It was the marvel of its age?legendary for its vast palaces, safe harbors, and magnificent lighthouse. But it was most famous for the astonishing intellectual fluorescence it fostered and the library it produced. If the European Renaissance was the ?rebirth? of Western culture, then Alexandria, Egypt, was its birthplace. It was here mankind first discovered that the earth was not flat, originated atomic theory, invented geometry, systematized grammar, translated the Old Testament into Greek, built the steam engine, and passed their discoveries on to future generations via the written word. Julius Caesar, Anthony and Cleopatra, Jewish scholars, Greek philosophers, and devout early Christians all play a part in the rise and fall of the city that stood ?at the conjunction of the whole world.? Compulsively readable and sparkling with fresh insights into science, philosophy, culture, and invention, this is an irresistible, eye-opening delight.

    Duration: 18 hours 40 minsCourse Lecture TitlesArchaeologys Big BangOde on a Grecian UrnA Quest for the Trojan WarHow to DigFirst Find Your SiteTaking the Search Underwater Cracking the CodesTechniques for Successful DatingReconstructing Vanished EnvironmentsNot Artifacts but PeopleArchaeology by ExperimentReturn to VesuviusGourniaHarriet Boyd and the Mother GoddessTheraA Bronze Age Atlantis?OlympiaGames and GodsAthenss AgoraWhere Socrates WalkedDelphiQuestioning the OracleKyreniaLost Ship of the Hellenistic AgeRiaceWarriors from the SeaRomeFoundation Myths and ArchaeologyCaesarea MaritimaA Roman City in JudeaTeutoburgBattlefield ArchaeologyBathHealing Waters at Aquae SulisTorre de PalmaA Farm in the Far WestRoots of Classical CultureThe Texture of Everyday LifeTheir Daily BreadVoyaging on a Dark Sea of WineShows and CircusesRomes Virtual RealityEngineering and TechnologySlavesA Silent Majority?Women of Greece and RomeHadrianMark of the IndividualCrucible of New FaithsThe End of the WorldA Coroners ReportA Bridge across the Torrent

    

    The Bible does have the answer; its gospel can be defended; and The Henry Morris Study Bible will be of significant help in this great cause to those who use it. Its annotations explain the Bible's difficult passages, resolve its alleged contradictions, point out the evidences of its divine origin, confirm its historical accuracy, note its remarkable anticipations of modern science, demonstrate its fulfilled prophecies and in general remove any doubts about its inerrancy, its authority, and its ability to meet every human need.

    The volume demonstrates how, during this violent period, Romans came to accept a new form of government and found ways to celebrate it in their towns and cities. It also reveals how they mourned, in literary masterpieces and stories passed onto their children, the terrible losses that accompanied the long years of fighting.

    Full color.

    A new translation by George Thompson is the backdrop for commentary and study guide by Stephanie Rutt. It can be used for individual or for group study. "This book is filled with real-world stories and examples of how ordinary people have found the courage to stand up and do what needs to be done." (Preface)

    From the debated origins of the temple in the Greek dark ages to its transformation at the end of antiquity, this book summarizes the latest thinking, bringing to light new discoveries, and placing emphasis on the architecture and its cultural, historical context.

    From the apostle Paul to Benedict you can discover how the early church still influences today.Live with these people in their hostile and difficult world. Be encouraged as different countries, cultures and times merge together to form the Christian church. Learn from their mistakes and errors and learn from their amazing strengths and gifts.Extra features throughout this book look deeper into issues such as persecution, worship, creeds and councils, and the formation of the Bible.This is the first in a series intended to cover the history of the Christian church through its people. They are written with 9-14 year olds in mind but the modern, relaxed and enthusiastic style is infectious!

    Clear and concise texts recount ancient Egypt's history and culture and include detailed descriptions of over 570 finds reproduced here in color photos. The preface by Egypt's leading archaeologist, Dr. Zahi Hawass, orients the visitor to the treasures of a unique civilization.

