Book Description
Plutarch's Lives, written at the beginning of the second century A.D., is a brilliant social history of the ancient world by one of the greatest biographers and moralists of all time. In what is by far his most famous and influential work, Plutarch reveals the character and personality of his subjects and how they led ultimately to tragedy or victory. Richly anecdotal and full of detail, Volume I contains profiles and comparisons of Romulus and Theseus, Numa and Lycurgus, Fabius and Pericles, and many more powerful figures of ancient Greece and Rome.
The present translation, originally published in 1683 in conjunction with a life of Plutarch by John Dryden, was revised in 1864 by the poet and scholar Arthur Hugh Clough, whose notes and preface are also included in this edition.
Customer Reviews:
A Timeless Classic By One Of The Best Biographers In History.......2005-08-10
Plutarch in his "Lives Of The Noble Grecians And Romans" written around 100 C.E., sheds new light on Greek and Roman history from their Bronze Age beginnings, shrouded in myth, down through Alexander and late Republican Rome. Plutarch is the lens that we use today to view the Greco-Roman past; his work has shaped our perceptions of that world for 2,000 years. Plutarch writes of the rise of Roman Empire while Gibbon uses his scholarship to advance the story to write about its decline. He was a proud Greek that was equally effected by Roman culture, a Delphic priest, a leading Platonist, a moralist, educator and philosopher with a deep commitment as a first rate writer. Being a Roman citizen, Plutarch was afforded the opportunity to become an intimate friend to prominent Roman citizens and a member of the literary elite in the court of Emperor Trajan.
Plutarch's influence and enormous popularity during and after the Renaissance is legendary among classicist. Plutarch's "Lives", served as the sourcebook for Shakespeare's Roman Plays "Julius Caesar", "Antony and Cleopatra" and "Coriolanus". By the way Plutarch is even the only contemporary source of all the biographical information on Cleopatra, whom he writes about in his biographies of Julius Caesar, Mark Antony and Octavian. Thomas Jefferson wrote to his nephew that there were three books every gentleman had to have familiarity with; Plutarch's "Lives", Livy's "History of Rome" and Virgil's Aeneid. In fact all the founding fathers of note had read Plutarch and learned much from his fifty biographies of noble men of Greece and Rome. When Hamilton, Jay and Madison write "The Federalist Papers" they use many examples of good and bad leadership traits that they read in Plutarch's work. His biographies are a great study in human character and what motivates leaders to decide and act the way they do, this masterpiece has proven to be still prescient today.
If you are truly interested in a classical education, put this book on the top of your list! I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in political philosophy, and history.
An Overlooked Classic.......2005-03-10
This is one of the most incredible pieces of literature in human history, yet is one of the most often overlooked.
Plutarch is not as much a historian as he is a moralist, and it is his examination of the lives of some of the most important historical figures of the ancient world for their moral roots that is so incredibly engaging.
Oddly enough, I was first introduced to the works of Plutarch through the fictional novels of Louis L'Amour, who often has one charcter encouraging another to read various classical authors.
For a interesting peek at the lives and morals of some of history's most intriguing figures, Plutarch is a great place to begin.
A book every man should read.......2003-11-13
Plutarchs historic portrayals of the lives of the gretest men in BCE western history, is truly inspiring. From the passionate warrior kings Alexander the Great and Julius Ceasar to the Athenean states men Dion and Draco, the list goes on, each text providing an insight to lives that were lived to the fullest potential.
Invaluable source and historical document........2003-05-06
After having read McCullogh's splendid series on Rome, I turned to this fat, dense book with great expectations. I was not disappointed: the stories are endlessly fascinating, from their basic details on ancient history to the bizarre asides that reveal the pre-Christianised mind-set of the author.
Like all great books, this one can be read on innumerable levels. First, there is the moralising philosophy that is perhaps the principal purpose of the author to advance - each life holds lessons on proper conduct of great and notorious leaders alike. You get Caesar, Perikles, and Alcibiades, and scores of others who are compared and contrasted. Second, there is the content. Plutarch is an invaluable source of data for historians and the curious. Third, there is the reflection of religious and other beliefs of the 1C AD: oracles and omens are respected as are the classical gods. For example, while in Greece, Sulla is reported as having found a satyr, which he attempted unsuccesfully to question for its auguring abilities during his miltary campaign in Greece! It is a wonderful window into the mystery of life and human belief systems. That being said, Plutarch is skeptical of these occurances and both questions their relevance and shows how some shrewd leaders, like Sertorious with his white fawn in Spain, used them to great advantage.
