neville Morley, Katherine Harloe. 2007
The ancient Greek historian Thucydides has had an enormous impact on modern historiography, political theory, international relations and strategic studies,…
but this influence has never been properly studied. This book brings together leading scholars from a range of disciplines to explore the different facets of Thucydides' modern reception and influence, from the birth of political theory in Renaissance Europe to the rise of scientific history in nineteenth-century Germany and the triumph of 'realism' in twentieth-century international relations theory. Its chapters consider the different national and disciplinary traditions of reading and citing Thucydides, but also highlight common themes and questions; in particular, the variety of images of the historian produced by his modern readers: the scientific historian or the artful rhetorician, the brilliant analyst of society and politics or the great narrator of political and military events, the man of experience and affairs or the man of contemplation and reflection.The Slave in Greece and Rome
By Jean Andreau, Raymond Descat. 2006
Jean Andreau and Raymond Descat break new ground in this comparative history of slavery in Greece and Rome. Focusing on…
slaves’ economic role in society, their crucial contributions to Greek and Roman culture, and their daily and family lives, the authors examine the different ways in which slavery evolved in the two cultures. Accessible to both scholars and students, this book provides a detailed overview of the ancient evidence and the modern debates surrounding the vast and largely invisible populations of enslaved peoples in the classical world.Roman Tragedy
By Anthony J. Boyle. 2006
The first detailed cultural and theatrical history of a major literary form, this landmark introduction examines Roman tragedy and its…
place at the centre of Rome’s cultural and political life. Analyzing the work of such names as Ennius, Pacuvius and Accius, as well as Seneca and his post-Neronian successors, Anthony J. Boyle delves into detailed discussion on every Roman tragedian whose work survives in substance today. Roman Tragedy examines: the history of Roman tragic techniques and conventions the history of generic form and change the debt that Rome owes to Greece, and text owes to text the birth, development and death of Roman tragedy in the context of the cities evolving, institutions, ideologies and political and social practices tragedy proper and the historical drama (fabula praetexta), which the Romans allied to tragedy. With parallel English translations of Latin quotations, this seminal work not only provides an invaluable resource for students of theatre, Roman political history and cultural history, but it is also accessible to all interested in the social dynamics of writing, spectacle, ideology and power.Luke's Gospel (New Testament Readings)
By Jonathan Knight. 1998
Luke's Gospel provides a comprehensive and schematic reading of Luke's Gospel, one of the most important books detailing the life…
and works of Christ, in six main parts. Knight introduces the Gospel and the narrative theory on which the Gospel rests. He offers a detailed, chapter-by-chapter exposition of the Gospel and also alternative perspectives, such as feminism and deconstruction. He considers the principal motifs of the Gospel, particularly the theme of the temple, which has been previously overlooked in Luke scholarship, arguing that Jesus pronounces the present temple forsaken by God to introduce himself as the cornerstone of the eschatological temple. Finally, he examines earlier readings of Luke's Gospel.Jonathan Knight presents an accessible and jargon-free introduction to the Gospel and makes a valuable addition to the New Testament Readings series.Sexuality in Greek and Roman Literature and Society: A Sourcebook (Routledge Sourcebooks for the Ancient World)
By Terry Ryan, Marguerite Johnson. 2005
This Sourcebook contains numerous original translations of ancient poetry, inscriptions and documents, all of which illuminate the multifaceted nature of…
sexuality in antiquity.The detailed introduction provides full social and historical context for the sources, and guides students on how to use the material most effectively. Themes such as marriage, prostitution and same-sex attraction are presented comparatively, with material from the Greek and Roman worlds shown side by side. This approach allows readers to interpret the written records with a full awareness of the different context of these separate but related societies. Commentaries are provided throughout, focusing on vocabulary and social and historical context.This is the first major sourcebook on ancient sexuality; it will be of particular use on related courses in classics, ancient history and gender studies.The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Constantine
By Noel Lenski. 2006
The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Constantine offers students a comprehensive one-volume survey of this pivotal emperor and his…
times. Richly illustrated and designed as a readable survey accessible to all audiences, it also achieves a level of scholarly sophistication and a freshness of interpretation that will be welcomed by experts. The volume is divided into five sections that examine political history, religion, social and economic history, art and foreign relations during the reign of Constantine, who steered the Roman Empire on a course parallel with his own personal development. Each chapter examines the intimate interplay between emperor and empire, and between a powerful personality and his world. Collectively, they show how both were mutually affected in ways that shaped the world of Late Antiquity and even affect our own world today. This edition has been revised, the notes and bibliography have been updated and a new preface has been added.The Gift of Correspondence in Classical Rome
By Amanda Wilcox. 1989
Amanda Wilcox offers an innovative approach to two major collections of Roman letters—Cicero’sAd Familiaresand Seneca’sMoral Epistles—informed by modern cross-cultural theories…
of gift-giving. By viewing letters and the practice of correspondence as a species of gift exchange, Wilcox provides a nuanced analysis of neglected and misunderstood aspects of Roman epistolary rhetoric and the social dynamics of friendship in Cicero’s correspondence. Turning to Seneca, she shows that he both inherited and reacted against Cicero’s euphemistic rhetoric and social practices, and she analyzes how Seneca transformed the rhetoric of his own letters from an instrument of social negotiation into an idiom for ethical philosophy and self-reflection. Though Cicero and Seneca are often viewed as a study in contrasts, Wilcox extensively compares their letters, underscoring Cicero’s significant influence on Seneca as a prose stylist, philosopher, and public figure.The Cambridge Companion to the Age of pericles
By Loren J. Samons. 2007
Mid-fifth-century Athens saw the development of the Athenian empire, the radicalization of Athenian democracy through the empowerment of poorer citizens,…
the adornment of the city through a massive and expensive building program, the classical age of Athenian tragedy, the assembly of intellectuals offering novel approaches to philosophical and scientific issues, and the end of the Spartan-Athenian alliance against Persia and the beginning of open hostilities between the two greatest powers of ancient Greece. The Athenian statesman Pericles both fostered and supported many of these developments. Although it is no longer fashionable to view Periclean Athens as a social or cultural paradigm, study of the history, society, art, and literature of mid-fifth-century Athens remains central to any understanding of Greek history. This collection of essays reveal the political, religious, economic, social, artistic, literary, intellectual, and military infrastructure that made the Age of Pericles possible.