This intriguing collection of essays by contemporary classicists reveals new discoveries, new interpretations and new ways of exploring the experiences of the ancient world. Offering a wide variety of
Who were Roman authors writing for? Only a minority of the population was fully literate and books were very expensive, individually hand-written on imported papyrus. So does it follow that great poet
In the Roman republic, only the People could pass laws, only the People could elect politicians to office, and the very word republica meant 'the People's business'. So why is it always assumed that t
A radical reexamination of the textual and archaeological evidence about Augustus and the PalatineCaesar Augustus (63 BC–14 AD), who is usually thought of as the first Roman emperor, lived on the Pala
This book is an attempt to read the poems of Gaius Valerius Catullus in his own context; to look at the poet and his works against the cultural realities of the first century BC as recent advances in historical research allow us to understand them. Catullus' own social background, the circumstances of the literary life of his time, the true extent of his works and the variety of audiences he addressed - these and other questions are explored by Professor Wiseman with new and startling results. Contemporary high society and politics are illustrated through Clodia and Caelius Rufus, considered not as mere adjuncts to Catullus' story but as significant historical personalities in their own right. A final chapter on nineteenth- and twentieth-century interpretations of Catullus' world shows how anachronistic preconceptions have prevented a proper understanding of it, and made this radical reappraisal necessary. Anyone with a serious interest in Latin literature or Roman history will want
Why is Caesar a giant? Because he effectively created the Roman Empire, and thus made possible the European civilization that grew out of it. As the People’s champion against a corrupt and murderous o
How do you understand a society that didn't write down its own history? That is the problem with early Rome, from the Bronze Age down to the conquest of Italy around 300 BC. This book presents us with
Clio is Muse of history, her 'cosmetics' the adornments of rhetoric. Peter Wiseman's influential book, first published in 1979 and now for the first time in paperback, concerns the writing of history
Second, revised edition of T. P. Wiseman's 'Death of an Emperor' - his acclaimed translation and commentary of Flavius Josephus' account of Caligula's assassination. Includes an updated bibliography a
Second, revised edition of T. P. Wiseman's 'Death of an Emperor' - his acclaimed translation and commentary of Flavius Josephus' account of Caligula's assassination. Includes an updated bibliography a
How can one begin to understand a society that didn’t write down its own history? In the case of Rome, the texts we have available—from the Bronze Age through the conquest of Italy around 300 BC—were
In this view of Roman history through the lens of mythic narratives, Wiseman (emeritus, classics, U. of Exeter, UK) counters misconceptions that the Romans merely appropriated their gods, myths, and a
Dictionaries of classical mythology have long been the province of the Greek tradition—any mention of the Romans is often by contrast, painting a portrait of a people without gods, heroes, or a true m
In the Roman republic, only the People could pass laws, only the People could elect politicians to office, and the very word republica meant 'the People's business'. So why is it always assumed that t