Finally, this is a document that was used for nearly 2000 years in schools as a vital part of classical education - the well-bred person knew all these personalities and stories, which intimately informed their vocabulary and literary references until the beginning of the 20C. That in itself is a wonderful view into what was on people's minds and how they conceived things over the ages. As is well known, Plutarch is the principal source of many of Shakespeare's plays, such as Coriolanus and Julius Caesar. But it was also the source of the now obscure fascination with the rivalry of Marius and Sulla, as depicted in paintings and poetry that we still easily encounter if we are at all interested in art. Thus, this is essential reading for aspiring pedants (like me).
Of course, there are plenty of flaws in the work. It assumes an understanding of much historical detail, and the cases in which I lacked it hugely lessened my enjoyment. At over 320 years old, the translation is also dated and the prose somewhat stilted, and so it took me 300 pages to get used to it. Moreover, strictly speaking, there are many inaccuracies, of which the reader must beware.
Warmly recommended as a great and frequently entertaining historical document.
Get this edition........2002-09-29
Plutarch's history isn't always the most accurate -- he clashes with Arrian and Quintus Curtius on Alexander, for example -- but it sure is a lot of fun...Plutarch weaves in lots of interesting little anecdotes and his narrative arcs are always complete without being too long. It's also great for leisurely reading; there are so many Lives, you can pick one up on any rainy afternoon, long car drive, or what have you, and don't even need to know a whole lot of context to get the gist of what's going on. For fans of history and biography, or just stories in general, this is as good as it gets.
I recommend the Modern Library edition because it's complete (with the two volumes, that is) and because the Dryden translation is very colorful even though it's old-school -- you're bound to pick up a lot of cool vocabulary. Also, don't quite know how to put it, but his translation just seems more...classic. It fits, get it.
Book Description
Plutarch's Lives, written at the beginning of the second century A.D., is a brilliant social history of the ancient world by one of the greatest biographers and moralists of all time. In what is by far his most famous and influential work, Plutarch reveals the character and personality of his subjects and how they led ultimately to tragedy or victory. Richly anecdotal and full of detail, Volume I contains profiles and comparisons of Romulus and Theseus, Numa and Lycurgus, Fabius and Pericles, and many more powerful figures of ancient Greece and Rome.
The present translation, originally published in 1683 in conjunction with a life of Plutarch by John Dryden, was revised in 1864 by the poet and scholar Arthur Hugh Clough, whose notes and preface are also included in this edition.
Download Description
Plutarch's ""Parallel Lives"," written at the beginning of the second century A.D., form a brilliant social history of the ancient world. They were originally presented in a series of books that gave an account of one Greek and one Roman life, followed by a comparison of the two: Theseus and Romulus, Alicbiades and Coriolanus, Demosthenes and Cicero, Demetrius and Antony. Plutarch was interested in the personalities of his subjects and on the way their characters molded their actions, leading them to tragedy or victory.
Customer Reviews:
For the ages' tooth.......2006-03-04
Twain's pejorative definition of `classic' need not apply. I define classic as that (text) which speaks to the heart over an extended duration - perhaps for several generations, as in `classic rock', or several millennia, as in Plutarch's "Lives". I probably never would have read Plutarch, were it not for a glorious discovery of Montaigne in mid-life. Having acquired enough distaste for the copious demands required to master classical languages after five years of Latin in secondary school, I made an arbitrary and direly misguided vow to eschew all Classics courses at the university level. And thus again is revealed the fateful difference between post-modern (post-1945), and the modern (c. 1500 - August 5, 1945) pedagogy, of which I unwittingly, if serendipitously, caught the tail end. The modern cannon required thorough immersion in the classics, and, for many years, Plutarch was required reading in the best schools, and should be even now. The author of the Shakespearian plays came to Plutarch by way of Montaigne (and likely read the Amyot translation, and only later the North, if at all), and the English schools came to Plutarch by way of Shakespeare. We might say that the revival of Plutarch was one of the most far reaching achievements of the Northern Renaissance.
