Title: The classical world : an epic history from Homer to Hadrian /
Authors: Lane Fox, Robin, 1946-
Publisher: Allen Lane,
Year: 2005
Subjects: Hadrian,; Civilization, Classical.; Greece History; Rome History; Rome History
Abstract: "The classical civilizations of Greece and Rome dominated the world some forty lifetimes before our own, and they continue to intrigue, inspire and enlighten us. The Classical World describes the vast sweep of history in which these two great civilizations prevailed - from the epic poems of Homer and the beginning of literacy through the foundation of Athenian democracy and the turbulent empire-building of Alexander the Great to the Roman Republic and the establishment of the Roman Empire, the rise of Christianity, and the challenges this new faith faced in the Roman imperial age. Robin Lane Fox's telling of this great story focuses on the themes of freedom, justice and luxury which unified these civilizations, and approaches the classical worlds through the eyes of their classicizing enthusiast, the Roman Emperor Hadrian."--Jacket.
Contents: Hadrian and the classical world -- pt. 1. The archaic Greek world -- 1. Homeric epic -- 2. The Greeks' settlements -- 3. Aristocrats -- 4. The immortal Gods -- 5. Tyrants and lawgivers -- 6. Sparta -- 7. The eastern Greeks -- 8. Towards democracy -- 9. The Persian wars -- 10. The western Greeks -- pt. 2. The classical Greek world -- 11. Conquest and empire -- 12. A changing Greek cultural world -- 13. Pericles and Athens -- 14. The Peloponnesian War -- 15. Socrates -- 16. Fighting for freedom and justice -- 17. Women and children -- 18. Philip of Macedon -- 19. The two philosophers -- 20. Fourth-century Athenians -- pt. 3. Hellenistic worlds -- 21. Alexander the Great -- 22. Alexander's early successors -- 23. Life in the big cities -- 24. The new world -- 25. Rome reaches out -- 26. The peace of the gods -- 27. Liberation in the south -- 28. Hannibal and Rome -- 29. Diplomacy and dominance -- pt. 4. The Roman republic -- 30. Luxury and licence -- 31. Turbulence at home and abroad -- 32. Pompey's triumphs -- 33. The world of Cicero -- 34. The rise of Julius Caesar -- 35. The spectre of civil war -- 36. The fatal dictator -- 37. Liberation betrayed -- pt. 5. From republic to empire -- 38. Antony and Cleopatra -- 39. The making of the emperor -- 40. Morals and society -- 41. Spectator sports -- 42. The Roman army -- 43. The new age -- pt. 6. An imperial world -- 44. The Julio-Claudians -- 45. Ruling the provinces -- 46. Effects of empire -- 47. Christianity and Roman rule -- 48. Surviving four emperors -- 49. The new dynasty -- 50. The last days of Pompeii -- 51. A new man in action -- 52. A Pagan and Christians -- 53. Regime change, home and away -- 54. Presenting the past -- Hadrian : a retrospective.