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Books > Humanities > History > World history > BCE to 500 CE
In this new study, John Sellars offers a fresh examination of
Marcus Aurelius' Meditations as a work of philosophy by placing it
against the background of the tradition of Stoic philosophy to
which Marcus was committed. The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius is a
perennial bestseller, attracting countless readers drawn to its
unique mix of philosophical reflection and practical advice. The
emperor is usually placed alongside Seneca and Epictetus as one of
three great Roman Stoic authors, but he wears his philosophy
lightly, not feeling the need to state explicitly the ideas
standing behind the reflections that he was writing for himself. As
a consequence, his standing as a philosopher has often been
questioned. Challenging claims that Marcus Aurelius was merely an
eclectic thinker, that the Meditations do not fit the model of a
work of philosophy, that there are no arguments in the work, and
that it only contains superficial moral advice, Sellars shows that
he was in constant dialogue with his Stoic predecessors, engaging
with themes drawn from all three parts of Stoicism: logic, physics,
and ethics. The image of Marcus Aurelius that emerges is of a
committed Stoic, engaging with a wide range of philosophical
topics, motivated by the desire to live a good life. This volume
will be of interest to scholars and students of both Classics and
Philosophy.
This book provides, for the first time, a critical edition and an
English translation of the chapter on spheres (goladhyaya) from
Nityananda's Sarvasiddhantaraja, a Sanskrit astronomical text
written in seventeenth-century Mughal India.
Vitruvius' De architectura is the only extant classical text on
architecture, and its impact on Renaissance masters including
Leonardo da Vinci is well-known. But what was the text's purpose in
its own time (ca. 20s BCE)? In this book, Marden Fitzpatrick
Nichols reveals how Vitruvius pitched the Greek discipline of
architecture to his Roman readers, most of whom were undoubtedly
laymen. The inaccuracy of Vitruvius' architectural rules, when
compared with surviving ancient buildings, has knocked Vitruvius
off his pedestal. Nichols argues that the author never intended to
provide an accurate view of contemporary buildings. Instead,
Vitruvius crafted his authorial persona and remarks on architecture
to appeal to elites (and would-be elites) eager to secure their
positions within an expanding empire. In this major new analysis of
De architectura from archaeological and literary perspectives,
Vitruvius emerges as a knowing critic of a social landscape in
which the house made the man.
A riveting history of the city that led the West out of the ruins
of the Roman Empire At the end of the fourth century, as the power
of Rome faded and Constantinople became the seat of empire, a new
capital city was rising in the West. Here, in Ravenna on the coast
of Italy, Arian Goths and Catholic Romans competed to produce an
unrivaled concentration of buildings and astonishing mosaics. For
three centuries, the city attracted scholars, lawyers, craftsmen,
and religious luminaries, becoming a true cultural and political
capital. Bringing this extraordinary history marvelously to life,
Judith Herrin rewrites the history of East and West in the
Mediterranean world before the rise of Islam and shows how, thanks
to Byzantine influence, Ravenna played a crucial role in the
development of medieval Christendom. Drawing on deep, original
research, Herrin tells the personal stories of Ravenna while
setting them in a sweeping synthesis of Mediterranean and Christian
history. She narrates the lives of the Empress Galla Placidia and
the Gothic king Theoderic and describes the achievements of an
amazing cosmographer and a doctor who revived Greek medical
knowledge in Italy, demolishing the idea that the West just
descended into the medieval "Dark Ages." Beautifully illustrated
and drawing on the latest archaeological findings, this monumental
book provides a bold new interpretation of Ravenna's lasting
influence on the culture of Europe and the West.
Packed with cleverly designed graphics, charts and diagrams,
Ancient Rome: Infographics uses data visualization to tell the epic
tale of the city of Rome and its empire. Every aspect of the Roman
world is explored, from the birth of the Republic to the imperial
dynasties, from the political and legal system to Rome's military
might. Drawing on international sources, this complex history is
made clear and comprehensible to modern readers, while offering the
insights and rigour that historians demand. Original, accessible
and fascinating, Ancient Rome: Infographics will delight history
buffs, graphic design aficionados, and everyone seeking an overview
of a civilization that shaped the world.