At one point in his celebrated chronicle of the self, Montaigne (as a shaper and bona fide member of that cannon, guardian of some of what is best in our cultural inheritance) amusedly reveals that, when his critics believe they are attacking his work, they are actually attacking Plutarch and/or Seneca, so profound is their presence in his writing, and, in his "Defense of Plutarch and Seneca", he declares that . . . "my book [is] built up purely from their spoils".
And what a book it is! But Plutarch's magnum (see the 14 volumes of the Loeb Classical Library for his other works), is the greater. Montaigne is one of the great students of the self. Plutarch is the first (and may yet still be the definitive) historian of virtue. Montaigne, in scrutiny of his own nature, seeks to recognize the limitations and potentials of the self, and thereby sketch our general spiritual contours. Plutarch, in an unparalleled series of real life, historically and culturally pivotal, examples, shows us what they are.
The book records in the most remarkably intimate style (Plutarch has few peers as a master of narrative and an uncanny ability to ferret out of detail the significance of individual actions as a unified whole), the major events in the lives of the most impacting figures of the ancient world. Therefore, like the best novels, the book forms a world in itself, a lost world, the world of our ancestors, through a landscape drawn of actions and consequences. The structure of the book is such that an account of the seminal moments in the life of a noble Greek and then of a noble Roman are brought forth in pairs, followed by a comparison. In some sections of the work these comparisons are absent. They appear at some point in antiquity to have either been lost to or removed from the text, which would seem to explain why, for instance, there is no comparison of Alexander and Caesar. But the comparisons are brilliant, and eminently instructive.
Of course, from the details alone, we may draw our own inferences. Alexander, as a mere teen, leading his troops in hand-to-hand combat, won his first battle fighting uphill at night. Caesar, a heavy drinker, was wont to ride horseback at full tilt with his hands clenched behind his back. He had a life-long passion for Cato's sister and it is said that from their relationship, which continued through their respective marriages, Brutus was born. Et tu? Of course, one cannot fail to mention, even in this briefest review of the abundantly rich description in the nearly 1,300 pages which comprise the book, the death of Cato the Younger - one of the most exquisitely drawn figures in the book. Hunted down with the remnants of his troops into the wastelands of Carthage by the army of Octavius Ceasar in an effort to snuff out the last vestiges of republican resistance and opposition to Empire, realizing that the last realistic hope for freedom is lost, Cato attempts ritual suicide (a Stoic custom common to Roman nobility) by disembowelment. As Plutarch describes the scene, ". . . he did not immediately die of the wound; but struggling, fell off the bed, and throwing down a little mathematical table that stood by, made such a noise that the servants, hearing it, cried out. And immediately his son and all his friends came into the chamber, where, seeing him lie weltering in his own blood, great part of his bowels out of his body, but himself still alive and able to look at them, they all stood in horror. The physician went to him, and would have put in his bowels, which were not pierced, and sewed up the wound; but Cato, recovering himself, and understanding the intention, thrust away the physician, plucked out his own bowels, and tearing open the wound, immediately expired." In Seneca's words: "For Cato could not outlive freedom, nor would freedom outlive Cato."
However, the life most appropriate for the contemporary reader, I feel (and wish that every member of the shadowy corporate/military junta that seems to be ruling us these days would read and take to heart) is the life of Crassus. Crassus was the most successful businessman in the history of the Roman Empire. Plutarch relates that at one time he owned virtually one-third of the real estate in Rome. However, such mind-boggling success was not enough for him. His yen, and later, obsession, was to be revered as a great military leader, a world conqueror, expand the domain of the already burgeoning Empire, and the object of his fantasies was the area of the world at that time known as Mesopotamia and Persia, today as Iraq and Iran. We follow as he makes extensive preparations, investing his own fortune and a great deal of the nation's wealth into outfitting an army for the venture. And at first, the invasion of Mesopotamia seems to go well. But the centers of population are spread out over great stretches of desert, and the occupation never really succeeds, because a central authority cannot be solidly established. Crassus, however, remains undaunted, even though the troops are becoming mutinous as supplies begin to run thin. Led on by treacherous advisors, he enters Parthia (somewhere in the vicinity of modern day Syria). Plutarch describes the grueling denouement with his usual detachment, aplomb, and gifted eye for pertinent detail. Having lost the greatest fortune in the world, he proceeds to lose his troops, then his sons, and finally his life. These lessons are never too late for the learning, and my apologies to Twain, but a classic is a text which retains its urgency to be read, and read now.
