The Oxford Companion to Classical Civilization

Front Cover
Simon Hornblower, Antony Spawforth
Oxford University Press, 1998 - History - 793 pages
CIVILIZATION IN ALL ITS ASPECTS For more than 2000 years the civilizations of ancient Greece and Rome have captivated our collective imagination and provided fresh inspiration for every age. Now, for the first time, The Oxford Companion to Classical Civilization distils the fruits of recent scholarship to provide the most up-to-date and authoritative survey of the Greek and Roman worlds in all their aspects. Drawing on the latest edition of the highly praised Oxford Classical Dictionary, this new illustrated Oxford Companion offers unrivalled access to the latest knowledge of classical civilization, making it the perfect guide for general readers interested in learning more about the very bedrock ofWestern culture. HISTORY AND POLITICS the events, achievements, and personalities of 2500 years of history of Greece and Rome and their immediate neighbours, as well as the underlying issues from democracy to propaganda, famine and finance, Hellenization and mercenaries, population, and slavery ETHICS AND MORALS, LAW AND PUNISHMENT individual philosophers and their schools, and ethical issues, such as corruption; prison; torture; abortion; attitudes to animals, to wealth, or to warfare; suicide; freedom; and intellectual or religious intolerance SOCIAL AND FAMILY LIFE food and drink, cookery, houses, and dress; childbirth; sexual behaviour, including rape and incest; and broader social topics such as status, kinship and the family, ritualized friendship, tourism, and urbanization LANGUAGE, LITERATURE, ART AND SCHOLARSHIP writers and poets, orators and playwrights, literacy and books, archives and education, literary genres, painting and sculpture, and the writing of history RELIGION AND MYTHOLOGY Greek, Roman, and Egyptian beliefs, cults, and rituals, from oracles and curses, to sacred prostitution, together with their attendant deities and mythological creatures, mingle with Judaism and early Christianity TECHNOLOGY, SCIENCE, AND MEDICINE the birth of the scientific method in experiment, and all manner of discovery , exploration, treatment, and theorizing on disease, geography, climate, astronomy, mineralogy, navigation, sanitation, vivisection MAJOR ESSAYS and BRILLIANT ILLUSTRATION Specially designed articles on the individuals and themes of central importance provide a useful overview for the modern reader from Alexander to Xenophon, Cicero and Hannibal; and from the histories of Greece and Rome, to Christianity, and architecture. Imaginatvely chosen and strikingillustrations underline further the sophistication and complextity of classical civilization, making the ancient world dramatically present.

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