Boys Were Their Gods

By Andrew Lear, Eva Cantarella

This lavishly illustrated book brings together, for the first time, all of the different ways in which vase-painting portrays or refers to pederasty, from scenes of courtship, foreplay, and sex, to scenes of Zeus with his boy-love Ganymede, to painted inscriptions praising the beauty of boys. The book shows how painters used the language of vase-painting to cast pederasty in an idealizing light, portraying it as part of a world in which beautiful elite males display praiseworthy attitudes, such as moderation, and engage in approved activities, such as hunting, athletics, and the symposium. The book also incorporates a comprehensive catalogue of relevant vase-paintings, compiled by noted archaeologist Keith DeVries. It is the most comprehensive treatment available of an institution that has few modern parallels.

ISBN: 9780415223676

Published May 02 2008 by Routledge.

A Sourcebook

By Michael M. Sage

The Republican Roman Army assembles a wide range of source material and introduces the latest scholarship on the evolution of the Roman Army and the Roman experience of war. The author has carefully selected and translated key texts, many of them not previously available in English, and provided them with comprehensive commentaries and essays.

This wide-ranging survey of documents recreates the social and historical framework in which ancient Roman warfare took place – from the Archaic and Servian period through to the Late Republic. The topics addressed extend beyond the conventional questions of army mechanics such as strategy and tactics, and explore questions such as the army’s influence on Roman society and its economy.

Complete with notes, index and bibliography, The Republican Roman Army provides students of Ancient and Military History with an unprecedented survey of relevant materials.

ISBN: 9780415178792

Published May 02 2008 by Routledge.

Self-Presentation and Society

By Kelly Olson

In ancient Rome, the subtlest details in dress helped to distinguish between levels of social and moral hierarchy. Clothes were a key part of the sign systems of Roman civilization – a central aspect of its visual language, for women as well as men.

This engaging book collects and examines artistic evidence and literary references to female clothing, cosmetics and ornament in Roman antiquity, deciphering their meaning and revealing what it meant to be an adorned woman in Roman society.

Cosmetics, ornaments and fashion were often considered frivolous, wasteful or deceptive, which reflects ancient views about the nature of women. However, Kelly Olson uses literary evidence to argue that women often took pleasure in fashioning themselves, and many treated adornment as a significant activity, enjoying the social status, influence and power that it signified.

This study makes an important contribution to our knowledge of Roman women and is essential reading for anyone interested in ancient Roman life.

ISBN: 9780415414753

Published April 28 2008 by Routledge.

By Daniel Ogden

The son of Zeus, Perseus belongs in the first rank of Greek heroes. Indeed to some he was a greater hero even than Heracles. With the help of Hermes and Athena he slew the Gorgon Medusa, conquered a mighty sea monster and won the hand of the beautiful princess Andromeda. This volume tells of his enduring myth, it's rendering in art and literature, and its reception through the Roman period and up to the modern day.

This is the first scholarly book in English devoted to Perseus' myth in its entirety for over a century. With information drawn from a diverse range of sources as well as varied illustrations, the volume illuminates the importance of the Perseus myth throughout the ages.

ISBN: 9780415427241

Published February 11 2008 by Routledge.

By Susan Deacy

In this definitive assessment of the various representations and approaches to Athena, Susan Deacy does what no other has done before and brings all the aspects of this legendary figure into one, outstanding study.

A survey of one of the most enduringly popular of ancient deities, the book introduces Athena’s myth, cult and reception, while directing the reader to detailed discussion as and when it is appropriate.

Students will find it a great help in their studies, and for the general reader with an interest in the ancient world and for those from related disciplines such as literature, art history and religion, it provides a mine of information and insight into this fascinating classical figure.

ISBN: 9780415300650

Published February 11 2008 by Routledge.

A Student's Guide

By Louise Hitchcock

This student's guide is a clear and concise Handbook to the key connections between Classical Studies and critical theory in the twentieth century. Louise Hitchcock looks at the way Classics has been engaged across a number of disciplines.

Beginning with four foundational figures – Freud, Marx, Nietzshe and Saussure – Hitchcock goes on to provide guided introductions of the major theoretical thinkers of the past century, from Adorno to Williams. Each entry offers biographical, theoretical and bibliographical information along with a discussion of each figure's relevance to Classical Studies and suggestions for future research.