I read the Dryden/Clough translation. Dryden was never my favorite writer of his period, the late 17th century - hardly a match for Burton or Milton, in my opinion, but he was poet laureate, and this work I love - his English is fine, and resonates with classic dignity. Clough, the mid-nineteenth century British scholar who revised the translation, befriended Emerson when he traveled to England, and became a sort of mentor to the New England Transcendentalists in general. We can be grateful for such a wonderful rendering for one of the very greatest and edifying masterpieces.
A must read for lovers of ancient History.......2005-08-24
A most concise volume of all the most important people of the Roman Empire.
A classic of character contrast .......2005-01-24
Plutarch's parallel lives, parallels the life of a great Greek with a great Roman. Theseus and Romulus, Demosthenes and Cicero, Alexander and Ceasar. There are forty- six such pairs which tell not only the story of the individuals but of their society . Plutarch brings to bear his tremendous learning from a wide variety of sources . Plutarch's first interest is in the character of the people he writes about, and the moral lessons he can draw from comparison of the lives. His work has had great influence and provided inspiration and material to Shakespeare, Montaigne, Browning and others. The reading of the work is not always easy, and there are strange and questionably credible tales and details but the work is humanly alive. The reading and studying of it was once considered a basic part of true humanistic education, and not the confine of a few scholars in the classic departments of universities. It once had broad reader appeal and anyone with a keen interest in biography, and the subject of how lives have been lived in worlds far from our own, would do well if not to read this work cover- to- cover than at very least have a good read in it.
essential reference.......2003-05-26
I have now plowed through the second and final volume of this series, and though my energy began to flag, I still think this is one of the great classics of all time. Though not exactly chronological, the stories in this volume tend to occur later than in the first volume and are often longer, which is understandable given that Julius Caesar and Alex the Great are covered in this volume. THe stories are also more intricately interwoven - you get lives that overlap, such as those of Brutus and Caesar, with slightly different takes and details in each one. The upshot of all this is that the serious reader will need to keep this around as a reference, going over the text again when some question of detail comes up or to refresh one's point of view. Plutarch's take on things is very different from that of many authors: he is a pro-aristocrat conservative and admiring of martial prowess, yet pro-Republican. Once again, the reader really needs to know the historical context before undertaking this. It is not at all introductory.
Warmly recommended. Though it takes real effort at times to continue, it is well worth the slog.
very interesting book, but............2001-08-14
Although it's a very good translation, I prefer to read the books of Plutarchos in the original Greek texts because the version of Dryden is now somewhat obsolete. And if you don't understand the ancient Greek language well, I recommend you to read several volumes of Plutarch in THE LOEB CLASSICAL LIBRARY.
Book Description
In 99 full-color maps spread over 175 pages, the Barrington Atlas recreates the entire world of the Greeks and Romans from the British Isles to the Indian subcontinent and deep into North Africa. It spans the territory of more than 75 modern countries. Its large format (13 x 19 ins or 33 x 48 cm) has been custom-designed by the leading cartographic supplier MapQuest.com, Inc., and is unrivalled for range, clarity and detail. Over 70 experts, aided by an equal number of consultants, have worked from satellite-generated aeronautical charts to return the modern landscape to its ancient appearance, and to mark ancient names and features in accordance with the most up-to-date historical scholarship and archaeological discoveries. Chronologically, the Barrington Atlas spans archaic Greece to the Late Roman Empire, and no more than two standard scales (1:500,000 and 1:1,000,000) are used to represent most regions.
Since the 1870s, all attempts to map the classical world comprehensively have failed. This new initiative has finally achieved that elusive and challenging goal. It began in 1988 at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, under the direction of the distinguished ancient historian Richard Talbert, and has been developed with approximately $4 million in funding support.
The resulting Barrington Atlas is a reference work of permanent value. It has an exceptionally broad appeal to everyone worldwide with an interest in ancient Greeks and Romans, the lands they penetrated, and the peoples and cultures they encountered in Europe, North Africa and Western Asia. Scholars and libraries should all find it essential, although it is not just for them. It is also for students, travelers and lovers of fine cartography, as well as for anyone eager to retrace Alexander's eastward marches, to cross the Alps with Hannibal, to traverse the Eastern Mediterranean with St. Paul, or to ponder the roads, aqueducts and defense works of the Roman Empire. For the new millennium the Barrington Atlas brings the ancient past back to life in an unforgettably vivid and inspiring way.
