This beautifully illustrated new biography of Cleopatra draws on literary, archaeological, and art historical evidence to paint an intimate and compelling portrait of the most famous Queen of Egypt.
Deconstructs the image of Cleopatra to uncover the complex historical figure behind the myth
Examines Greek, Roman, and Egyptian representations of Cleopatra
Considers how she was viewed by her contemporaries and how she presented herself
Incorporates the author's recent field work at a temple of Cleopatra in Alexandria
Beautifully illustrated with over 40 images

This study focuses on the metaphysics of the great Arabic philosopher Avicenna (or Ibn Sina, d. 1037 C.E.). More specifically, it delves into Avicenna's theory of quiddity or essence, a topic which seized the attention of thinkers both during the medieval and modern periods. Building on recent contributions in Avicennian studies, this book proposes a new and comprehensive interpretation of Avicenna's theory of 'the pure quiddity' (also known as 'the quiddity in itself') and of its ontology. The study provides a careful philological analysis of key passages gleaned from the primary sources in Arabic and a close philosophical contextualization of Avicenna's doctrines in light of the legacy of ancient Greek philosophy in Islam and the early development of Arabic philosophy (falsafah) and theology (kalam). The study pays particular attention to how Avicenna's theory of quiddity relates to the ancient Greek philosophical discussion about the universals or common things and Mu'tazilite ontology. Its main thesis is that Avicenna articulated a sophisticated doctrine of the ontology of essence in light of Greek and Bahshamite sources, which decisively shaped subsequent intellectual history in Islam and the Latin West.

Jon D. Mikalson examines how Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, and other Greek philosophers described, interpreted, criticized, and utilized the components and concepts of the religion of the people of their time - practices such as sacrifice, prayer, dedications, and divination. The chief concepts involved are those of piety and impiety, and after a thorough analysis of the philosophical texts Mikalson offers a refined definition of Greek piety, dividing it into its two constituent elements of proper respect' for the gods and religious correctness'. He concludes with a demonstration of the benevolence of the gods in the philosophical tradition, linking it to the expectation of that benevolence evinced by popular religion.

In Legendary Rivals Jaclyn Neel argues for a new interpretation of the foundation myths of Rome. Instead of a negative portrayal of the city's early history, these tales offer a didactic paradigm of the correct way to engage in competition. Accounts from the triumviral period stress the dysfunctional nature of the city's foundation to capture the memory of Rome's civil wars. Republican evidence suggests a different emphasis. Through diachronic analyses of the tales of Romulus and Remus, Amulius and Numitor, Brutus and Collatinus, and Camillus and Manlius Capitolinus, Neel shows that Romans of the Republic and early Principate would have seen these stories as examples of competition that pushed the bounds of propriety.

"On Weather Signs," traditionally ascribed to Theophrastus, contains the most complete list of such signs in antiquity and it was, in this or some very similar form, consulted by Aratus, Vergil (in "Georgics" I), and Pliny the Elder, as well as by many other authors throughout the Byzantine period. This edition is the first to take account of all the manuscripts and the commentary, the first in over a century, is on a far grander scale than earlier ones by Schneider (1818-21) and Wood (1894), listing almost all parallel texts for each sign. The introduction places the work in the context of its genre and for the first time lays out the details of its manuscript tradition.

Building on the important work by Emily A. Hemelrijk, this volume endeavours to bring ancient women out of the domestic sphere and to examine their presence and activities in the public domain, for example as rulers, patrons, priestesses, wives, athletes and pilgrims. Covering the period 500 BCE to 650 CE and ranging across the Mediterranean and beyond, it fruitfully employs a great variety of source types and thematic approaches to argue that women in the ancient world were active in many parts of the public domain, including the civic, the religious and at times even the political and military spheres.

This volume covers the publication year 1984, with occasional additions from previous year which were missed in earlier volumes and from studies after 1984 but pertaining to material from 1984.

