Confronting The Classics

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Confronting the Classics

Mary Beard
Confronting the Classics Book PDF

Author : Mary Beard
Publisher : Profile Books
Page : 383 pages
File Size : 47,9 Mb
Release : 2013-03-07
Category : History
ISBN : 9781847658883

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Confronting the Classics by Mary Beard Pdf

Mary Beard is one of the world's best-known classicists - a brilliant academic, with a rare gift for communicating with a wide audience both though her TV presenting and her books. In a series of sparkling essays, she explores our rich classical heritage - from Greek drama to Roman jokes, introducing some larger-than-life characters of classical history, such as Alexander the Great, Nero and Boudicca. She invites you into the places where Greeks and Romans lived and died, from the palace at Knossos to Cleopatra's Alexandria - and reveals the often hidden world of slaves. She takes a fresh look at both scholarly controversies and popular interpretations of the ancient world, from The Golden Bough to Asterix. The fruit of over thirty years in the world of classical scholarship, Confronting the Classics captures the world of antiquity and its modern significance with wit, verve and scholarly expertise.

The Fires of Vesuvius

Mary Beard
The Fires of Vesuvius Book PDF

Author : Mary Beard
Publisher : Harvard University Press
Page : 385 pages
File Size : 42,8 Mb
Release : 2010-04-30
Category : History
ISBN : 9780674744417

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The Fires of Vesuvius by Mary Beard Pdf

Pompeii is the most famous archaeological site in the world, visited by more than two million people each year. Yet it is also one of the most puzzling, with an intriguing and sometimes violent history, from the sixth century BCE to the present day. Destroyed by Vesuvius in 79 CE, the ruins of Pompeii offer the best evidence we have of life in the Roman Empire. But the eruptions are only part of the story. In The Fires of Vesuvius, acclaimed historian Mary Beard makes sense of the remains. She explores what kind of town it was—more like Calcutta or the Costa del Sol?—and what it can tell us about “ordinary” life there. From sex to politics, food to religion, slavery to literacy, Beard offers us the big picture even as she takes us close enough to the past to smell the bad breath and see the intestinal tapeworms of the inhabitants of the lost city. She resurrects the Temple of Isis as a testament to ancient multiculturalism. At the Suburban Baths we go from communal bathing to hygiene to erotica. Recently, Pompeii has been a focus of pleasure and loss: from Pink Floyd’s memorable rock concert to Primo Levi’s elegy on the victims. But Pompeii still does not give up its secrets quite as easily as it may seem. This book shows us how much more and less there is to Pompeii than a city frozen in time as it went about its business on 24 August 79.

Pompeii

Mary Beard
Pompeii Book PDF

Author : Mary Beard
Publisher : Profile Books
Page : 385 pages
File Size : 52,7 Mb
Release : 2010-07-09
Category : History
ISBN : 9781847650641

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Pompeii by Mary Beard Pdf

WINNER OF THE WOLFSON HISTORY PRIZE 2008 'The world's most controversial classicist debunks our movie-style myths about the Roman town with meticulous scholarship and propulsive energy' Laura Silverman, Daily Mail The ruins of Pompeii, buried by an explosion of Vesuvius in 79 CE, offer the best evidence we have of everyday life in the Roman empire. This remarkable book rises to the challenge of making sense of those remains, as well as exploding many myths: the very date of the eruption, probably a few months later than usually thought; or the hygiene of the baths which must have been hotbeds of germs; or the legendary number of brothels, most likely only one; or the massive death count, maybe less than ten per cent of the population. An extraordinary and involving portrait of an ancient town, its life and its continuing re-discovery, by Britain's favourite classicist.

SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome

Mary Beard
SPQR A History of Ancient Rome Book PDF

Author : Mary Beard
Publisher : W. W. Norton & Company
Page : 743 pages
File Size : 48,7 Mb
Release : 2015-11-09
Category : History
ISBN : 9781631491252

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SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome by Mary Beard Pdf

New York Times Bestseller A New York Times Notable Book Named one of the Best Books of the Year by the Wall Street Journal, the Economist, Foreign Affairs, and Kirkus Reviews Finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award (Nonfiction) Shortlisted for the Cundill Prize in Historical Literature Finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize (History) A San Francisco Chronicle Holiday Gift Guide Selection A New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice Selection A sweeping, "magisterial" history of the Roman Empire from one of our foremost classicists shows why Rome remains "relevant to people many centuries later" (Atlantic). In SPQR, an instant classic, Mary Beard narrates the history of Rome "with passion and without technical jargon" and demonstrates how "a slightly shabby Iron Age village" rose to become the "undisputed hegemon of the Mediterranean" (Wall Street Journal). Hailed by critics as animating "the grand sweep and the intimate details that bring the distant past vividly to life" (Economist) in a way that makes "your hair stand on end" (Christian Science Monitor) and spanning nearly a thousand years of history, this "highly informative, highly readable" (Dallas Morning News) work examines not just how we think of ancient Rome but challenges the comfortable historical perspectives that have existed for centuries. With its nuanced attention to class, democratic struggles, and the lives of entire groups of people omitted from the historical narrative for centuries, SPQR will to shape our view of Roman history for decades to come.

All in a Don's Day

Mary Beard
All in a Don s Day Book PDF

Author : Mary Beard
Publisher : Profile Books
Page : 311 pages
File Size : 40,6 Mb
Release : 2012-04-05
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 9781847658630

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All in a Don's Day by Mary Beard Pdf

Her central themes are the classics, universities and teaching - and much else besides. In this second collection following on from the success of It's a Don's Life, Beard ponders whether Gaddafi's home is Roman or not, we share her 'terror of humiliation' as she enters 'hairdresser country' and follow her dilemma as she wanders through the quandary of illegible handwriting on examination papers and 'longing for the next dyslexic' - on whose paper the answers are typed, not handwritten. Praise for It's a Don's Life 'Delightful... it has the virtues of brevity, eclecticism and learning worn lightly... if they'd had Mary Beard on their side back then, the Romans would still have their empire' Daily Mail

The Colosseum

Keith Hopkins,Mary Beard
The Colosseum Book PDF

Author : Keith Hopkins,Mary Beard
Publisher : Harvard University Press
Page : 225 pages
File Size : 54,6 Mb
Release : 2012-06-01
Category : History
ISBN : 9780674063594

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The Colosseum by Keith Hopkins,Mary Beard Pdf

Byron and Hitler were equally entranced by Rome’s most famous monument, the Colosseum. Mid-Victorians admired the hundreds of varieties of flowers in its crannies and occasionally shuddered at its reputation for contagion, danger, and sexual temptation. Today it is the highlight of a tour of Italy for more than three million visitors a year, a concert arena for the likes of Paul McCartney, and a national symbol of opposition to the death penalty. Its ancient history is chock full of romantic but erroneous myths. There is no evidence that any gladiator ever said “Hail Caesar, those about to die...” and we know of not one single Christian martyr who met his finish here. Yet the reality is much stranger than the legend as the authors, two prominent classical historians, explain in this absorbing account. We learn the details of how the arena was built and at what cost; we are introduced to the emperors who sometimes fought in gladiatorial games staged at the Colosseum; and we take measure of the audience who reveled in, or opposed, these games. The authors also trace the strange afterlife of the monument—as fortress, shrine of martyrs, church, and glue factory. Why are we so fascinated with this arena of death?

Classics: A Very Short Introduction

Mary Beard,John Henderson
Classics A Very Short Introduction Book PDF

Author : Mary Beard,John Henderson
Publisher : Oxford Paperbacks
Page : 159 pages
File Size : 48,8 Mb
Release : 2000-02-24
Category : Literary Criticism
ISBN : 0192853856

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Classics: A Very Short Introduction by Mary Beard,John Henderson Pdf

Explores the relationship between the contemporary world and the ancient one.

