AHY 2209: Roman Art and Architecture: Research Sources

Although most Romans lived outside urban centers, the core of Roman civilization lay in its cities. Throughout the empire these cities--modeled as they were after Rome--were strikingly alike. In Gregory Aldrete's exhaustive account, readers can peer into the inner workings of daily life in ancient Rome and examine the history, infrastructure, government, and economy of Rome; its emperors; and its inhabitants--their life and death, dangers and pleasures, entertainment, and religion. Aldrete also shows how Roman cities differed. To accomplish this comparison, in addition to Rome, he explores Ostia, an industrial port town, and Pompeii, the doomed playground of the rich. Daily Life in the Roman City includes a chronology, maps, numerous illustrations, useful appendices (on names, the Roman calendar, clothing and appearance, and construction techniques), a bibliography, and an index. This volume is ideal for high school and college students and for others wishing to examine the realities of life in ancient Rome.

From the prizewinning author of Caesar and How Rome Fell, a major new account of the charged love affair between Antony and Cleopatra, richly informed by military and political history "Outstanding: filled with fascinating details of personality, power, sex and death. This is the best book I've read on Antony and Cleopatra--gripping and flamboyant yet scholarly and magisterial."--Simon Sebag Montefiore A masterfully told--and deeply human--story of love, politics, and ambition, Adrian Goldsworthy's Antony and Cleopatra delivers a compelling reassessment of a major episode in ancient history. In this remarkable dual biography of the two great lovers of the ancient world, Goldsworthy goes beyond myth and romance to create a nuanced and historically acute portrayal of his subjects, set against the political backdrop of their time. A history of lives lived intensely at a time when the world was changing profoundly, the book takes readers on a journey that crosses cultures and boundaries from ancient Greece and ancient Egypt to the Roman Empire. Drawing on his prodigious knowledge of the ancient world and his keen sense of the period's military and political history, Goldsworthy creates a singular portrait of the iconic lovers. "Antony and Cleopatra were first and foremost political animals," explains Goldsworthy, who places politics and ideology at the heart of their storied romance. Undertaking a close analysis of ancient sources and archaeological evidence, Goldsworthy bridges the gaps of current scholarship and dispels misconceptions that have entered the popular consciousness. He explains why Cleopatra was consistently portrayed by Hollywood as an Egyptian, even though she was really Greek, and argues that Antony had far less military experience than anyone would suspect from reading Shakespeare and other literature. Goldsworthy makes an important case for understanding Antony as a powerful Roman senator and political force in his own right.

Tracing the extraordinary trajectory of the great Roman emperor's life, Goldsworthy covers not only the great Roman emperor's accomplishments as charismatic orator, conquering general, and powerful dictator but also lesser-known chapters during which he was high priest of an exotic cult, captive of pirates, seducer not only of Cleopatra but also of the wives of his two main political rivals, and rebel condemned by his own country. Ultimately, Goldsworthy realizes the full complexity of Caesar's character and shows why his political and military leadership continues to resonate some two thousand years later. In the introduction to his biography of the great Roman emperor, Adrian Goldsworthy writes, "Caesar was at times many things, including a fugitive, prisoner, rising politician, army leader, legal advocate, rebel, dictator . . . as well as husband, father, lover and adulterer." In this landmark biography, Goldsworthy examines Caesar as military leader, all of these roles and places his subject firmly within the context of Roman society in the first century B.C.

Available for the first time in paperback, with a new introduction that reviews related scholarship of the past twenty years, Erich Gruen's classic study of the late Republic examines institutions as well as personalities, social tensions as well as politics, the plebs and the army as well as the aristocracy.

For over sixty years, The Oxford Classical Dictionary has been the unrivalled one-volume reference in the field of classics. Now completely revised and updated to include the very latest research findings, developments, and publications, this highly acclaimed reference work will be the most up-to-date and comprehensive dictionary available on all aspects of the classical era. In over 6,700 entries written by the very best of classical scholars from around the world, the Dictionary provides coverage of Greek and Roman history, literature, myth, religion, linguistics, philosophy, law, science, art, archaeology, near eastern studies, and late antiquity. New entries supplement the existing material, including entries on topics such as Adrasteia, Latin anthologies, Jewish art, ancient religious beliefs, emotions, film, gender, kinship, and many more. Other specific developments include an added focus on two new areas: "anthropology" and "reception". All entries are written in an accessible style and all Latin and Greek words have been translated to ensure ease of use. Under the editorship of Simon Hornblower, Antony Spawforth, and Esther Eidinow, a huge range of contributors have revised and updated the text, which has made an already outstanding work even better.The Dictionary covers:1) politics, government, economy - from political figures to political systems, terms and practices, histories of major states and empires, economic theory, agriculture, artisans and industry, trade and markets2) religion and mythology - deities and mythological creatures, beliefs and rituals, sanctuaries and sacred buildings, astrology3) law and philosophy - from biographies of lawgivers and lawyers to legal terms and procedures, from major and minor philosophers to philosophical schools, terms, and concepts4) science and geography - scientists and specific theory and practice, doctors and medicine, climate and landscape, natural disasters, regions and islands, cities and settlements, communications5) languages, literature, art, and architecture - languages and dialects, writers and literary terms and genres, orators and rhetorical theory and practice, drama and performance, art, painters and sculptors, architects, buildings and materials6) archaeology and historical writing - amphorae and pottery, shipwrecks and cemeteries, historians, and Greek and Roman historiography7) military history - generals, arms and armour, famous battles, attitudes to warfare8) social history, sex, and gender - women and the family, kinship, peasants and slaves, attitudes to sexuality

