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.…
The GIANTS of Sardinia
Standing beside the giant statues of Sardinia, some 7 feet tall, is an awe-inspiring experience. The photo shows the author in Cagliari, the capital of Sardinia. I was in the…
Exploring a Socratic Dialogue
There is renewed attention to the Plato’s Euthyphro. In 2017 Harvard University Press updated a version in the famous Loeb Classic series, begun in 1911. In 1914 the Loeb published…
Nothing Human is Foreign to TIME
Do not take this book with you to the beach this summer. I thought this was going to be an easy read, and while that expectation got shot down after…
The Male Gaze in Ancient Greece
The historical texts by Xenophon (430-355 BCE) are the subject of a close study here by Rosie Harman, Lecturer in Greek Historiography, University College London. But her take on Xenophon…
Plutarch’s Cities
Born in the reign of the Roman Emperor Claudius, Plutarch (46-120 CE) took great pride in being a priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi (he was born just…
CICERO and The Last Gasp of the Roman Republic
Cicero wrote several great dialogues. This book deals with two of them, and later this year I’ll be reporting on another Oxford University Press book that examines two more. The…
A Roman Historian
For someone living now, the 17th century seems like a long time ago. Four hundred years have passed; only specialist historians have a good grasp on those who were once…