This is the second volume of a collection which includes all the
significant remains of tragedies produced by the contemporaries and
successors of the three classic Greek tragedians (Aeschylus,
Sophocles and Euripides). Greek texts and sources are accompanied
by English translations, related historical information, detailed
explanatory notes and bibliographies. Volume Two includes more than
a dozen poets of the fourth and early third centuries (Astydamas,
Carcinus, Chaeremon, Theodectas, Moschion and others), the
Alexandrian Pleiad, Ezechiel's Exagoge (a tragedy based on the
biblical Exodus), and some anonymous material derived from ancient
sources or rediscovered papyrus texts. Remnants of the satyr-plays
of this period are included in a separate Aris & Phillips
Classical Texts volume, Euripides Cyclops and Major Fragments of
Greek Satyric Drama, edited by Patrick O'Sullivan and Christopher
Collard (2013).
The present book by Hu Baozhu explores the subject of ghosts and
spirits and attempts to map the religious landscape of ancient
China. The main focus of attention is the character gui , an
essential key to the understanding of spiritual beings. The author
analyses the character gui in various materials - lexicons and
dictionaries, excavated manuscripts and inscriptions, and received
classical texts. Gui is examined from the perspective of its
linguistic root, literary interpretation, ritual practices,
sociopolitical implication, and cosmological thinking. In the
gradual process of coming to know the otherworld in terms of ghosts
and spirits, Chinese people in ancient times attempted to identify
and classify these spiritual entities. In their philosophical
thinking, they connected the subject of gui with the movement of
the universe. Thus the belief in ghosts and spirits in ancient
China appeared to be a moral standard for all, not only providing a
room for individual religiosity but also implementing the purpose
of family-oriented social order, the legitimization of political
operations, and the understanding of the way of Heaven and Earth.
This scholarly volume proposes protreptic as a radically new way of
reading Plato's dialogues leading to enhanced student engagement in
learning and inquiry. Through analysis of Platonic dialogues
including Crito, Euthyphro, Meno, and Republic, the text highlights
Socrates' ways of fostering and encouraging self-examination and
conscionable reflection. By focusing his work on Socrates' use of
protreptic, Marshall proposes a practical approach to reading
Plato, illustrating how his writings can be used to enhance
intrinsic motivation amongst students, and help them develop the
thinking skills required for democratic and civic engagement. This
engaging volume will be of interest to doctoral students,
researchers, and scholars concerned with Plato's dialogues, the
philosophy of education, and ancient philosophy more broadly, as
well as post-graduate students interested in moral and values
education research.
Does a flourishing life involve pursuing passionate attachments?
Can we choose what these passionate attachments will be? This book
offers an original theory of how we can actively cultivate our
passionate attachments. The author argues that not only do we have
reason to view passionate attachments as susceptible to growth,
change, and improvement, but we should view these entities as
amenable to self-cultivation. He uses Pierre Hadot's and Michel
Foucault's accounts of Hellenistic self-cultivation as vital
conceptual tools to formulate a theory of cultivating our
passionate attachments. First, their accounts offer the conceptual
resources for a philosophical theory of how we can cultivate our
passionate attachments. Second, the exercises of self-cultivation
they focus on allow us to outline a practical method though which
we can cultivate our passionate character. Doing this brings out a
significantly new dimension to the role of the passionate
attachments in the flourishing life and offers theoretical and
practical accounts of how we can cultivate them based on the
Hellenistic conception of self-directed character change.
Cultivating Our Passionate Attachments will be of interest to
advanced students and scholars working in virtue ethics, moral
philosophy, and ancient philosophy.