Retraction Notice: Postscript (March, 2021): The Publisher notifies the readers that Chapter 2 of this volume (Dirk Obbink, "Ten Poems of Sappho: Provenance, Authenticity, and Text of the New Sappho Papyri") has been retracted. For more information please view the statement by the editors in the Retraction Notice in the front matter of this volume and on page 9 of the Introduction. The reasons for this retraction include the serious doubts that have been raised in the years following the publication of this edited volume about the provenance of the newest Sappho papyri (P. Sapph. Obbink and P GC. inv.105). In The Newest Sappho Anton Bierl and Andre Lardinois have edited 21 papers of world-renowned Sappho scholars dealing with the new papyrus fragments of Sappho that were published in 2014. This set of papyrus fragments, the greatest find of Sappho fragments since the beginning of the 20th century, provides significant new readings and additions to five previously known songs of Sappho (frs. 5, 9, 16, 17 and 18), as well as the remains of four previously unknown songs, including the new Brothers Song and the Kypris Song. The contributors discuss the content of these poems as well as the consequence they have for our understanding of Sappho's life and work.

This volume offers an expansive approach to interactions between Romans and those beyond the borders of Rome. The range of papers included here is wide, both in terms of subject matter and with respect to approach. That said, a number of important themes bind the essays. Who is an insider, and who the outsider? How were these categories of person, or identity, fashioned and/or recognized in antiquity? How shall we recognize them now? What are the categories, or standards, for measuring or determining inside and outside in the Roman world? And then, of course, what are the repercussions when inside and outside come into contact? What happens when the outside is in, or the inside out?

Have land reform movements ever managed to redistribute wealth, to encourage economic development, to improve standards of living, to ensure political stability? This book answers in the negative. Drawing upon land reform movements over twenty-six centuries of history, Tuma develops a hypothesis about land tenure reform that should enable other scholars to evaluate the success of past reform movements and to see the trends of present and future ones more clearly. In the first part of the study, a general definition of land tenure reform is advanced. Starting with the ordinary meaning of reform as "a redistribution of land to benefit the small farmer or landless agricultural worker," this definition is modified so as to take into account various forms of tenure of title to land, patterns of cultivation, terms of holding, and scale of operation. The middle section of the book presents a comparative study of different types of land reform movements. Eight major "case histories" are considered--the Greek reforms of Solon and Pisistratus in the sixth century B.C.; the Roman reforms of the Gracchi in the second century B.C.; the English tenure changes covering the commutations of the Middle Ages, and the enclosures of the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries; the reforms accompanying the French Revolution; the three Russian reforms: the emancipation of 1861, the Stolypin reforms of 1906 - 1911, and the Soviet reform beginning in 1917; the Mexican reform after the 1910 revolution; the Japanese reform after the Second World War; and the Egyptian reform starting in 1952. In sum, the book relates the land reform movements of past centuries to those now in progress in underdeveloped countries. It argues that the land reforms of the last two decades have dealt with symptoms rather than causes, have affected only a small percentage of either the population or the cultivable area, and warns that even if high concentrations of the land-holdings are broken down, reconcentration is likely to recur unless strong preventive measures are taken. This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press's mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1965.

In The Socio-economic Organisation of the Urartian Kingdom, Ali Cifci presents a detailed study of the life of the highland communities of eastern Anatolia, Armenia and north-west Iran between the 9th and 6th centuries BC. In doing so, the author uses archaeological excavations, surveys, and textual evidence from both Urartian and Assyrian sources, as well as original ethnographic observations, within the context of the geographical setting of the Urartu Kingdom. This book investigates various aspects of the Urartian Kingdom from its economic resources and the movement of commodities (agriculture, animal husbandry, metallurgy, trade, etc.) to the management of those resources and the administrative organisation of the state. This includes the Urartian concept of kingship and the king's role in administration, construction, the division of the kingdom, as well as the income generated by warfare. "There are several key philological and archaeological works that propel the field of Urartian studies and provide dialogue partners for Urartologists and historians of Anatolia and the ancient Near East...Ali Cifci's The Socio-Economic Organisation of the Urartian Kingdom can be included as a partner in dialogue when researching Urartu and Iron Age Anatolian archaeology..." Selim Ferruh Adali, Social Sciences University of Ankara, in Bryn Mawr Classical Review 2018.07.22.