    Perpetua is a young and headstrong noblewoman entrapped by the traditional views of her father. Two people from different backgrounds, seemingly with little in common, yet both are drawn to the new and radical religious movement that is sweeping the Roman empire - Christianity. But why are so many around them bitterly opposed to this new, radical faith? And why are those who embrace it willing to pay the ultimate price, rather than give it up?

    Daughter of Ptolemy XII, she ruled with her two brother-husbands, Ptolemy XIII and Ptolemy XIV, both of whom she had killed,and with her son Ptolemy XV or Caesarion (44-30). This biography concentrates on the fascinating aspect of Cleopatra's ever-shifting identity. A master of self-presentation, she was the first to craft for herself an image or, to be precise, a number of images. Depending on the audience, she might present herself as a goddess, a political leader, or an alluring and exotic woman. Roman statesmen likewise manipulated Cleopatra's image for their own political ends. The tension embodied in our sources for Cleopatra's life make her story especially captivating. The author's approach to the biography focuses on the ancient sources, but dies not ignore the fascinating afterlife Cleopatra's story has experienced. The accounts of her life, which were written by contemporaries and even acquaintances, will offer the reader a sense not only of Cleopatra, but also of the literature and historiography of the time. Ancient sources include both the historical - Plutarch, Suetonius, Cassius Dio, Julius Caesar, Appian, and Velleius Paterculus - and the literary - Horace, Vergil, Lucan, and Ovid. Documentary evidence from inscriptions also are important. In addition, texts like Cicero's Letters provide some real-time snapshots of Cleopatra. The biography is illustrated in full color and produced to the usual high standards of the Life&Times series.

    Each succinct yet insightful entry is written by a leading authority on the opera and includes a full synopsis of the plot, a cast list, anote on the singers in the original production, and information on the origins of the work and its literary and social background. Contributions conclude with a brief comment on the particular work's place in operatic history. A glossary offers brief and accessible definitions of terms that may beunfamiliar to the reader. And indices of role names and of arias and ensembles allow the reader to find operas containing their favorite aria or a well-known character.The second edition brings the book up to date with several recently composed operas and a fascinating introductory essay by David Levin on opera performance in the 21st century. Recent additions to the operatic repertory included for the first time in this edition include Nicholas Maw, Sophie'sChoice; Poul Ruders, A Handmaid's Tale; John Adams, Death of Klinghoffer; and Mark Adamo, Little Women.Covering all operas in the current repertory along with some less-well-known early and very modern ones, this is an ideal volume for the general opera lover.

    The year is 436 BCE - Olympic year - and 11-year-old Neleus is about to embark on the journey of a lifetime. Setting off from his home in Miletus with his father and brother, our young hero's final destination is the great games at Olympia, but he has many adventures and sees many sights along the way: fearsome Athenian warships at the sacred island of Delos; the rich silver mines of Laurion; the hurly-burly of the port and streets of Athens; the splendour of the Agora and the Acropolis; and a visit to the sacred oracle at Delphi. Biesty's Greece is an illustrated tour-de-force, featuring a stunning array of cross-sections, cutaways and explosions. Each drawing highlights Biesty's trademark attention to detail and is backed up by authoritative text and annotations. Biesty's terrific eye for the quirky details of daily life combines with a witty and engaging text to provide an unforgettable window into the world of ancient Greece. Pitched at the 9-12-year-old, this book is destined to bring the ancient world to life for a wide range of readers. No aspect of Greek life is left out... domestic life, religion and the gods, the role of women, children and education, philosophy and learning, myths and legends, government, politics and law, economy and trade, warfare and slavery, the Olympic Games, music and drama, painting, pottery and sculpture, building and architecture, ships and seafaring

    It replaces version 3 of the author's Sumerian Lexicon, which has served an audience of over 380,000 visitors at the web site www.sumerian.org since 1999. This published version adds over 2,600 new entries, and corrects or expands many of the previous entries. Also, following the express wish of a majority of online lexicon users, it has merged together and sorted the logogram words and the compound words into purely alphabetical order. This book will be an indispensable reference for anyone trying to translate Sumerian texts. Also, due to the historical position of ancient Sumer as the world's first urban civilisation, cultural and linguistic archaeologists will discover a wealth of information for research.