With the full panorama of her life forever lost, Cleopatra touches us in a series of sensational images: floating through a perfumed mist down the Nile; dressed as Venus for a tryst at Tarsus; unfurled from a roll of linens before Caesar; couchant, the deadly asp clasped to her breast. Through such images, each immortalizing the Egyptian queen's encounters with legendary Romans--Julius Caesar, Mark Antony, and Octavian Augustus--we might also chart her rendezvous with the destiny of Rome. So Diana Kleiner shows us in this provocative book, which opens an entirely new perspective on one of the most intriguing women who ever lived. Cleopatra and Rome reveals how these iconic episodes, absorbed into a larger historical and political narrative, document a momentous cultural shift from the Hellenistic world to the Roman Empire. In this story, Cleopatra's death was not an end but a beginning--a starting point for a wide variety of appropriations by Augustus and his contemporaries that established a paradigm for cultural conversion.In this beautifully illustrated book, we experience the synthesis of Cleopatra's and Rome's defining moments through surviving works of art and other remnants of what was once an opulent material culture: religious and official architecture, cult statuary, honorary portraiture, villa paintings, tombstones, and coinage, but also the theatrical display of clothing, perfume, and hair styled to perfection for such ephemeral occasions as triumphal processions or barge cruises. It is this visual culture that best chronicles Cleopatra's legend and suggests her subtle but indelible mark on the art of imperial Rome at the critical moment of its inception.

Few personalities from classical antiquity are more famous--yet more poorly understood--than Cleopatra VII, queen of Egypt. In the centuries since her death in 30 BC, she has been endlessly portrayed in the arts and popular culture, from Shakespearean tragedy to paintings, opera, and movies. Despite the queen's enduring celebrity, however, many have dismissed her as a mere seductress. In this major new biography, Duane Roller reveals that Cleopatra was in fact a learned and visionary leader whose overarching goal was always the preservation of her dynasty and kingdom.Roller's authoritative account is the first to be based solely on primary materials from the Greco-Roman period: literary sources, Egyptian documents (Cleopatra's own writings), and representations in art and coinage produced while she was alive. His compelling portrait of the queen illuminates her prowess as a royal administrator who managed a large and diverse kingdom extending from Asia Minor to the interior of Egypt, as a naval commander who led her own fleet in battle, and as a scholar and supporter of the arts. Even her love affairs with Julius Caesar and Marcus Antonius - the source of her reputation as a supreme seductress who drove men to their doom - were carefully crafted state policies: she chose these partners to insure the procreation of successors who would be worthy of her distinguished dynasty. That Cleopatra ultimately lost to her Roman opponents, Roller contends, in no way diminishes her abilities. This definitive portrait restores the Egyptian queen to her rightful historical status as a potent force in the ancient world--one whose policies and influence long survived her and played a determining role in the future course of the Roman empire.

An anthology of translations from Latin and Greek source materials, As the Romans Did offers a highly revealing look at everyday Roman life, providing clear, lively translations of a fascinating array of documents--from personal letters, farming manuals, medical texts, and recipes, to poetry, graffiti, and tombstone inscriptions. Each selection is newly translated into readable, contemporary English and fully annotated to give necessary historical and cultural background. In addition, the book includes abundant biographical notes, maps, appendices, and cross-references to related topics, as well as an extensive bibliography, providing students with substantial background material to broaden their understanding of the selections. Arranged thematically into chapters on family life, housing, education, entertainment, religion, and other important topics, the translations reveal the ambitions and aspirations not only of the upper class, but of the average Roman citizen as well; they tell not only of the success and failure of Rome's grandiose imperialist policies, but also of the pleasures and the hardships of everyday life.

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By examining his military and political career, home life and relationships with women, Always I Am Caesar provides a vivid portrait of Caesar's life and the times of ancient Rome during its transition from republic to empire. Provides a richer portrait of Caesar's life by viewing him from multiple perspective and relating him to broader Roman society Explores aspects of Caesar's career in cultural and social terms Engaging and witty style will appeal to general readers

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