The Syriac treatise published in the present volume is in many respects a unique text. Though it has been preserved anonymously, there remains little doubt that it belongs to Porphyry of Tyre. Accordingly, it enlarges our knowledge of the views of the most famous disciple of Plotinus. The text is an important witness to Platonist discussions on First Principles and on Plato's concept of Prime Matter in the Timaeus. It contains extensive quotations from Atticus, Severus, and Boethus. This text thus provides us with new textual witnesses to these philosophers, whose legacy remains very poorly attested and little known. Additionally, the treatise is a rare example of a Platonist work preserved in the Syriac language. The Syriac reception of Plato and Platonic teachings has left rather sparse textual traces, and the question of what precisely Syriac Christians knew about Plato and his philosophy remains a debated issue. The treatise provides evidence for the close acquaintance of Syriac scholars with Platonic cosmology and with philosophical commentaries on Plato's Timaeus.

This is an open access title available under the terms of a CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 International licence. It is free to read at Oxford Scholarship Online and offered as a free PDF download from OUP and selected open access locations. The Republic in Danger offers a new interpretation of Roman political history for the years 6 BC to AD 16, focusing especially on the rise of Tiberius Caesar and his succession to Augustus, the founder of the Principate. The volume proposes a new and compelling model for understanding the end of Augustus' reign and the succession of Tiberius. While Tiberius' rise to supreme power was at the expense of Augustus' grandsons, who were all dead by the time Augustus was laid to rest, their supporters remained unconvinced that life was possible under the rule of Tiberius. The result was an alliance between the enemies of Tiberius and M. Scribonius Drusus Libo. Drusus Libo, an aristocrat connected to the house of the Caesar, committed suicide in AD 16 while on trial for treason. Pettinger argues that Drusus Libo's prosecution was due to his alliance with Tiberius' enemies who were planning to destroy his government and replace tyranny with republican democracy. Pettinger offers a comprehensive analysis of the struggle between Tiberius and the supporters of Augustus' grandsons, which has repercussions for our understanding of the creation of the Principate at Rome.

The essays in this volume address central problems in the development of Roman imperialism in the third and second century BC. Published in honour of the distinguished Oxford academic Peter Derow, they follow some of his main interests: the author Polybius, the characteristics of Roman power and imperial ambition, and the mechanisms used by Rome in creating and sustaining an empire in the east. Written by a distinguished group of international historians, all of whom were taught by Derow, the volume constitutes a new and distinctive contribution to the history of this centrally important period, as well as a major advance in the study of Polybius as a writer. In addition, the volume looks at the way Rome absorbed religions from the east, and at Hellenistic artistic culture. It also sheds new light on the important region of Illyria on the Adriatic Coast, which played a key part in Rome's rise to power. Archaeological, epigraphic, and textual evidence are brought together to create a sustained argument for Rome's determined and systematic pursuit of power.

Camels are first mentioned in the Bible as the movable property of Abraham. During the early monarchy, they feature prominently as long-distance mounts for the Queen of Sheba, and almost a millennium later, the Gospels tell us about the impossibility of a camel passing through a needle's eye. Given the limited extrabiblical evidence for camels before circa 1000 BCE, a thorough investigation of the spatio-temporal history of the camel in the ancient Near and Middle East is necessary to understand their early appearance in the Hebrew Bible. Camels in the Biblical World is a two-part study that charts the cultural trajectories of two domestic species-the two-humped or Bactrian camel (Camelus bactrianus) and the one-humped or Arabian camel (Camelus dromedarius)-from the fourth through first millennium BCE and up to the first century CE. Drawing on archaeological camel remains, iconography, inscriptions, and other text sources, the first part reappraises the published data on the species' domestication and early exploitation in their respective regions of origin. The second part takes a critical look at the various references to camels in the Hebrew Bible and the Gospels, providing a detailed philological analysis of each text and referring to archaeological data and zoological observations whenever appropriate. A state-of-the-art evaluation of the cultural history of the camel and its role in the biblical world, this volume brings the humanities into dialogue with the natural sciences. The novel insights here serve scholars in disciplines as diverse as biblical studies, (zoo)archaeology, history, and philology.

