Best of
Ancient

1987

The Power of Images in the Age of Augustus


Paul Zanker - 1987
    They reflect the state of its values, especially in times of crisis or transition." Upon this premise Paul Zanker builds an interpretation of Augustan art as a visual language that both expressed and furthered the transformation of Roman society during the rule of Augustus Caesar. The Power of Images in the Age of Augustus illustrates how the establishment of monarchy under Augustus Caesar led to the creation of a new system of visual imagery that reflects the consciousness of this transitional age.

Early Greek Philosophy


Jonathan Barnes - 1987
    Democritus's atomic theory of matter, Zeno's dazzling "proofs" that motion is impossible, Pythagorean insights into mathematics, Heraclitus's haunting and enigmatic epigrams-all form part of a revolution in human thought that relied on reasoning, forged the first scientific vocabulary, and laid the foundations of Western philosophy. Jonathan Barnes has painstakingly brought together the surviving Presocratic fragments in their original contexts, utilizing the latest research and a newly discovered major papyrus of Empedocles.

Soul Flame


Barbara Wood - 1987
    But before her father dies, he leaves a puzzling clue to her heritage: she has come from the gods and has a special destiny to fulfill.In the coming years, Selene studies the primitive healing arts with Mera, the healer-woman who adopts her. She learns how to lower fevers by brewing Hecate's Cure from the willow tree, how to apply green mold to an open wound to prevent infection, and most importantly, how to calm a patient by summoning the inner power of the "soul flame."But on her sixteenth birthday, Selene falls in love with Andreas, a passionate and troubled surgeon. When fate cruelly separates them, Selene's search for Andreas takes her to the great centers of civilization in the ancient world-Egypt, Babylon, and Rome. Desperate to find Andreas, Selene is torn between love and her dreams of healing when a revolutionary vision brings her to the fulfillment of her destiny-and the dawn of modern medicine.

The Harps that Once...: Sumerian Poetry in Translation


Thorkild Jacobsen - 1987
    The themes developed in the poems—quite possibly the earliest poems extant—are those that have fascinated humanity since the time people first began to spin stories: the longings of young lovers; courage in battle; joy at the birth of a child; the pleasures of drink and song.

The History of Cartography, Volume 1: Cartography in Prehistoric, Ancient, and Medieval Europe and the Mediterranean


J.B. Harley - 1987
    A substantial introductory essay surveys the historiography and theoretical development of the history of cartography and situates the work of the multi-volume series within this scholarly tradition. Cartographic themes include an emphasis on the spatial-cognitive abilities of Europe's prehistoric peoples and their transmission of cartographic concepts through media such as rock art; the emphasis on mensuration, land surveys, and architectural plans in the cartography of Ancient Egypt and the Near East; the emergence of both theoretical and practical cartographic knowledge in the Greco-Roman world; and the parallel existence of diverse mapping traditions (mappaemundi, portolan charts, local and regional cartography) in the Medieval period.Throughout the volume, a commitment to include cosmographical and celestial maps underscores the inclusive definition of "map" and sets the tone for the breadth of scholarship found in later volumes of the series.

Philosophical Issues in Aristotle's Biology


Allan Gotthelf - 1987
    This collection brings together some of the best work that has been done in this area, with the aim of exhibiting the contribution that close study of these treatises can make to the understanding of Aristotle's philosophy. The book is divided into four parts, each with an introduction which places its essays in relation to each other and to the wider issues of the book as a whole. The first part is an overview of the relationship of Aristotle's biology to his philosophy; the other three each concentrate on a set of issues central to Aristotelian study - definition and demonstration; teleology and necessity in nature; and metaph themes such as the unity of matter and form and the nature of substance.

Primordial Breath: An Ancient Chinese Way of Prolonging Life Through Breath Control, Vol. 1: Seven Treaties from the Taoist Canon, the Tao Tsang


Jane Huang - 1987
    The reader will find fascinating, detailed, objective instructions, written centuries and centuries ago, from personal experience, on how breathing is to be trained and refined, on the six different types of exhalations, that ancient Chinese believed, could cure different ailments and on the secret Taoist calisthenics or physical exercises that might prolong life.

Pandora's Box


Mary Pope Osborne - 1987
    Retells the Greek myth in which the beautiful Pandora, created by the gods, was sent to Earth with a special box she was not to open, an instruction she was not able to follow.

Agesilaos and the Crisis of Sparta


Paul Anthony Cartledge - 1987
    of Cambridge, has authored books including Sparta & Lakonia: A Regional History 1300—362 BC ('79), Agesilaos & the Crisis of Sparta('87), The Spartans: An Epic History(11/15/02) & (with A. Spawforth) Hellenistic & Roman Sparta: A Tale of Two Cities ('89). An account of a critical period of Greek history, focusing on a single career. Includes illustrations, maps, genealogical tables.