Map-by-Map Directory
The Barrington Atlas includes a CD-ROM Map-by-Map Directory. A separate 1,500 page two-volume print edition of the Directory is also available at $150 / £95. The Directory is designed to provide information about every place or feature in the Barrington Atlas. The section for each map comprises:
- a concise text drawing attention to special difficulties in mapping a region, such as extensive landscape change since antiquity, or uneven modern exploration.
- a listing of every name and feature on the map, with basic data about the period of occupation, the modern equivalents of ancient placenames, the modern country within which they are located, and brief references to relevant ancient testimony or modern studies.
- a bibliography of works cited.
The Map-by-Map Directory is an essential accompaniment to the Barrington Atlas. As a uniquely rich, comprehensive, up-to-date distillation of evidence and scholarship, it has no match elsewhere and opens the way to an immense variety of further research initiatives.
The CD-ROM will work on any MAC or PC that supports Adobe Acrobat Reader, version 4.0. The installation software for Acrobat Reader is included on the CD-ROM.
Amazon.com
Matching clear graphics with informative text, Christopher Scarre's atlas gives a fine overview of Roman history from the emergence of the first city-state in the eighth century B.C. to the rise of Christian theocracy a millennium later. The Penguin Historical Atlas of Ancient Rome is especially helpful in showing the growth of the Roman empire through successive centuries of military campaigning from Scotland to Arabia and in delineating the networks of trade, transit, and communication that bound the far-flung outposts to the imperial capital. Scarre notes that many of those networks still survive in one form or another.
Customer Reviews:
Starting point........2007-03-11
This short book is an excellent introduction to Roman history. It is divided into easy to digest chapters which deal with a single theme.
Good but should have been bigger........2006-07-31
The atlas is not that large. I bought four similar atlases all from Penguin and they are all thin books (
< 150 pages) and small in size (10" x 7").
Atlases are supposed to be hugh.
However this (and the other 3 books) do contain loads of information.
The book skims over the Republican era. The first map at page 22 and by page 32 the Republic is over.
The book has only a few maps of the expansion of Rome within Italy (hardly a mention of the Samnites, or Sabines; and one small blip on the map for Sparticus)
It has a few maps of Asia Minor at this time. With Carthage and the Punic wars taking up most of these few pre-Empire maps.
Maybe 10 maps to cover 600 years.
We then have many maps to cover the next three hundred years.
Then the book ends abruptly. Shows Constantine's Empire and then quickly shows the Germanic kingdoms and the new Byzantine Empire. And it is over. No maps of Parthia or the neo Persian empires. No maps of the distribution of Germanic tribes outside of Roman areas.
I would have liked to have a bigger book with larger maps. Too many maps cover two pages, so the book binding obscures some information and making a scan of a map is very hard.
On the plus it has many other types of information (unfortunately sometimes repeated by the author in the start of a chapter and later in some specific article).
The types of info include the economy, currency (25 silver Denarius = 1 gold Aureus), the legions (names and numbers at different times), how mines work, the olive oil industry, and of course articles on emperors, politics and religion. A good dozen examples of city maps and a legion camp are shown.
On the whole a good reference and a good read on the history of Rome. But of course a real book with 1000+ pages is required to cover all aspects of the Roman empire. So this is a great companion atlas to that other book. I also got Penguin's Ancient & Medieval Histories (2xMcEvedy) and Ancient Civilizations (Haywood). Together all four give you the info to cover Rome very well.
Not really an Atlas.......2006-02-16
I would like to second the comments of Jacques P. Talbot. I bought this book expecting an atlas, that is a book of maps. There are some maps in this book, but they are small and cluttered and I don't really find them useful. The book is mostly pictures and text. It reminds me of that Time-Life series, that is aimed at young people, although this book is not as good as any in that series. The publishers must have changed their mind about what they wanted to do with this book. They should not have put the word "Atlas" on this confused mess. It might be OK as an introduction for people about 14-16 years old, but if you want an atlas with useful maps in it, don't buy this.
Excellent for the lay man.......2005-10-19
I think I found answers to all I've ever wanted to know about the Roman Empire. This book is certainly readable by anyone. If you don't like reading long texts, this book is perfect. If you do like longer texts, this book is also nice. The balance between pictures and texts is optimal in my opinion.