Brisk, thoughtful, provocative, and engaging, this will be an essential first volume for anyone interested in the intersection between theory and classical studies today.

ISBN: 9780415454971

Published January 15 2008 by Routledge.

The Middle Euphrates, Mesopotamia and Palmyra Under Roman Control

By Peter Edwell

The conflict between the powerful Roman and Iranian empires arising from the extension of Roman power into today’s Middle East is coming into increasingly sharp focus, thanks to the amount of evidence now available. This richly illustrated book examines this evidence to reveal how Rome established itself on the middle Euphrates, in Mesopotamia and Palmyra, and its efforts to consolidate power over these areas.

Reviewing evidence from Palmyra and Dura Europos – two of the most important archaeological sites in the Roman East – Peter M. Edwell builds a picture of the Roman military presence throughout this region. In the process he questions some commonly held assumptions about the nature of the Roman political and military presence at these ancient cities and the region of which they were an important part, forming a fresh and original perspective on the subject.

ISBN: 9780415424783

Published December 18 2007 by Routledge.

A Corpus of Sources from the Achaemenid Period

By Amelie Kuhrt

This lavish set of books contains the most complete collection of raw material for reconstructing the history of the Achaemenid Persian Empire to date.

Studying Achaemenid history has been difficult in the past because original sources include texts from hugely disparate origins, many different languages and various periods in history; the risk is to rely too heavily on biased and often inaccurate Greek and Roman sources.

Amelie Kuhrt presents here an unprecedented collection of key texts to form a balanced representation of all aspects of the Empire, in translations from their original Greek, Old Persian, Akkadian, Hebrew, Aramaic, Egyptian or Latin.

Kuhrt selects from classical writers, the Old Testament, royal inscriptions, administrative documents and Babylonian historical writing, as well as the evidence of monuments, artefacts and archaeological sites. All material is accompanied by a detailed introduction to the sources and guidelines to their interpretation.

A truly monumental achievement, this collection will prove to be a major resource for any student of Persian history, from undergraduate level to the advanced scholar.

ISBN: 9780415436281

Published December 14 2007 by Routledge.

Poetry and Analogy in Lucretius

By Myrto Garani

Despite the general scholarly consensus about Lucretius’ debt to Empedocles as the father of the genre of cosmological didactic epic, there is a major disagreement regarding Lucretius’ applause for his Presocratic predecessor’s praeclara reperta (DRN 1.732). In the present study, Garani suggests that by praising Empedocles’ discoveries, Lucretius points to his predecessor’s epistemological methods of inquiry concerning the unseen, methods upon which he himself draws extensively and creatively enhances. In this way, he successfully penetrates into the invisible natural world, deciphers its secrets, and thus liberates his pupil from superstitious fears about death and physical phenomena. To justify this proposition, Garani undertakes a systematic analysis of Lucretius’ integration of Empedocles’ methods of creating analogies in the form of literary devices -- personifications, similes, and metaphors -- and demonstrates that his intertextual engagement with Empedocles’ philosophical poem is direct and intensive at both the poetic and the philosophical levels.

ISBN: 9780415988490

Published December 07 2007 by Routledge.

By David J. Lonsdale

This book offers a strategic analysis of one of the most outstanding military careers in history, identifying the most pertinent strategic lessons from the campaigns of Alexander the Great.

David Lonsdale argues that since the core principles of strategy are eternal, the study and analysis of historical examples have value to the modern theorist and practitioner. Furthermore, as strategy is so complex and challenging, the remarkable career of Alexander provides the ideal opportunity to understand best practice in strategy, as he achieved outstanding and continuous success across the spectrum of warfare, in a variety of circumstances and environments. This book presents the thirteen most pertinent lessons that can be learned from his campaigns, dividing them into three categories: grand strategy, military operations, and use of force. Each of these categories provides lessons pertinent to the modern strategic environment. Ultimately, however, the book argues that the dominant factor in his success was Alexander himself, and that it was his own characteristics as a strategist that allowed him to overcome the complexities of strategy and achieve his expansive goals.

ISBN: 9780415358477

Published December 06 2007 by Routledge.