A major new history of the race between two geniuses to decipher
ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, set against the backdrop of
nineteenth-century Europe In 1799, a French Army officer was
rebuilding the defenses of a fort on the banks of the Nile when he
discovered an ancient stele fragment bearing a decree inscribed in
three different scripts. So begins one of the most familiar tales
in Egyptology-that of the Rosetta Stone and the decipherment of
Egyptian hieroglyphs. This book draws on fresh archival evidence to
provide a major new account of how the English polymath Thomas
Young and the French philologist Jean-Francois Champollion vied to
be the first to solve the riddle of the Rosetta. Jed Buchwald and
Diane Greco Josefowicz bring to life a bygone age of intellectual
adventure. Much more than a decoding exercise centered on a single
artifact, the race to decipher the Rosetta Stone reflected broader
disputes about language, historical evidence, biblical truth, and
the value of classical learning. Buchwald and Josefowicz paint
compelling portraits of Young and Champollion, two gifted
intellects with altogether different motivations. Young disdained
Egyptian culture and saw Egyptian writing as a means to greater
knowledge about Greco-Roman antiquity. Champollion, swept up in the
political chaos of Restoration France and fiercely opposed to the
scholars aligned with throne and altar, admired ancient Egypt and
was prepared to upend conventional wisdom to solve the mystery of
the hieroglyphs. Taking readers from the hushed lecture rooms of
the Institut de France to the windswept monuments of the Valley of
the Kings, The Riddle of the Rosetta reveals the untold story
behind one of the nineteenth century's most thrilling discoveries.
The book attempts to trace an overview of the different components
that define the cultural landscape of the state of Odisha in
relation to its history, religious cults, art, and literature and
to link the development of the various aspects to the role played
over the centuries by the Geeta Govinda poem in its different
manifestations. From being an important component of the rituals
performed in the Jagannath Temple to becoming an essential part of
the people's daily lives and artistic expressions, this immortal
poem has exercised its influence on the cultural landscape of the
state from its early inception in the twelfth century until present
times. Religious beliefs, visual representations, performative
expressions, and literary compositions have been influenced by the
strong emotional appeal contained in its verses. Its musical
structure, spiritual underline and histrionic content have been an
essential font of inspiration in the process of the rediscovery of
a cultural identity during the last century and continue to
exercise a strong influence on the performing arts of the present
times. Among all the art forms, the classical style of Odissi
dance, the way it has been re-structured in the middle of the last
century, is perhaps the one which bears the closest contact with
the poem, almost being synonymous with it. The dance's lyrical
quality and its emotional appeal steeped in a long history of
association with devotional and spiritual values make it an ideal
form of visual expression for the literary content of the poem.
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The Anthology
(Paperback)
Vettius Valens; Translated by Mark T. Riley; Edited by Chris Brennan
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An invaluable and all-encompassing examination of emotions in the
ancient Near East as found in literary sources and archaeological
remains.
This second edition includes an updated review of sexuality in
Greece and Rome, an expanded bibliography and numerous new passages
with original translations. This book provides readers with
detailed information, notes, and original translated passages on
the fascinating and multi-faceted theme of ancient sexuality. The
sources range from the era of Homer and Hesiod through to the
Graeco-Roman world of the Fourth Century CE and explore the
diversitiy of approaches to sexuality and sexual expression, as
well as how these issues relate to the rest of ancient society and
culture. Sexuality in Greek And Roman Society and Literature is an
invaluable resource to students and academics alike, providing a
detailed series of chapters on all major facets of sexuality in
ancient Greece and Rome. It will particularly appeal to those
interested in sexuality and gender in antiquity, as well as ancient
literature and social studies.
Slavery in the Roman Empire, first published in 1928, examines the
working of slavery in the first two centuries of the Roman Empire.
It analyses the means by which peoples were enslaved, and the roles
in which they worked in Roman society.
Good selection of international authors. Covers three key aspects
of the topic. Integrates ancient spirituality and
philosophical/religious concepts into Jungian psychology.
How should articulations of blackness from the fifth century BCE to
the twenty-first century be properly read and interpreted? This
important and timely new book is the first concerted treatment of
black skin color in the Greek literature and visual culture of
antiquity. In charting representations in the Hellenic world of
black Egyptians, Aithiopians, Indians, and Greeks, Sarah Derbew
dexterously disentangles the complex and varied ways in which
blackness has been co-produced by ancient authors and artists;
their readers, audiences, and viewers; and contemporary scholars.
Exploring the precarious hold that race has on skin coloration, the
author uncovers the many silences, suppressions, and
misappropriations of blackness within modern studies of Greek
antiquity. Shaped by performance studies and critical race theory
alike, her book maps out an authoritative archaeology of blackness
that reappraises its significance. It offers a committedly
anti-racist approach to depictions of black people while rejecting
simplistic conflations or explanations.
