Ancient

Mythos is a modern collection of Greek myths, stylishly retold by legendary writer, actor, and comedian Stephen Fry. Fry transforms the adventures of Zeus and the Olympians into emotionally resonant and deeply funny stories, without losing any of their original wonder. This stunning book...

A lively and engaging narrative history showing the common threads in the cultures that gave birth to our own....

The legendary Stephen Fry retells the adventures of Odysseus for the fourth and final installment in his internationally bestselling Greek Myths series. Odysseus’s journey from the battlefields of Troy to his home in Ithaca is one of the greatest stories ever told. From the lotus-eaters to the...

Mary Beard narrates the unprecedented rise of a civilization that even 2,000 years later still shapes many of our most fundamental assumptions about power....

Even after deciphering its hieroglyphs, and marveling at its scarabs, mummies, obelisks, and sphinxes, Egyptian civilization remains one of history's most mysterious....

The past truly comes alive as you take a series of imaginative leaps into the world of history's anonymous citizens....

Learn how a single tongue spoken 150,000 years ago evolved into the estimated 6,000 languages used around the world today....

Deep in the swampy heart of ancient Mexico, the Olmecs built a grand and influential civilization between 1800 and 400 BCE. The archaeological remains raise more questions than answers about the origins and legacy of this captivating Mesoamerican culture.

Even today, the influence of Ancient Rome is indelible, with Europe and the world owing this extraordinary empire a huge cultural debt in almost every important category....

In this sequel to the bestselling Mythos, legendary author and actor Stephen Fry moves from the exploits of the Olympian gods to the deeds of mortal heroes. Perseus. Jason. Atalanta. Theseus. Heracles. Rediscover the thrills, grandeur, and unabashed fun of the Greek myths. Whether recounting a...

Learn what the scrolls are, what they contain, and how the insights they offered into religious and ancient history came into focus....

These lectures consistently deliver a fresh level of understanding about medieval England, its rulers and subjects, and their significance....

In this brilliant conclusion to his bestselling Mythos trilogy, legendary author and actor Stephen Fry retells the tale of the Trojan War. Full of tragic heroes, intoxicating love stories, and the unstoppable force of fate, there is no conflict more iconic than the Trojan War. Troy is the story...

In this landmark work, one of the world's most renowned Egyptologists tells the epic story of this great civilization, from its birth as the first nation-state to its final absorption....

Take this opportunity to complete your understanding of the ancient world and discover the humanity of the ancient Persian....

These 36 lectures bring you the answers that the latest scientific and archaeological research and theorizing suggest about human origins....

These 36 eye-opening lectures deliver a comprehensive political and historical overview of one of the most fascinating and complex countries in world history....

This sweeping history of the often-violent conflict between Islam and the West sheds a revealing light on current hostilities....

These 12 fast-paced lectures cover many civilizations that may only receive a few lines of cursory discussion in the average Western civilization textbook....

Daughter. Duhitár-. Dustr. Dukte. Listen to these English, Sanskrit, Armenian and Lithuanian words, all meaning the same thing, and you hear echoes of one of history’s most unlikely journeys.

Immerse yourself in this epic story with 48 exhilarating half-hour lectures that cover the scope of Mesoamerican history and culture....

Clearly, the Greeks are a source of much that we esteem in our own culture.....

Here in a single volume is the entire, unabridged recording of Gibbon's masterpiece....

Step back to Christianity's first three centuries to see how it transitioned from the religion of Jesus to a religion about Jesus....

These 24 lectures trace a journey from Scandinavia across central Europe to the farthest reaches of the Byzantine and Islamic empires, providing insight to this one-lost era....

Chocolate is one of the most popular food items around the world. While most of us today consume it in the form of candy, desserts, and sugary drinks, chocolate has taken many forms as it traveled from its ancient Mesoamerican roots to the 21st century. In the eight lectures of The History of Chocolate, you’ll join author and food historian Sam Bilton to trace the long and winding journey of a food that is so much more than just a sweet treat.

“Superb....Augustus is a first-rate popular biography by a skilled and knowing hand.” (Washington Post) Caesar Augustus created the Roman Empire and forever associated the name Caesar with power. Heir to Julius Caesar, he thrust himself into the middle of Roman politics at its most violent...

The struggle between Rome and Carthage in the Punic Wars was arguably the greatest and most desperate conflict of antiquity. The forces involved and the casualties suffered by both sides were far greater than in any wars fought before the modern era, while the eventual outcome had far-reaching...

