To impress them forever he orders a great wall to be built, driving his people to exhaustion and despair so that they cry to the Sun God for help. In answer, another kind of man, Enkidu, is sent to earth to live among the animals and learn kindness from them. He falls in love with Shamhat, a singer from the temple, and he follows her back to Uruk. There, Enkidu, the “uncivilized” beast from the forest, shows the evil Gilgamesh through friendship what it means to be human.

    John Henrik Clarke s African People in World History inaugurates the Black Classic Press Contemporary Lecture Series. This series is devoted to the publication of views expressed by leading contemporary thinkers and essayists. Dr. Clarke qualifies as both. He is Professor Emeritus of African World History at Hunter College. As a historian, educator, and author, he has dedicated his life to uncovering the identity and place of African people in world history.

    This larger, completely new, 3rd edition contains many compositions not in the previous editions; new translations of previously included compositions; incorporation of new text fragments identified or excavated since the last publication; all new footnotes; references and commentary brought up to date to reflect scholarly work of the last 10 years; and 100 more pages than the old two-volume edition.

    Robins' book, gracefully written and copiously illustrated, cuts through the obscurity of the ages to show us what the archaeological riches of Egypt really say about how these women lived, both in the public eye and within the family.The art and written records of the time present a fascinating puzzle. But how often has the evidence been interpreted, consciously or otherwise, from a male viewpoint? Robins conducts us through these sources with an archaeologist's relish, stripping away layer after interpretive layer to expose the reality beneath. Here we see the everyday lives of women in the economic, legal, or domestic sphere, from the Early Dynastic Period almost 5,000 years ago to the conquest of Alexander in 332 B.C. Within this kingdom ruled and run by men, women could still wield influence indirectly--and in some cases directly, when a woman took the position of king. The exceptional few who assumed real power appear here in colorful detail, alongside their more traditional counterparts. Robins examines the queens' reputed divinity and takes a frank look at the practice of incest within Egypt's dynasties. She shows us the special role of women in religious rites and offices, and assesses their depiction in Egyptian art as it portrays their position in society.By drawing women back into the picture we have of ancient Egypt, this book opens a whole new perspective on one of world history's most exotic and familiar cultures.

    Forbidden Archeology documents a systematic process of "knowledge filtration" and constitutes a serious challenge to the Darwinian theory of evolution.

    Ben destroys what he says is the myth of a "white Jewish race" as he says that whites are descended from brutal thugs who lived in frigid climates, and the bigotry that has denied the existence of an African Jewish culture. He establishes the legitimacy of contemporary Black Jewish culture in Africa and the diaspora and predates its origin before ancient Nile Valley civilizations.

    This is a complete revision of the original text and illustrations, which takes into account all the latest finds since the first publication of the book in 1993, as well as various constructive comments offered in published reviews.

    Bolder than Sun Tzu, more practical than Gracian's Worldly Wisdom, this is the manual on how great leaders are made.

    He escaped with his wife to Brazil, taking with him only two books: a small Jewish prayer book and Goethe’s Faust. Twenty-six years later, in 1965, Flusser would publish The History of the Devil, and it is the essence of those two books that haunts his own. From that time his life as a philosopher was born. While Flusser would later garner attention in Europe and elsewhere as a thinker of media culture, The History of the Devil is considered by many to be his first significant work, containing nascent forms of the main themes that would come to preoccupy him over the following decades.In The History of the Devil, Flusser frames the human situation from a pseudo-religious point of view. The phenomenal world, or “reality” in a general sense, is identified as the “Devil,” and that which transcends phenomena, or the philosophers’ and theologians’ “reality,” is identified as “God.” Referencing Wittgenstein’s Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus in its structure, Flusser provocatively leads the reader through an existential exploration of nothingness as the bedrock of reality, where “phenomenon” and “transcendence,” “Devil” and “God” become fused and confused. So radically confused, in fact, that Flusser suggests we abandon the quotation marks from the terms “Devil” and “God.” At this moment of abysmal confusion, we must make the existential decisions that give direction to our lives.

    Reveals the hidden meaning of the alphabet and the surprising ways it has been used in history.

    The definitive account of Athens in the age of Pericles, Christian Meier's gripping study begins with the Greek triumph over Persia at the Battle of Salamis, one of the most significant military victories in history. Meier shows how that victory decisively established Athens' military dominance in the Mediterranean & made possible its rise to preeminence in almost every field of human endeavor--commerce, science, philosophy, art, architecture & literature. Within 75 years, Athens had become the most original & innovative civilization the ancient world ever produced. With elegant narrative style, Meier traces the birth of democracy & the flourishing of Greek culture in the 5th century BCE, as well as Athens' slow decline & defeat in the Peloponnesian War. The great figures--from politicians & generals like Themistocles & Alcibiades to the philosophers Socrates & Plato--emerge as flesh-&-blood human beings, firmly rooted in their times & places. This is history in the tradition of Simon Schama & Barbara Tuchman--learned, accessible & beautifully written.

    A lavishly illustrated volume featuring the wall paintings found in the Bronze Age city of Akrotiri, on the island of Thera (also known as Santorini).

