Living Personification of the Marvellous
Virgil hailed him as the greatest part of his fame. He was the “living personification of the marvellous,” and a “central enhancing embellishment” of the first Roman Emperor, Augustus. And…
The Great Chain of Being
While the German word is not used here, this book is actually a festschrift. That is, a book honouring a respected scholar, in this case Susan A. Stephens, Professor Emerita…
How Civilisation Recovered after 1177 BCE
Ten years ago, Dr. Eric Cline wrote a book entitled 1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed. Now, a decade on, he has released as sequel. This one tells how civilization…
Tyrants in the Ancient Greek World
Yes, there have been tyrants for all human history. The likes of Putin are nothing new. Sadly, human nature has not advanced one iota in thousands of years. Thus, a…
A Cultural History of Western Music
Bloomsbury has been publishing its Cultural History series for a few years now. One recent example is the Cultural History of Music, under review here. If you are looking for…
Cleopatra’s Daughter
No woman from history is more famous than Cleopatra. Her love affairs with Julius Caesar and Marc Antony are the very definition of legendary. But ask anyone about her daughter…
Ancient Roman Pandemic
In the late 1700s, John Wilkes famously responded to an insult in Parliament to the effect that he would die either “of the pox or on the gallows” by saying…
Ancient Cryptography
This book is a very fine study of the method of sending messages, whether confidential or encrypted, from the very earliest times. Author MartineDiepenbroek (biography below) writes that the “extant…
Ancient Greece and Sir Kenneth Dover
This book looks back on the life and work of the great Classicist, Sir Kenneth Dover. The occasion was the 100th anniversary of his birth: he made it to age…
Aristotle on Human Nature
Interpreting what Aristotle meant has exercised scholars for centuries. This edited book (written by 14 scholars) looks at one of his densest philosophical forays, his definition of a human being.…