It's a Don's Life

Mary Beard
It s a Don s Life Book PDF

Author : Mary Beard
Publisher : Profile Books
Page : 288 pages
File Size : 42,5 Mb
Release : 2010-08-06
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 9781847652461

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It's a Don's Life by Mary Beard Pdf

Mary Beard's by now famous blog A Don's Life has been running on the TLS website for nearly three years. In it she has made her name as a wickedly subversive commentator on the world in which we live. Her central themes are the classics, universities and teaching -- and much else besides. What are academics for? Who was the first African Roman emperor? Looting -- ancient and modern. Are modern exams easier? Keep lesbos for the lesbians. Did St Valentine exist? What made the Romans laugh? That is just a small taste of this selection (and some of the choicer responses) which will inform, occasionally provoke and cannot fail to entertain.

The Roman Triumph

Mary Beard
The Roman Triumph Book PDF

Author : Mary Beard
Publisher : Harvard University Press
Page : 452 pages
File Size : 47,6 Mb
Release : 2009-05-31
Category : History
ISBN : 0674020596

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The Roman Triumph by Mary Beard Pdf

It followed every major military victory in ancient Rome: the successful general drove through the streets to the temple of Jupiter on the Capitoline Hill; behind him streamed his raucous soldiers; in front were his most glamorous prisoners, as well as the booty he’d captured, from enemy ships and precious statues to plants and animals from the conquered territory. Occasionally there was so much on display that the show lasted two or three days. A radical reexamination of this most extraordinary of ancient ceremonies, this book explores the magnificence of the Roman triumph, but also its darker side. What did it mean when the axle broke under Julius Caesar’s chariot? Or when Pompey’s elephants got stuck trying to squeeze through an arch? Or when exotic or pathetic prisoners stole the general’s show? And what are the implications of the Roman triumph, as a celebration of imperialism and military might, for questions about military power and “victory” in our own day? The triumph, Mary Beard contends, prompted the Romans to question as well as celebrate military glory. Her richly illustrated work is a testament to the profound importance of the triumph in Roman culture—and for monarchs, dynasts and generals ever since. But how can we re-create the ceremony as it was celebrated in Rome? How can we piece together its elusive traces in art and literature? Beard addresses these questions, opening a window on the intriguing process of sifting through and making sense of what constitutes “history.”

Laughter in Ancient Rome

Mary Beard
Laughter in Ancient Rome Book PDF

Author : Mary Beard
Publisher : Univ of California Press
Page : 338 pages
File Size : 46,8 Mb
Release : 2024-02-13
Category : History
ISBN : 9780520401495

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Laughter in Ancient Rome by Mary Beard Pdf

What made the Romans laugh? Was ancient Rome a carnival, filled with practical jokes and hearty chuckles? Or was it a carefully regulated culture in which the uncontrollable excess of laughter was a force to fear--a world of wit, irony, and knowing smiles? How did Romans make sense of laughter? What role did it play in the world of the law courts, the imperial palace, or the spectacles of the arena? Laughter in Ancient Rome explores one of the most intriguing, but also trickiest, of historical subjects. Drawing on a wide range of Roman writing--from essays on rhetoric to a surviving Roman joke book--Mary Beard tracks down the giggles, smirks, and guffaws of the ancient Romans themselves. From ancient "monkey business" to the role of a chuckle in a culture of tyranny, she explores Roman humor from the hilarious, to the momentous, to the surprising. But she also reflects on even bigger historical questions. What kind of history of laughter can we possibly tell? Can we ever really "get" the Romans' jokes?

Religions of Rome: Volume 1, A History

Mary Beard,John North,Simon Price
Religions of Rome Volume 1 A History Book PDF

Author : Mary Beard,John North,Simon Price
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 484 pages
File Size : 41,5 Mb
Release : 1998-06-28
Category : History
ISBN : 0521316820

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Religions of Rome: Volume 1, A History by Mary Beard,John North,Simon Price Pdf

This book offers a radical new survey of more than a thousand years of religious life at Rome. It sets religion in its full cultural context, between the primitive hamlet of the eighth century BC and the cosmopolitan, multicultural society of the first centuries of the Christian era. The narrative account is structured around a series of broad themes: how to interpret the Romans' own theories of their religious system and its origins; the relationship of religion and the changing politics of Rome; the religious importance of the layout and monuments of the city itself; changing ideas of religious identity and community; religious innovation - and, ultimately, revolution. The companion volume, Religions of Rome: A Sourcebook, sets out a wide range of documents richly illustrating the religious life in the Roman world.

