The Ancient City

A Study on the Religion, Laws, and Institutions of Ancient Greece and Rome

De: Numa Denis Fustel de Coulanges

Narrado por: Charlton Griffin

One of the most remarkable historical works of the 19th century came from the pen of French historian Numa Denis Fustel de Coulanges, a native of Paris. This amazing analysis of family and religious life among the ancient Greeks and Romans is the key to understanding ancient Mediterranean civilizations. The story begins in the misty period of the Bronze Age as the Indo-Europeans began to filter down into the Italian and Greek peninsulas. They brought with them a patriarchy that was based on ancestor worship and the veneration of hearth gods...the sacred fire which bonded family and state. As time passed, this hearth worship became codified and extremely complex. For thousands of years, there was no distinction whatsoever between religion and law. They were one and the same, even after the establishment of cities.

By the sixth century BC, the forces of societal evolution began to slowly erode this system. When citizens began to demand that laws be put into effect for the benefit of men instead of for the benefit of gods, it set in motion one of the world’s great revolutions. It transformed classical civilization, and eventually led to the destruction of the hearth gods. When Roman power and wealth expanded across the known world, it provoked a moral crisis. As a result, paganism decayed amid a general decline in religious authority and belief. This in turn led the Greeks and Romans to the realization that there could only be a single god. Thus, the way was eventually paved for the introduction of Christianity.

Public Domain (P)2021 Audio Connoisseur

Clear conceptual rendering.

In depth analysis into synthetic concepts. Lucid illustration of the mind-ideal world as the proper human abode.

Exhaustive Detail

I loved the wealth of information on the subject matter. I disliked the narrow focus of the subject matter to just a few major categories, while leaving so many unanswered questions on other important topics. Overall, an excellent work worth reading or listening to, but it's simply not comprehensive on the subject of the ancient city. Excellent narrator.

Nice Book

This is a good book to give a foundational understanding of society’s current composition. I appreciate how they put music between each chapter to keep you in the mood.

A glance into the past

The closest you can get to perceiving the ancient world as the man of antiquity..

Excellent Book With Interested Narration

The difference between AI and a human narrator is feeling, and this book is certainly narrated by a actor who very much is interested in the source material. The book flows well with the narration, and careful attention to diction and correct pronunciation of words is given (although the English pronunciations of Roman names like Caesar or Greek ones like Solon are used for familiarity). This is well worth the listen.