The ancient city of Rome was the site of daily activities as well as famous historical events. It was not merely a backdrop, but rather an active part of the experiences of its inhabitants, shaping their actions and infusing them with meaning. During each period in Rome's imperial history, her emperors also used the city as a canvas to be painted on, transforming it according to their own ideals or ambitions. Rather than being organized by sites or monuments, Rome: A Sourcebook on the Ancient City is divided into thematic chapters. At the intersection of topography and socio-cultural history, this volume examines the cultural and social significance of the sites of ancient Rome from the end of the Republic in the age of Cicero and Julius Caesar, to the reign of Constantine. Drawing on literary and historical sources, this is not simply a tour of the baths and taverns, the amphitheatres and temples of imperial Rome but rather a journey through the city that is fully integrated with Roman society.

This informative and enjoyable book surveys many aspects of the personal and emotional lives and belief systems of the ancient Greeks, focusing on such issues as familial life, religious piety, and ethnic identity. This work explores various aspects of ancient Greek personal and emotional lives, beginning with their understandings of their own bodies, individual and personal relationships, and ending with their feelings about religion and the afterlife. It covers ancient Greek culture from the early Archaic period in the 8th century BCE through the Late Classical period in the 4th century BCE. Readers will be fascinated to learn what the Greeks thought about the gods, physical deformity, citizenship, nymphs, goats, hospitality, and sexual relations that would be considered incest by modern standards. The content of the book provides an intimate sense of what the ancient Greeks were actually like, connecting ancient experiences to present-day culture. The chapters span a wide range of topics, including the human body, family and societal relationships, city life, the world as they knew it, and religious belief. The author draws extensively on primary sources to allow the reader to "hear" the Greeks speak for themselves and presents evidence from literature, art, and architecture in order to depict the ancient Greeks as living, breathing, thinking, and feeling people. Provides an unprecedented survey of ancient Greeks that describes the full scope of the personal and emotional lives of the actual people who gave rise to Greek laws, literature, and culture Reconstructs the everyday, emotional experiences of individuals in the ancient world and depicts the ways in which details of private life affected the individual's world view Covers all regions inhabited by the Greeks from the Archaic through the Classical periods, including the Greek mainland and islands, western Turkey, the Black Sea, North Africa, Sicily, and southern Italy

How have the goddesses of ancient myth survived, prevalent even now as literary and cultural icons? How do allegory, symbolic interpretation, and political context transform the goddess from her regional and individual identity into a goddess of philosophy and literature? Emilie Kutash explores these questions, beginning from the premise that cultural memory, a collective cultural and social phenomenon, can last thousands of years. Kutash demonstrates a continuing practice of interpreting and allegorizing ancient myths, tracing these goddesses of archaic origin through history. Chapters follow the goddesses from their ancient near eastern prototypes, to their place in the epic poetry, drama and hymns of classical Greece, to their appearance in Platonic and Neoplatonic philosophy, Medieval allegory, and their association with Christendom. Finally, Kutash considers how goddesses were made into Jungian archetypes, and how some contemporary feminists made them a counterfoil to male divinity, thereby addressing the continued role of goddesses in perpetuating gender binaries.

This book (hardcover) is part of the TREDITION CLASSICS. It contains classical literature works from over two thousand years. Most of these titles have been out of print and off the bookstore shelves for decades. The book series is intended to preserve the cultural legacy and to promote the timeless works of classical literature. Readers of a TREDITION CLASSICS book support the mission to save many of the amazing works of world literature from oblivion. With this series, tredition intends to make thousands of international literature classics available in printed format again - worldwide.

"Uruk: The First City" is the first fully historical analysis of the origins of the city and of the state in southern Mesopotamia, the region providing the earliest evidence in world history related to these seminal developments. Contrasting his approach - which has been influenced by V. Gordan Childe and by Marxist theory - with the neo-evolutionist ideas of (especially) American anthropological theory, the author argues that the innovations that took place during the 'Uruk' period (most of the fourth millennium B.C.) were a 'true' revolution that fundamentally changed all aspects of society and culture. This book is unique in its historical approach, and its combination of archaeological and textual sources. It develops an argument that weaves together a vast amount of information and places it within a context of contemporary scholarly debates on such questions as the ancient economy and world systems. It explains the roots of these debates briefly without talking down to the reader. The book is accessible to a wider audience, while it also provides a cogent argument about the processes involved to the specialist in the field.