Very helpful in studying history........2005-10-03
Good tool to assist in studying the history of Ancient Rome.
Book Description
The rise and fall of the Roman World is one of the most fascinating stories in history. This book traces the historical, cultural and political development of the small Iron Age tribe on the banks of the River Tiber who developed into the rulers of an empire that dominated the Western world. While her legionaries brought Roman rule to the far corners of Europe and the Middle East, her poets, architects, politicians and philosophers were creating a cultural legacy that still survives today. In this ambitious and lavishly illustrated book, the history of this remarkable people has been traced, allowing readers a clear and concise insight into the Roman World. Use the well-researched text, superb maps, specially commissioned artwork, and copious photographs the Atlas of Ancient Rome to follow the origins, rise, decline, and fall of the greatest empire the world has ever known.
Customer Reviews:
An eye-catching summary of ancient Roman geography, history, and visual splendor.......2005-09-11
Historical Atlas of Ancient Rome is an eye-catching summary of ancient Roman geography, history, and visual splendor. Illustrated with full-color photographs of Roman artifacts, architecture, and maps - including reconstructed maps of the city as it must have once stood - grace this amazing reference cover to cover. Since it is a historical atlas, the main focus is on geography and maps, but references to all aspects of Roman culture and its impact on subsequent civilizations abound. The text is accessible for lay readers and spells out the course of Roman history from its rise to its increasingly inevitable fall due to incompetent emperors, a self-serving bureaucracy, and a border far larger than its armies could protect. Highly recommended for library and personal history collections.
Customer Reviews:
The Viseral Roman Empire.......2005-09-29
This atlas is of the best looking, and well organized atlas' I have come across. Beautiful pictures and maps adorn each page. If you are a visual learner like myself this is absolutley nessasary for grasping the world of the Romans. This Atlas is recomended by several history books as the best atlas of the Roman world (Murray and Freeman to name a few), and indeed it is.
Disappointing maps!.......2003-05-31
If you are looking for detailed maps of the Roman Empire you will be disappointed. Only the major towns are listed, a far cry from the thousands that existed. The book is really not a map book but more of a reference book. There are a few maps but the majority of the book is written material with the addition of some nice pictures. For die hard history buffs like myself I would instead recommend the Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World (ISBN 069103169X).
A solid introduction with great illustrations.......2001-06-30
This Atlas is not just a picture book in the general sense, but rather a broad overview of the Roman World from the birth of the city of Rome to the rise of Justinian in the 6th century AD. Every part of the Roman World receives some attention and the result is an easy to read survey of the Roman World. In my opinion the best part of this book are the reconstructions of certain cities such as Alexandria and Palmyra as well as the beautifully illustrated maps(exactly what a historical atlas should have).
This book is a must !.......2000-08-03
Although you won't find here the 'history' of Rome, you'll be travelling around the then civilized world. No customs, just a huge Empire encompassing almost all of Europe and parts of Asia and North Africa. The Emperor Hadrian traveled extensively across his Empire, he could have written it. We are able to see what he saw.
And everywhere there's so much to be seen ! Great theatres in Africa, amazing monuments in Asia, swimming pools, taverns, etc. Rome was the heart, but it's body was large and thrilling.
The geographical approach is a hit. You literally travel and arrive at the provinces. In each there's a guide waiting for you. If something is missing, it's because it is not there.
Compared with two other books of similar aim and scope, Baines' Ancient Egypt, and Levi's The Greek World, this is definitely the best. A pleasure to read and keep reading. You will end longing to physically retrace the travel, at least a part of it being the whole so vast.
A Genuine Must Have............2000-04-05
.....for any classical history library. This stupendous work goes beyond the framework of an atlas, giving readers a comprehensive one volume presentation of Roman history from the foundation thru the Justinian renconquest of Italy. The writing is concise but far from shallow and on its own makes for excellent casual reading and a worthwhile research source. Featured throughout the narrative are brisk but informative sections detailing key aspects of Roman social life, philosophy, technology, and economic activity.
