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Tag Archives: classical world
The War that Made the Roman Empire
The War that Made the Roman Empire: Anthony, Cleopatra, and Octavian at Actium© 2022 Bary Strauss368 pages Rome, at the death of Julius Caesar, was no stranger to internal war. A functioning, healthy republic had long vanished, torn in pieces … Continue reading
Naked Statues, Fat Gladiators, and War Elephants
Naked Statues, Fat Gladiators, and War Elephants: Frequently Asked Questions about the Ancient Greeks and Romans© Garrett Ryan 288 pages For those interested in the life of Greece and Rome beyond senatorial politics and agricultural policy, Naked States offers an … Continue reading
Posted in history, Reviews
Tagged classical world, Eastern Rome/Byzantine, Greece, history, Rome, social history
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Antiquity
Antiquity: The Civilization of the Ancient World© 2003 Norman F. Cantor256 pages Perhaps western history is all Greek to you. In that case, Norman Cantor’s Antiquity may shed a little light on the subject. It is a brief work, scarcely over … Continue reading
Posted in history, Reviews
Tagged ancient world, classical world, Greece, history, Judaism, Rome
4 Comments
Romans Without Laurels
Romans Without Laurels© 1962 Indro Montanelli352 pages In Romans Without Laurels, Indro Montanelli delivers an affectionate history of the Roman Republic and the empire which followed. Although a work in translation, it succeeds wonderfully as narrative history, reminding and entertaining … Continue reading
The Greeks
The Greeks© 1950 HDF Kitto256 pages HDF Kitto’s history of the Greeks came highly recommended to me by another author, and I found it utterly delightful. Here we have history written not by an archaeologist, but by a classicist whose … Continue reading
When the Eagle Hunts
When the Eagle Hunts© 2002 Simon Scarrow274 pages The Emperor Claudius is determined to make good the conquest of Britain, but his supply fleet sleeps with the fishes. The only Romans to survive a wintry crossing of the (English) channel … Continue reading
Lost to the West
Lost to the West: The Forgotten Byzantine Empire that Rescued Western Civilization© 2009 Lars Brownsworth329 pages The Roman empire not not fade quietly into history in 474, when a Gothic warlord decided to run the city of Rome directly instead through a … Continue reading
Posted in Reviews
Tagged classical world, Eastern Rome/Byzantine, Mediterranean, Middle East, Near East, Persia, Persia-Iran, Rome, Turkey
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The Egyptians
The Egyptians© 1997 Barbara Watterson368 pages “We stand where Caesar and Napoleon stood, and remember that fifty centuries look down upon us; where the Father of History came four hundred years before Caesar, and heard the tales that were to … Continue reading
Posted in history, Reviews
Tagged Africa, ancient world, classical world, Eastern Rome/Byzantine, Egypt, history, Islam, Mediterranean, Middle East, Near East, survey
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The Eagle’s Conquest
The Eagle’s Conquest© 2002 Simon Scarrow320 pages In Under the Eagle, Simon Scarrow introduced readers to two legionnaires: Macro, a grizzled veteran, and Cato, a young bookish sort straight from Rome , a boy made an officer because of his … Continue reading
Posted in historical fiction, Reviews
Tagged Britain, classical world, historical fiction, military, Rome, Scarrow Eagle Series, Simon Scarrow
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The Devil Knows Latin
The Devil Knows Latin: Why America Needs the Classical Tradition© 1999 E. Christian Kopf327 pages Earlier in the week I read The Devil Knows Latin, which like Who Killed Homer? contends for the value of a classical education to western civilization. … Continue reading