    Widely recognized for his outstanding scholarship, Hurtado combines his comprehensive knowledge of Christian origins with an archivist's eye to make sense of these earliest objects of the faith. He introduces readers to the staurogram, possibly the first representation of the cross, the nomina sacra, a textual abbreviation system, and the puzzling Christian preference for book-like texts over scrolls. Drawing on studies by papyrologists and palaeographers as well as New Testament scholars -- and including photographic plates of selected manuscripts -- The Earliest Christian Artifacts astutely introduces the distinctive physical features of early Christian manuscripts, illustrating their relevance for wider inquiry into the complex origins of Christianity.

    Solon's polis functions not through divine intervention but by its own internal energy, which is founded on the intellectual health of its people, depends upon their acceptance of justice and moderation as orderly norms of life, and leads to the rejection of tyranny and slavery in favour of freedom. But Solon's naturalistic views are limited; in his own life each person is subject to the arbitrary foibles of moira, the inscrutable fate that governs human life, and that brings us to an unknowable but inevitable death. Solon represents both the new rational, scientific spirit that was sweeping the Aegean - and a return to the fatalism that permeated Greek intellectual life. This first paperback edition contains a new appendix of translations of the fragments of Solon by the author.

    The only guide that features art from tribes and cultural groups from all around the world, not just one region, Tribal Art features historical, cultural, and price guide information on the art of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas and is the definitive collector's guide for tribal art enthusiasts.

    The contributions cover a wide range of issues, including Thucydides life, intellectual milieu and predecessors, Thucydides and the act of writing, his rhetoric, historical method and narrative techniques, narrative unity in the History, the speeches, Thucydides reliability as a historian, and his legacy through the centuries. Other topics dealt with include warfare, religion, individuals, democracy and oligarchy, the invention of political science, Thucydides and Athens, Sparta, Macedonia/Thrace, Sicily/South Italy, Persia, and the Argives. The volume aims to provide a survey of current trends in Thucydidean studies which will be of interest to all students of ancient history. Brill's Companion to Thucydides was awarded Choice Outstanding Academic Title 2007."

    Isaac, 1040-1105) a scholar from the north of France. While he is often credited with the move to “literal commentary” in medieval times, even a cursory study of his commentaries reveals how indebted he was to the rabbinic exegesis of the earlier classical compilations. With Rashi we witness the mature development of a new paradigm of interpretation. He delicately balances his interpretations between gloss and exposition. He picks at and edits the earlier Midrash materials and weaves together with them into his commentary the results of new discoveries, such as philology and grammar. His main proposition is hardly radical within rabbinism. He accepts that there is one whole Torah of Moses consisting of the oral and written traditions and texts. In his commentaries he accomplished the nearly seamless integration of the basics of both bodies of tradition.

    Also included are How to Write History and his most famous piece, A True History, a parody of the popular vogue for fabulous traveler's tales. Each piece has a summary introduction, and notes to clarify obscure allusions in the text. The Introduction examines in some detail Lucian's importance as a dominant Atticizer in the period of the Second Sophistic, as well as his extraordinarily widespread influence on later European literature.