The heart of the volume is of course a series of beautifully drawn relief maps of the provinces of the Empire, featuring their major cities and roads as well as sundry other geopolitical details including the sites of legionary camps and alternate names of cities. Numerous other maps disseminated thru the volume give key coverage of the development, expansion and contraction of Kingdom, Republic and Empire, as well as giving us a geographic overview on such topics as religious diversity and commercial activity. Rounding out this work is a plethora of visually striking, well annotated illustrations and photographs. The more committed Roman scholar will find the selective bibliography a bit limiting, but an enthusiastic newcomer to Roman history will appreciate the authors attempt to give them a solid introduction to further pursuit of Roman historical study.
Average customer rating:
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ASIN: 069103169X |
Book Description
In 99 full-color maps spread over 175 pages, the Barrington Atlas recreates the entire world of the Greeks and Romans from the British Isles to the Indian subcontinent and deep into North Africa. It spans the territory of more than 75 modern countries. Its large format (13 x 19 ins or 33 x 48 cm) has been custom-designed by the leading cartographic supplier MapQuest.com, Inc., and is unrivalled for range, clarity and detail. Over 70 experts, aided by an equal number of consultants, have worked from satellite-generated aeronautical charts to return the modern landscape to its ancient appearance, and to mark ancient names and features in accordance with the most up-to-date historical scholarship and archaeological discoveries. Chronologically, the Barrington Atlas spans archaic Greece to the Late Roman Empire, and no more than two standard scales (1:500,000 and 1:1,000,000) are used to represent most regions.
Since the 1870s, all attempts to map the classical world comprehensively have failed. This new initiative has finally achieved that elusive and challenging goal. It began in 1988 at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, under the direction of the distinguished ancient historian Richard Talbert, and has been developed with approximately $4 million in funding support.
The resulting Barrington Atlas is a reference work of permanent value. It has an exceptionally broad appeal to everyone worldwide with an interest in ancient Greeks and Romans, the lands they penetrated, and the peoples and cultures they encountered in Europe, North Africa and Western Asia. Scholars and libraries should all find it essential, although it is not just for them. It is also for students, travelers and lovers of fine cartography, as well as for anyone eager to retrace Alexander's eastward marches, to cross the Alps with Hannibal, to traverse the Eastern Mediterranean with St. Paul, or to ponder the roads, aqueducts and defense works of the Roman Empire. For the new millennium the Barrington Atlas brings the ancient past back to life in an unforgettably vivid and inspiring way.
Map-by-Map Directory
The Barrington Atlas includes a CD-ROM Map-by-Map Directory. A separate 1,500 page two-volume print edition of the Directory is also available at $150 / £95. The Directory is designed to provide information about every place or feature in the Barrington Atlas. The section for each map comprises:
- a concise text drawing attention to special difficulties in mapping a region, such as extensive landscape change since antiquity, or uneven modern exploration.
- a listing of every name and feature on the map, with basic data about the period of occupation, the modern equivalents of ancient placenames, the modern country within which they are located, and brief references to relevant ancient testimony or modern studies.
- a bibliography of works cited.
The Map-by-Map Directory is an essential accompaniment to the Barrington Atlas. As a uniquely rich, comprehensive, up-to-date distillation of evidence and scholarship, it has no match elsewhere and opens the way to an immense variety of further research initiatives.
The CD-ROM will work on any MAC or PC that supports Adobe Acrobat Reader, version 4.0. The installation software for Acrobat Reader is included on the CD-ROM.
Customer Reviews:
Fictional review?.......2007-04-03
I wish I could have given 5 stars, but since the book, shipped on January the 7th, still hasn't arrived at the moment of this writing (April the 3rd!), I can't evaluate it properly... and so I have to rely on other people's opinions.
Once in a lifetime atlas of the Classical world.......2001-08-27
There has never been an atlas of the ancient world to compare with this incredible piece of scholarship and mapmaking. At a cost of about five million dollars and over a decade in development, it contains highly detailed professional maps equivalent to the best atlases of our modern world. It goes beyond the Mediterranean world to include europe as far as Britain and the east as far India. The last atlas of this time period I purchased had a few dozen imprecise and limited small maps. There are 99 full-color large-scale maps in this volume. I haven't been this excited about a reference book for several years.
All the geographical detail of the Greek and Roman world.......2000-11-22
Finally, after years in the making, this atlas is finished and I'm glad to have it.
This is a great work, all the detailed knowledge about location of cities, shrines, roads, etc, etc., etc., that has been gathered about Roman and Greek sites has been put together in just one atlas. Even individual estates are placed on maps, when convenient.
