In several of the dialogues of Plato, doubts have arisen among his interpreters as to which of the various subjects discussed in them is the main thesis. The speakers have the freedom of conversation; no severe rules of art restrict them, and sometimes we are inclined to think, with one of the dramatis personae in the Theaetetus, that the digressions have the greater interest. Yet in the most irregular of the dialogues there is also a certain natural growth or unity; the beginning is not forgotten at the end, and numerous allusions and references are interspersed, which form the loose connecting links of the whole. We must not neglect this unity, but neither must we attempt to confine the Platonic dialogue on the Procrustean bed of a single idea. (Compare Introduction to the Phaedrus.) Two tendencies seem to have beset the interpreters of Plato in this matter. First, they have endeavoured to hang the dia-logues upon one another by the slightest threads; and have thus been led to opposite and contradictory assertions respec-ting their order and sequence. The mantle of Schleiermacher has descended upon his successors, who have applied his method with the most various results.

This is the first monograph in English about Demades, an influential Athenian politician from the fourth century B.C. An orator whose fame outlived him for hundreds of years, he was an acquaintance and collaborator of many political and military leaders of classical Greece, including the Macedonian king Philip II, his son and successor Alexander III (the Great), and the orator Demosthenes. An overwhelming portion of the available evidence on Demades dates to at least three centuries after his death and, often, much later. Contextualizing the sources within their historical and cultural framework, The Orator Demades delineates how later rhetorical practices and social norms transformed his image to better reflect the educational needs and political realities of the Roman imperial and Byzantine periods. The evolving image of Demades illustrates the role that rhetoric, as the basis of education and edification under the Roman and Byzantine Empires, played in creating an alternate, inauthentic vision of the classical past that continues to dominate modern scholarship and popular culture. As a result, the book raises a general question about the problematic foundations of our knowledge of classical Greece.

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

Rome's wars delivered great wealth to the conquerors, but how did this affect politics and society on the home front? In Power and Public Finance at Rome, James Tan offers the first examination of the Roman Republic from the perspective of fiscal sociology and makes the case that no understanding of Roman history is complete without an appreciation of the role of economics in defining political interactions. Examining how imperial profits were distributed, Tan explores how imperial riches turned Roman public life on its head. Rome's lofty aristocrats had traditionally been constrained by their dependence on taxpayer money. They relied on the state to fund wars, and the state in turn relied on citizens' taxes to fuel the war machine. This fiscal chain bound the elite to taxpayer consent, but as the spoils of Empire flooded into Rome, leaders found that they could fund any policy they chose without relying on the support of the citizens who funded them. The influx of wealth meant that taxation at home was ended and citizens promptly lost what bargaining power they had enjoyed as a result of the state's reliance on their fiscal contributions. With their dependence on the taxpayers loosened, Rome's aristocratic leaders were free to craft a fiscal system which prioritized the enrichment of their own private estates and which devoted precious few resources to the provision of public goods. In six chapters on the nature of Rome's imperialist enrichment, on politics during the Punic Wars and on the all-important tribunates of the Gracchi, Tan offers new conceptions of Roman state creation, fiscal history, civic participation, aristocratic pre-eminence, and the eventual transition to autocracy.

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.

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 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.

The complete text of Clough's edition of Plutarch's Lives; containing fifty lives and eighteen comparisons.

Cylinder seals were important instruments in the Ancient Near East, and were used in Mesopotamia from the beginning of the third millennium BCE to the fifth century BCE. This volume presents an analysis of 1000 cylinder seals (including 70 that are not yet published) from the Old Babylonian period, including the Isin and Larsa dynasties, and uses this analysis as well as data from written texts of the period to answer questions relating to the seal cutters and the production of the seals.

One of the most celebrated of Plato's ideas was that if human society was ever to function successfully then philosophers would need to become kings, or kings philosophers. In a perfect state, therefore, philosophic wisdom should be wedded to political power.In antiquity, who were or aspired to be philosopher-kings? What was their understanding of wisdom and the limits of knowledge? What influence have they had on periods beyond antiquity? This volume focuses on Plato and his contemporaries; Alexander the Great and his Hellenistic successors; Marcus Aurelius and the 'good emperors'; Moses, Solomon and early Hebrew leaders; and Julian the Apostate, the last of the pagans. In conclusion it looks at the re-emergence of the Platonic ideal in important moments of European history, such as the Enlightenment. The theme of the philosopher-king is significant for Greco-Roman antiquity as a whole, and this work is unique in detailing the development of an idea through major periods of Greek and Roman history, and beyond.>

The Pharsalia: Dramatic Episodes of the Civil Wars is a Roman epic poem. The narrative is about the civil war between Julius Caesar and the Roman Senate led by Pompey the Great. The title Pharsalia refers to the Battle of Pharsalus in 48BC, in northern Greece, although the poem was probably not titled this originally. Caesar decisively defeated Pompey in Pharsalus. This poem is considered to be the best epic poem of the Silver Age of Latin literature. It was originally written in Latin, in approximately A.D. 61-65, by the Roman poet Lucan, and probably left unfinished upon his death in A.D. 65. This edition contains line numbers and footnotes.