    He studied under Plato at Athens and taught there (367-347); subsequently he spent three years at the court of a former pupil, Hermeias, in Asia Minor and at this time married Pythias, one of Hermeias's relations. After some time at Mitylene, in 343-2 he was appointed by King Philip of Macedon to be tutor of his teen-aged son Alexander. After Philip's death in 336, Aristotle became head of his own school (of 'Peripatetics'), the Lyceum at Athens. Because of anti-Macedonian feeling there after Alexander's death in 323, he withdrew to Chalcis in Euboea, where he died in 322.Nearly all the works Aristotle prepared for publication are lost; the priceless ones extant are lecture-materials, notes, and memoranda (some are spurious). They can be categorized as follows: I "Practical" Nicomachean Ethics; Great Ethics (Magna Moralia); Eudemian Ethics; Politics; Economics (on the good of the family); On Virtues and Vices. II "Logical" Categories; Analytics (Prior and Posterior); Interpretation; Refutations used by Sophists; Topica. III "Physical" Twenty-six works (some suspect) including astronomy, generation and destruction, the senses, memory, sleep, dreams, life, facts about animals, etc. IV "Metaphysics" on being as being. V "Art" Rhetoric and Poetics. VI Other works including the Constitution of Athens; more works also of doubtful authorship. VII Fragments of various works such as dialogues on philosophy and literature; and of treatises on rhetoric, politics and metaphysics.The Loeb Classical Library edition of Aristotle is in twenty-three volumes.

    It presents a comprehensive overview of the late prehistoric cultures of these regions, which are of key importance for the understanding of long-term changes in Eurasia. At the crossroads of Europe and Asia, the Urals and Western Siberia are characterized by great environmental and cultural diversity which is reflected in the variety and richness of their archaeological sites. Based on the latest achievements of Russian archaeologists, this study demonstrates the temporal and geographical range of its subjects starting with a survey of the chronological sequence from the late fourth millennium BC to the early first millennium AD. Recent discoveries contribute to an understanding of issues such as the development of Eurasian metallurgy, technological and ritual innovations, pastoral nomadism and its role in Eurasian interactions, and major sociocultural fluctuations of the Bronze and Iron Ages.

    This is an innovative exploration of the arts of antiquity, beginning with the earliest European cave paintings and continuing right up to the coming of Christianity and Buddhism in the Old World and the arrival of the Spaniards in the New World.

    Philip L. Kohl outlines the long-term processes and patterns of interaction that link these groups together in a shared historical trajectory of development. Interactions took the form of the exchange of raw materials and finished goods, the spread and sharing of technologies, and the movements of peoples from one region to another. Kohl reconstructs economic activities from subsistence practices to the production and exchange of metals and other materials. He also examines long-term processes, such as the development of more mobile forms of animal husbandry, which were based on the introduction and large-scale utilization of oxen-drive wheeled wagons and, subsequently, the domestication and riding of horses; the spread of metalworking technologies and exploitation of new centers of metallurgical production; changes in systems of exchange from those dominated by the movement of luxury goods to those in which materials essential for maintaining and securing the reproduction of the societies participating in the exchange network accompanied and/or supplanted the trade in precious materials; and increasing evidence for militarism and political instabilities as reflected in shifts in settlement patterns, including increases in fortified sites, and quantitative and qualitative advances in weaponry. Kohl also argues forcefully that the main task of the archaeologist should be to write culture-history on a spatially and temporally grand scale in an effort to detect large, macrohistorical processes of interaction and shared development.

    Thinking of joining up? Read this book first.

    He was a writer of unexcelled genius and consummate skill. But his work fell into oblivion not long after his death, and has come down to us based on the text of a single tattered manuscript from the Middle Ages. Tacitus was born sometime before A.D. 62 during the reign of Nero. He died shortly before or after the accession of the emperor Hadrian, around A.D. 120. Almost nothing is known of him.The Annals cover that period of Roman history from the reign of Tiberius to that of Nero. Parts of the work are missing, including a few sections from Tiberius, all the sections on Caligula, the early reign of Claudius, and the last two years of Nero's life. But what remains is breathtaking in its scope and velocity. Tacitus takes us on a mad river rafting voyage down a raging torrent of history. The story fluctuates between events at the court in Rome to the battlefields of Germany, between the bravest deeds of selfless courage and the most sordid acts of vengeful hostility. Nothing escapes the jaded eye of Tacitus as we experience the decadence of Rome in all its haughty grandeur.Part 1 of The Annals begins with the death of Augustus and provides a brief look at his accomplishments and reign before proceeding with the story of Tiberius. Along with events at Rome, we are also taken to the scene of conflict in Parthia and Germany. We witness the rise of the evil Sejanus and learn how he poisoned the mind of Tiberius and turned his rule into a reign of terror.This production uses the famous translation by Church and Brodribb, considered the finest in the English language.