In southern Iraq, a crushing silence hangs over the dunes. For nearly 5,000 years, the sands of the Iraqi desert have held the remains of the oldest known civilization: the Sumerians. When American archaeologists discovered a collection of cuneiform tablets in Iraq in the late 19th century, they were confronted with a language and a people who were at the time only scarcely known to even the most knowledgeable scholars of ancient Mesopotamia.

死の床に就いた桓武天皇．安定した皇位継承を願う彼の“遺言”は，歴史を大きく動かした．ポスト桓武の時代，血なまぐさい事件が起こるなか，藤原北家は幸運を引きつけ，類い稀な才覚と政治的嗅覚を持つ者たちが，天皇家との関係を深めてゆく．

Imagine you were transported back in time to Ancient Egypt and you had to start a new life there. How would you fit in? Where would you live? What would you eat? Where would you go to have your hair done? Who would you go to if you got ill, or if you were mugged in the street? All these questions, and many more, will be answered in this how-to guide for time travelers.

Savage and bloodthirsty, or civilized and peaceable? The Celts have long been a subject of enormous fascination, speculation, and misunderstanding. From the ancient Romans to the present day, their real nature has been obscured by a tangled web of preconceived ideas and stereotypes.

La lágrima de Jantipa es un estudio de la Grecia clásica a partir de la palabra de los filósofos y su concepción de lo femenino, un ensayo histórico sobre la configuración de un pensamiento que suponía que las mujeres no debían ser educadas más allá de la labor matronalis y los deberes conyugales.

"By connecting our modern heroes to the archetypes of ancient myth, Peter Meineck's marvelous book bestows thrilling contemporary resonance upon those bygone legends." —Christopher Markus, coscreenwriter of Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame What connects Dionysus, the ancient Greek...

In August 1856, mine workers were excavating the Feldhofer Grotto in the western part of Germany. The cave was one of many in a narrow gorge cut by the Düssel River through limestone outcrops. Here, workers discovered what they believed were human bones. An amateur naturalist from the nearby town of Elberfeld, Johann Carl Fuhlrott, heard about the find and decided to take a look at the remains, which were said to be very old. This discovery would ultimately reshape our understanding of human evolution, though that realization would take many decades to unfold.

Discourses on Livy, written in 1531, is as essential to understanding Machiavelli as his famous treatise, The Prince. Equally controversial, it reveals his fundamental preference for a republican state. Comparing the practice of the ancient Romans with that of his contemporaries provided Machiavelli with a consistent point of view in all his works. Machiavelli's close analysis of Livy's history of Rome led him to advance his most original and outspoken view of politics--the belief that a healthy political body was characterized by social friction and conflict rather than by rigid stability.

Ancient Japan: Untold Stories of Love, Power, and Everyday Life History is about more than just emperors, samurai, and war. It’s also about how real people lived, loved, and endured. Long before dating apps, there was the mysterious moonlight visit when men slipped into women’s rooms under the cover of darkness in a ritual woven from romance, danger, and deep cultural meaning. One misstep could ignite scandal, or a confrontation with a pitchfork.

Rome’s Greatest General Who Never Ruled tells the story of a man who exercised immense power without claiming sovereignty. Whose loyalty, restraint, and competence made the Augustan age possible. Drawing on ancient sources and modern scholarship, this biography reveals how Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa’s victories, engineering genius, and administrative skill shaped the Roman Empire far more deeply than many who wore the imperial title.

The modern world has the ancient Romans to thank for the origins of many modern technologies, conveniences, and ideas, from running water, baths, and republican style government to roads. Similarly, by the 3rd century BCE, the Romans were prodigious monument builders, so much so that the memory of the great Roman Republic and the Roman Empire continues to exist within a cityscape of stone.

Spartans examines key elements of the image of Sparta presented in the film 300 and evaluates what those claims become when measured against the ancient sources. The film constructs an intense portrayal: a society defined by extreme training, unconditional courage, absolute honour, and presumed military superiority. This representation presents Sparta through a set of categorical assertions. The book selects specific claims shown in the cinematic narrative and asks: what do the ancient authors actually record about these same themes? Each chapter isolates a concrete assertion presented in ...

Who was Hercules according to the ancient traditions? This book presents the complete life of Hercules, from his extraordinary birth to his immortality, as it was understood in the myths of antiquity. Free from modern simplifications, cinematic distortions, or empty spectacle, it offers a faithful reconstruction of the hero’s path in all its human, tragic, and sacred dimensions. Beyond the famous Twelve Labours, the reader will discover: the hero’s genealogy and his place between gods and mortals the trials imposed by fate and divine will madness, guilt, and atonement the great ...