Seamlessly, from one map to another you can trace any route, find any name, and look into the neighboring area.
The map by map directory provides further insight into the sources of information, variant ancient names and modern place names (if any),
Obviously there's no such a thing as a telescope/microscope. You have to know what you are looking for, because details can sometimes shield the big picture. You need to know the original spelling of a name, or some variant. This book is invaluable when looking for names and places that are nowhere else printed in a map, at least a map that covers an area that places them in context.
Now, what else could be useful?
Basically, I would have liked three things:
- an 'inverse' gazetteer or 'name dictionary'. Look for modern place names and find ancient equivalents.
To look for a modern name is difficult. The book is not intended for this. You have to use the search engine in Acrobat, which means that you have to be using a computer. And scroll though the results. There is no straightforward way. So, a 'Modern Names Gazetteer' with ancient equivalents is something I'd like to have. Could a database fulfill this purpose? PDF formats do not allow data management, but the editor must have the data. Someone will provide this.
- a different altitude color-coded scale
As for the altitude color-coded tints, to my taste, there is at least a brown shade too many. The tinted scale is such, that some maps look a little brownish, because everything above 1000 feet has that background color. Of course, there are contour lines, but you have to look at them and read the numbers. Coding is not very useful in such a situation. Printed names over brown background are not easily readable.
- a heavy paper o plastic loose-leaf with the Map Key
The Map Key appears only on map 1, on the reverse side of the page, a good idea since the maps are not clogged with repetitive information and space is used for the essential purpose. But then you have to return to it for a reference. Thence, either it will wear out or hopefully you will remember usual references. Not for the casual reader. I've already photocopied it.
Overall, an outstanding achievement. Four stars, could have been five if some of the above items had been included.
Average customer rating:
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Atlas historico de la antigua Roma (Atlas historicos series)
Nick Constable
Manufacturer: Edimat Libros
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Europe
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ASIN: 8497646460 |
Book Description
This collection provides an in-depth look at some of the most provocative civilizations and religions in history. With photographs, maps, and colored illustrations this text provides an understanding of the politics and culture of ancient civilizations, and the origins of world religions.
Con un texto atractivo, mapas, fotgrafías e ilustraciones, esta colección descubre la profunidad de algunos de los espisodios mas transcendentes de la humanidad. Estos libros se adentran en los antiguos politícos y las culturas de Grecia, de Roma y de las civilizaciones precolombianas y descubren con un riguroso tratamiento histórico el origen y significado de las religiones, del Islam y de los lugares biblicos.
Average customer rating:
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Atlas historico de la arqueologia (Atlas historicos series)
Nick Constable
Manufacturer: Edimat Libros
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Rome
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ASIN: 8497647947 |
Book Description
This collection provides an in-depth look at some of the most provocative civilizations and religions in history. With photographs, maps, and colored illustrations this text provides an understanding of the politics and culture of ancient civilizations, and the origins of world religions.
Con un texto atractivo, mapas, fotgrafías e ilustraciones, esta colección descubre la profunidad de algunos de los espisodios mas transcendentes de la humanidad. Estos libros se adentran en los antiguos politícos y las culturas de Grecia, de Roma y de las civilizaciones precolombianas y descubren con un riguroso tratamiento histórico el origen y significado de las religiones, del Islam y de los lugares biblicos.
Average customer rating:
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An Atlas of Roman Britain
David Mattingly , and
Barri Jones
Manufacturer: Blackwell Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0631137912 |
Book Description
First published in 1990, this is a comprehensive atlas containing over 270 detailed and wide-ranging maps, figures, plans and site photographs on all aspects of Roman Britain. The maps cover political and military history as well as the physical geography of Britain and the view Roman geographers had of it. Evidence for economic activity, including mining and pottery production, studies of life in town and country, and of religion, is given in the maps. Major monuments, such as Hadrian's Wall, feature on the larger scale maps and plans.
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- Power, Faith, and Fantasy: America in the Middle East: 1776 to the Present
- Queen Isabella: Treachery, Adultery, and Murder in Medieval England
- Ramesses II, Royal Inscriptions (Vol 2)
- Remembering Tomorrow: From SDS to Life After Capitalism
- Second Chance: Three Presidents and the Crisis of American Superpower
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- Shakespeare by Another Name: A Biography of Edward de Vere, Earl of Oxford, the Man Who Was Shakespeare
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