Author: Mary Beard
File Type: mobi
One of the worlds leading historians provides a revolutionary tour of the Ancient World, dusting off the classics for the twenty-first century.Mary Beard, drawing on thirty years of teaching and writing about Greek and Roman history, provides a panoramic portrait of the classical world, a book in which we encounter not only Cleopatra and Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar and Hannibal, but also the common peoplethe millions of inhabitants of the Roman Empire, the slaves, soldiers, and women. How did they live? Where did they go if their marriage was in trouble or if they were broke? Or, perhaps just as important, how did they clean their teeth? Effortlessly combining the epic with the quotidian, Beard forces us along the way to reexamine so many of the assumptions we held as gospelnot the least of them the perception that the Emperor Caligula was bonkers or Nero a monster. With capacious wit and verve, Beard demonstrates that, far from being carved in marble, the classical world is still very much alive. 17 illustrationsFrom Publishers WeeklyOffering up 30 years of pointed insights and inquisitions, Cambridge classics professor Beard (The Fires of Vesuvius) returns with a collection of primarily reprinted reviews of her classicist peers work that somehow manages to touch on nearly every notable person, place, and event associated with the Ancient world. But for Beard, while the classics have always been a dialogue with the dead, the dead do not include only those who went to their graves two thousand years ago. Rather, the study of the Classics is the study of what happens in the gap between antiquity and ourselves. Its the back-and-forth sparring between betweeded Oxford dons, its Picasso and Shakespeare, its Ben-Hur and Gladiatorits anything that engages in or, as the wonderful title suggests, confronts that gilded and gargantuan Greco-Roman world. So, the chapter about King Minoss legendary palace is much more concerned with how and why Arthur Evans decided to elaborately, and disastrously, restore the site in the early 20th century. The discussion of Cleopatra turns around historys ever-changing, mostly guessing portrait, and ends with Beard finally advising that we just stick with the Augustan myth and Horaces ydemented queen. And then theres her fascinating, gentle dig at the obsessive, retiring Victorian academic Charles Frazer. All in all, a smart, adventuresome read. Illus. & photos. (Sept.) ReviewStarred review. Beards clear way of explaining times and people we may or may not have heard of makes learning not only fun, but satisfying, and her prose style is easy without being annoyingly breezy. A top-notch introduction to some fairly arcane material, accessible but not patronizing. (Kirkus Reviews)Beard is the bestcommunicator of Classics we have. (Independent Sunday (UK))Witty, erudite collectionTo Beard, the classical past is alive and kickingand she has the great gift of being able to show just why classics is still a subject worth arguing about. (Sunday Times (UK))These reviews are ideal for providing a basic understanding of classical studies, as they not only pinpoint the strengths and weaknesses of the books she reviews but also elucidate the sometimes tricky nuances of current approaches in the field. Not to be missed by fans of Beard, this will also appeal to readers generally interested in classical studies. (Library Journal)Highly engaging. (Sunday Telegraph (UK))With such a champion as Beard to debunk and popularise, the future of the study of classics is assured. (Daily Telegraph (UK))Engagingimpressive Through her lively discussion of modern scholarship, Ms. Beard succeeds in her goal of proving that study of the Classics is still a work in progress not done and dusted. (The Economist)Offering up 30 years of pointed insights and inquisitions, Cambridge classics professor Beard (The Fires of Vesuvius) returns with a collection of primarily reprinted reviews of her classicist peers work that somehow manages to touch on nearly every notable person, place, and event associated with the Ancient world.. All in all, a smart, adventuresome read. (Publishers Weekly)In this thought-provoking collection of essays and book reviews, Cambridge classicist Mary Beard explores the reasons that ancient Greece and Rome still matter. Lively and engaging, Beards scholarship brings Pericles, Antony, Neroand other ancient titansback to life. (Booklist)