Immaginate di partire assieme a Giulio Cesare e alle sue legioni. È il 58 a.C., la Gallia è una terra lontana, abitata da popolazioni bellicose, mai domate, che hanno già inflitto dolorose sconfitte ai Romani. Ma è anche una terra ricca e prospera. Giulio Cesare vuole conquistarla, per sé e per Roma, e per farlo è disposto ad affrontare ogni avversità: estenuanti marce nella neve e battaglie sanguinose, intrighi di palazzo e tradimenti, ponti da costruire e flotte da creare da zero, foreste che si dicono stregate e santuari con scheletri decapitati.

A Solemn Journey Through Centuries of Faith, Fire, and Blood. The history of the Christian faith is written not just in ink, but in the blood of those who stood firm against the turning tides of culture and empire. The Martyrs' Record: From the Roman Colosseum to the Modern Age offers a sweeping panorama of the ultimate sacrifice, tracing the lineage of courage from the sandy floors of ancient arenas to the silence of modern prison cells. David Michael Curtis guides the reader through the defining eras of persecution, examining the lives of men and women who counted the cost and found it ...

He conquered kingdoms. He saved Rome itself. And history nearly forgot him. Belisarius was the greatest general the Roman Empire produced after Caesar—yet he never ruled, never rebelled, and never claimed the power he was repeatedly offered. In The Last Roman General, you will follow the astonishing rise and quiet fall of the man who restored Rome when it seemed beyond saving.

Two Worlds Collided. One Queen Would Never Be Forgotten. What really happened when ancient Egypt met the rising power of Greece? And who was the woman who stood between Egypt and Rome? This volume brings together two fascinating stories in one: the rise of the Ptolemaic Kingdom after Alexander the Great, and the life of Cleopatra, the last pharaoh of Egypt. Clear, fast-paced, and packed with insight, it cuts through the myths to show what really shaped this powerful dynasty and the woman who tried to save it. Two manuscripts in one book: The Ptolemaic Kingdom: An Enthralling Guide to the ...

Oath of the Spartans: The Road to Thermopylae is a gripping historical epic that brings to life the legendary stand of King Leonidas and his 300 warriors. From the shadows of Persian expansion to the fiery defiance at the narrow pass of Thermopylae, this narrative plunges you into the heart of one of history’s most heroic last stands.

What if human history is not a straight line, but a series of resets? The Incomplete Species explores the idea that humanity’s past has been shaped as much by catastrophe and loss as by progress. Across time, entire civilizations have risen, flourished, and vanished, leaving behind fragments, myths, ruins, and unanswered questions. Floods, climate shifts, volcanic eruptions, and cosmic events did not simply destroy cities. They disrupted memory, erased knowledge, and forced humanity to begin again, often without understanding what was lost. This book examines how those events are ...

The Bookbinder’s Secret The Library of Alexandria — Book One At the height of the Library of Alexandria’s power, knowledge is sacred — and dangerously fragile. Callimachus Ariston, Master Librarian of the greatest repository of learning the world has ever known, believes truth is preserved through precision. Every scroll copied, every binding sealed, every word preserved exactly as it was written. Until a mistake appears. A single altered word in a newly bound scroll leads Ariston into the bindery wing—where glue, ink, and quiet labor hide something far more unsettling than error....

What if everything you were taught about human origins was wrong? For 6,000 years, we've been told we evolved randomly from apes. But your DNA tells a different story, one of deliberate design, genetic engineering, and an ancient conflict that continues today. THE EVIDENCE IS IN YOUR CHROMOSOMES While all great apes have 24 pairs of chromosomes, humans have only 23. Human Chromosome 2 shows clear signs of fusion, two ancestral chromosomes deliberately merged together. Random evolution? Or genetic engineering by an advanced civilization? Ancient Sumerian texts provide the answer. The ...

In Die Germania liefert Publius Cornelius Tacitus ein einzigartiges ethnografisches Porträt der germanischen Stämme. Der römische Historiker beschreibt Bräuche, Gesellschaftsstrukturen und Charaktereigenschaften – teils bewundernd, teils kritisch. Tacitus' Darstellung ist geprägt von Staunen, Klischees und politischem Kalkül – aber auch von echtem Interesse an einer Kultur, die dem römischen Imperium fremd, rau und faszinierend erschien.