This Companion covers a range of receptions of ancient Greek and
Roman gender and sexuality. It explores ancient representations of
these concepts as we define them today, as well as recent
perspectives that have been projected back onto antiquity. It
offers the latest research on the subject of ancient sexuality from
a diverse body of scholars.
Augustine's Confessions is one of the most significant works of
Western culture. Cast as a long, impassioned conversation with God,
it is intertwined with passages of life-narrative and with key
theological and philosophical insights. It is enduringly popular,
and justly so. The Routledge Guidebook to Augustine's Confessions
is an engaging introduction to this spiritually creative and
intellectually original work. This guidebook is organized by
themes: the importance of language creation and the sensible world
memory, time and the self the afterlife of the Confessions. Written
for readers approaching the Confessions for the first time, this
guidebook addresses the literary, philosophical, historical and
theological complexities of the work in a clear and accessible way.
Excerpts in both Latin and English from this seminal work are
included throughout the book to provide a close examination of both
the autobiographical and theoretical content within the
Confessions.
The first ever biography of the founder of Western philosophy
Considered by many to be the most important philosopher ever, Plato
was born into a well-to-do family in wartime Athens at the end of
the fifth century BCE. In his teens, he honed his intellect by
attending lectures from the many thinkers who passed through Athens
and toyed with the idea of writing poetry. He finally decided to go
into politics, but became disillusioned, especially after the
Athenians condemned his teacher, Socrates, to death. Instead, Plato
turned to writing and teaching. He began teaching in his twenties
and later founded the Academy, the world's first higher-educational
research and teaching establishment. Eventually, he returned to
practical politics and spent a considerable amount of time and
energy trying to create a constitution for Syracuse in Sicily that
would reflect and perpetuate some of his political ideals. The
attempts failed, and Plato's disappointment can be traced in some
of his later political works. In his lifetime and after, Plato was
considered almost divine. Though a measure of his importance, this
led to the invention of many tall tales about him-both by those who
adored him and his detractors. In this first ever full-length
portrait of Plato, Robin Waterfield steers a judicious course among
these stories, debunking some while accepting the kernels of truth
in others. He explains why Plato chose to write dialogues rather
than treatises and gives an overview of the subject matter of all
of Plato's books. Clearly and engagingly written throughout, Plato
of Athens is the perfect introduction to the man and his work.
This Companion, the first dedicated to the philosopher and
historian Xenophon of Athens, gives readers a sense of why he has
held such a prominent place in literary and political culture from
antiquity to the present and has been a favourite author of
individuals as diverse as Machiavelli, Thomas Jefferson, and Leo
Tolstoy. It also sets out the major problems and issues that are at
stake in the study of his writings, while simultaneously pointing
the way forward to newer methodologies, issues, and questions.
Although Xenophon's historical, philosophical, and technical works
are usually studied in isolation because they belong to different
modern genres, the emphasis here is on themes that cut across his
large and varied body of writings. This volume is accessible to
students and general readers, including those previously unfamiliar
with Xenophon, and will also be of interest to scholars in various
fields.
The origin and early development of social stratification is
essentially an archaeological problem. The impressive advance of
archaeological research has revealed that, first and foremost, the
pre-eminence of stratified or class society in today's world is the
result of a long social struggle. This volume advances the
archaeological study of social organisation in Prehistory, and more
specifically the rise of social complexity in European Prehistory.
Within the wider context of world Prehistory, in the last 30 years
the subject of early social stratification and state formation has
been a key subject on interest in Iberian Prehistory. This book
illustrates the differing forms of resistances, the interplay
between change and continuity, the multiple paths to and from
social complexity, and the 'failures' of states to form in
Prehistory. It also engages with broader questions, such as: when
did social stratification appear in western European Prehistory?
What factors contributed to its emergence and consolidation? What
are the relationships between the notions of social complexity,
social inequality, social stratification and statehood? And what
are the archaeological indicators for the empirical analysis of
these issues? Focusing on Iberia, but with a permanent connection
to the wider geographical framework, this book presents, for the
first time, a chronologically comprehensive, up-to-date approach to
the issue of state formation in prehistoric Europe.
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