    For five hundred years they dominated the lands north of the Alps, before being largely absorbed into the Roman Empire. But Celtic culture survived and achieved a glorious flowering in the post-Roman, early Christian era. Today Celtic influence can be found in arts and crafts, in legends, in place names, and even in languages.In this generously illustrated introduction to the world of the Celts, Simon James charts their way of life from farming to feasting, their wars, their gods, and their superb craftsmanship in metal, wood, and stone. He covers the neglected subject of Celtic life under Roman rule, particularly in Gaul and Britain, and the continuing traditions in Ireland after AD 400, when a Celtic renaissance gave birth to heroic tales, masterpieces of enameled metalwork, and renowned illuminated manuscripts.

    See how the very first Christians lived, worshipped, worked, and died for their faith. Observe the intrigues of Imperial Rome as it faces the challenge of this courageous new religion. 350 full-color illustrations.

    The careers of numerous dissident individuals and their attempts at accomodation to a hostile reality are discussed.

    You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.

    That picture emerges in these essays and eloquently displays the breadth of modern interest in the Hellenistic Age.A distrust of all ideologies has altered old views of ancient political structures, and feminism has also changed earlier assessments. The current emphasis on multiculturalism has consciously deemphasized the Western, Greco-Roman tradition, and Nubians, Bactrians, and other subject peoples of the time are receiving attention in their own right, not just as recipients of Greco-Roman culture.History, like Herakleitos' river, never stands still. These essays share a collective sense of discovery and a sparking of new ideas—they are a welcome beginning to the reexploration of a fascinatingly complex age.

    Long awaited since the first edition, this revised release contains over 140 paintings and drawings, with extremely interesting and well researched text.

    In this pioneering study, Ralph W. Mathisen examines the "fall" in one part of the western Empire, Gaul, to better understand the shift from Roman to Germanic power that occurred in the region during the fifth century AD.Mathisen uncovers two apparently contradictory trends. First, he finds that barbarian settlement did provoke significant changes in Gaul, including the disappearance of most secular offices under the Roman imperial administration, the appropriation of land and social influence by the barbarians, and a rise in the overall level of violence. Yet he also shows that the Roman aristocrats proved remarkably adept at retaining their rank and status. How did the aristocracy hold on?Mathisen rejects traditional explanations and demonstrates that rather than simply opposing the barbarians, or passively accepting them, the Roman aristocrats directly responded to them in various ways. Some left Gaul. Others tried to ignore the changes wrought by the newcomers. Still others directly collaborated with the barbarians, looking to them as patrons and holding office in barbarian governments. Most significantly, however, many were willing to change the criteria that determined membership in the aristocracy. Two new characteristics of the Roman aristocracy in fifth-century Gaul were careers in the church and greater emphasis on classical literary culture.These findings shed new light on an age in transition. Mathisen's theory that barbarian integration into Roman society was a collaborative process rather than a conquest is sure to provoke much thought and debate. All historians who study the process of power transfer from native to alien elites will want to consult this work.

    A joint publication of The Jewish Publication Society and the Jewish Theological SeminaryThe definitive work on the subject of Jewish liturgy, Ismar Elbogen’s analysis covers the entire range of Jewish liturgical development—beginning with the early cornerstones of the siddur, through the evolution of the medieval piyyut tradition, to modern prayer book reform in Germany and the United States.

    Stunning photographs and illustrations, plus detailed cutaways, maps and diagrams.

    This volume - based on the second Ian Sanders Memorial Lecture in Sheffield in 1982 and originally published in 1986 - here appears in a corrected reprint, with additional illustrations.

    The Celts adopted this weapon from European Bronze Age cultures and completed its development after it had been superseded by short, stabbing weapons in thewarfare of advanced civilizations. Nonetheless, the role played by the Celtic long sword remained considerable. In this first major study of the subject, Pleiner assesses the importance of the sword, and provides the first systematic treatment of the relevant historical and technological problemsassociated with its manufacture.

    Departing from the narrow perspective of constitutional historians and embracing sociological concerns as well, the range of topics attests to a broad vision of the concepts of citizenship and civic ideology in a society in which the boundary between public and private, secular and sacred, is not always clear. Among the contributors, Philip Brook Manville and W. Robert Connor offer fresh critiques of the study of citizenship, while Frank J. Frost examines pre-Cleisthenic notions of citizenship. Alan Boegehold examines social and economic motivations for the passage of Perikles's citizenship law of 451/0 B.C. Three essays treat various aspects of civic ideology: Ian Morris and Josiah Ober consider evidence for changes in that ideology in the fifth and fourth centuries, Morris by examining its visual manifestation in funeral monuments, and Ober by offering an interpretation of Thucydides's history as a discourse that actively resists hegemonic public discourse. Robert W. Wallace examines what might be perceived as contradictions within civic ideology, namely, alleged infringements of intellectual freedom. The last three essays turn to the fourth and early third centuries. Adele Scafuro discusses the process of citizen identification in Athenian society; Cynthia Patterson examines the position of women in the maintenance of civic ideology; and David Konstan considers the relationship between sexual attitudes and civic status. Offering a broad spectrum of the methods and issues currently of interest to classicalscholars, Athenian Identity and Civic Ideology is a book likely to stir discussion and debate.

    But who actually had the power in Ancient Athens? And was the democracy an unqualified success? Tracing the development of democracy from its origins, and making use of ancient sources, this book examines these and other questions about a famous and intriguing political story.