    But women themselves did write and dictate. And only in their own private letters can we discover unmediated expression of their authentic experiences.More than three hundred letters written in Greek and Egyptian by women in Egypt in the millennium from Alexander the Great to the Arab conquest survive on papyrus and pottery. These letters were written by women from various walks of life and shed light on critical social aspects of life in Egypt after the pharaohs. Roger S. Bagnall and Raffaella Cribiore collect the best preserved of these letters in translation and set them in their paleographic, linguistic, social, and economic contexts. As a result, Women's Letters from Ancient Egypt, 300 BC-AD 800, provides a sense that these women's habits, interests, and means of expression were a product more of their social and economic standing than of specifically gender-related concerns or behavior.Women's Letters from Ancient Egypt, 300 BC-AD 800, takes the reader through theoretical discussions about the handwriting and language of the letters, the education and culture of the writers, and the writers' everyday concerns and occupations, as well as comparing these letters to similar letters from later historical periods. For each letter, discussion focuses on handwriting, language, and content; in addition, numerous illustrations help the reader to see the variety of handwritings. Most of this material has never been available in English translation before, and the letters have never previously been considered as a single body of material.

    In this thought-provoking study, he demonstrates how repeated narrative motifs argue for an expanded understanding of the structure of epic poetry. First identifying the "subgenres" of myth within the poem, he then reads these against related mythologies of the Near East, developing a context in which the poem can be more accurately interpreted.Louden begins by focusing on the ways in which the Iliad's three movements correspond with and comment on each other. He offers original interpretations of many episodes, notably in books 3 and 7, and makes new arguments about some well-known controversies (e.g., the duals in book 9), the Iliad's use of parody, the function of theomachy, and the prefiguring of Hektor as a sacrificial victim in books 3 and 6. The second part of the book compares fourteen subgenres of myth in the Iliad to contemporaneous Near Eastern traditions such as those of the Old Testament and of Ugaritic mythology. Louden concludes with an extended comparison of the Homeric Athena and Anat, a West Semitic goddess worshipped by the Phoenicians and Egyptians.Louden's innovative method yields striking new insights into the formation and early literary contexts of Greek epic poetry.

    Traditionally, however, the history of Roman art has been told primarily through the monumental remains of the emperors and ancient writers who worked in their circles. In this study, Lauren Petersen critically investigates the notion of 'freedman art' in scholarship, dependent as it is on elite-authored texts that are filled with hyperbole and stereotype of freedmen, such as the memorable fictional character Trimalchio, a boorish ex-slave in Petronius' Satyricon. She emphasizes integrated visual ensembles within defined historical and social contexts and aims to show how material culture can reflect preoccupations that were prevalent throughout Roman society. Interdisciplinary in scope, this book explores the many ways that monuments and artistic commissions by freedmen spoke to a much more complex reality than that presented in literature.

    Included, too, are the living pueblos from Taos in north central New Mexico along the Rio Grande Valley to Isleta, and westward through Acoma and Zuni to the Hopi pueblos in Arizona.In addition to the architecture of the ruins, Puebloan Ruins of the Southwest gives a detailed overview of the Pueblo Indians' lifestyles including their spiritual practices, food, clothing, shelter, physical appearance, tools, government, water management, trade, ceramics, and migrations.