This very short introduction to classics links a haunting temple on a lonely mountainside to the glory of ancient Greece and the grandeur of Rome, and to classics within modern culture--from Jefferson and Byron to Asterix and Ben-Hur. We are all classicists--we come into touch with the classics daily: in our culture, politics, medicine, architecture, language, and literature. What are the true roots of these influences, however, and how do our interpretations...

The best-selling author of The Fires of Vesuvius presents a comprehensive history of the social and political world of the Roman emperors including Julius Caesar, Nero, Alexander Severus, Caligula, and Marcus Aurelius. "Drawing on more than thirty years of teaching and writing about Roman history, [Mary] Beard turns to the emperors who ruled the Roman Empire, beginning with Julius Caesar (assassinated 44 BCE) and taking us through the nearly three...

Describes every major military campaign and victory in ancient Rome, explaining what the Roman triumph really looked like and what it symbolized.

This is the story of Rome's greatest arena - how it was built, the gladiatorial and other games that were held there, the training of the gladiators, the audiences who revelled in the games, the emperors who staged them and the critics, and the strange after-life.