Rome in the Late Republic

Mary Beard,Michael Hewson Crawford
Rome in the Late Republic Book PDF

Author : Mary Beard,Michael Hewson Crawford
Publisher : Bloomsbury Academic
Page : 128 pages
File Size : 46,9 Mb
Release : 1985
Category : Rome
ISBN : UCSC:32106016919927

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Rome in the Late Republic by Mary Beard,Michael Hewson Crawford Pdf

"This well-established textbook outlines the factors that every student must assess for a proper understanding of the late Republic, from the attitudes of the aristocracy and the role of state religion to the function of political institutions."--[P. 4], Cover.

The Roman Guide to Slave Management

Jerry Toner
The Roman Guide to Slave Management Book PDF

Author : Jerry Toner
Publisher : Abrams
Page : 138 pages
File Size : 52,9 Mb
Release : 2014-09-04
Category : History
ISBN : 9781468310276

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The Roman Guide to Slave Management by Jerry Toner Pdf

A scholar explores the history of slavery in Ancient Rome using a fictional story as a backdrop. Marcus Sidonius Falx is an average Roman citizen. Born of a relatively well-off noble family, he lives on a palatial estate in Campania, dines with senators and generals, and, like all of his ancestors before him, owns countless slaves. Having spent most of his life managing his servants—many of them prisoners from Rome’s military conquests—he decided to write a kind of owner’s manual for his friends and countrymen. The result, The Roman Guide to Slave Management, is a sly, subversive guide to the realities of servitude in ancient Rome. Cambridge scholar Jerry Toner uses Falx, his fictional but true-to-life creation, to describe where and how to Romans bought slaves, how they could tell an obedient worker from a troublemaker, and even how the ruling class reacted to the inevitable slave revolts. Toner also adds commentary throughout, analyzing the callous words and casual brutality of Falx and his compatriots and putting it all in context for the modern reader. Written with a deep knowledge of ancient culture—and the depths of its cruelty—this is the Roman Empire as you’ve never seen it before. “By turns charming, haughty, and brutal . . . an ingenious device.” —The New Yorker “[Toner’s] history and commentary provides context for the dirty institution upon which modern civilization is built.” —Publishers Weekly

Women & Power

Mary Beard
Women Power Book PDF

Author : Mary Beard
Publisher : Profile Books
Page : 87 pages
File Size : 50,8 Mb
Release : 2017-11-02
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 9781782834533

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Women & Power by Mary Beard Pdf

An updated edition of the Sunday Times Bestseller Britain's best-known classicist Mary Beard, is also a committed and vocal feminist. With wry wit, she revisits the gender agenda and shows how history has treated powerful women. Her examples range from the classical world to the modern day, from Medusa and Athena to Theresa May and Hillary Clinton. Beard explores the cultural underpinnings of misogyny, considering the public voice of women, our cultural assumptions about women's relationship with power, and how powerful women resist being packaged into a male template. A year on since the advent of #metoo, Beard looks at how the discussions have moved on during this time, and how that intersects with issues of rape and consent, and the stories men tell themselves to support their actions. In trademark Beardian style, using examples ancient and modern, Beard argues, 'it's time for change - and now!' From the author of international bestseller SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome.

The Invention of Jane Harrison

Mary Beard
The Invention of Jane Harrison Book PDF

Author : Mary Beard
Publisher : Harvard University Press
Page : 260 pages
File Size : 48,5 Mb
Release : 2002-05-03
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 0674008073

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The Invention of Jane Harrison by Mary Beard Pdf

Jane Ellen Harrison (1850-1928) is the most famous female Classicist in history, the author of books that revolutionized our understanding of Greek culture and religion. This lively and innovative portrayal of a fascinating woman raises the question of who wins (and how) in the competition for academic fame.