Bøger i Cambridge Classical Studies serien

Collects fourteen important essays of Cambridge sociologist Keith Hopkins - one of the most radical, innovative and influential Roman historians of his generation. It will appeal to all those interested in Roman history and sociology and particularly to those eager to experience challenging and controversial approaches to understanding the past.

This full-length study of Plato's dialogue Phaedrus, now in paperback, is written in the belief that such concerted scrutiny of a single dialogue is an important part of the project of understanding Plato so far as possible 'from the inside' - of gaining a feel for the man's philosophy. The focus of this account is on how the resources both of persuasive myth and of formal argument, for all that Plato sets them in strong contrast, nevertheless complement and reinforce each other in his philosophy. Not only is the dialogue in its formal structure a dovetail of myth and argument, but the philosophic life that it praises is also shaped by an acknowledgement of the limitations of argument and the importance of mythical understanding. By means of this correlation of form and content Plato invites his readers, through the very act of reading, to take a first step along the path of the philosophical life.

A pioneering treatment of the development and importance of writing in ancient Cypriot society, throughout the second and first millennia BC. Exploring questions of literacy and identity, the book will be useful to scholars and students (epigraphists, linguists, archaeologists, historians) and to anyone interested in Cyprus or in writing systems.

Uses an interdisciplinary approach to throw light on the transmission process of Linear A to Linear B script, by combining structural and linguistic analyses with epigraphic, palaeographic and archaeological investigations and by placing the writing practice in its socio-historical setting. Of interest to linguists, archaeologists and historians.

Shows that wonder and wonders constituted a central theme in Greek culture from Homer to the Hellenistic period. Argues for its importance in discussions of the purpose of philosophy and literature and in expressions of the relationships between the human and the divine and between self and other.

This book explores how different forms of reasoning and of divine disclosure played equally integral and harmonious roles in the emergence of systematic epistemology in archaic Greece, and particularly in Hesiod, Xenophanes and Parmenides. Provides a fresh perspective on long-standing questions of rationality and irrationality, philosophy and religion.

This book examines a type of object that was widespread and very popular in classical antiquity - votive offerings in the shape of parts of the human body, using them to explore how beliefs about the body changed throughout the period. It will be of interest to scholars and students of classics as well as religious studies.

The first edition with introduction and commentary of a unique second-century BC land survey written on papyrus in Greek which, coming from Edfu in Upper Egypt, provides a new picture of landholding and taxation in the area. This volume is essential for all scholars of ancient Egypt and Hellenistic history.

This book examines how the biographical traditions of ancient poets and artists parallel the creative processes of biographers themselves, both within antiquity and beyond. Each chapter explores a range of biographical material that highlights the complexity of how readers and viewers imagine the lives of ancient creator-figures.

This book studies the idea and practice of reperformance as it affects ancient lyric poetry and drama, and especially how poets and critics use this idea to create a deep temporal sense. All chapters are informed by recent developments in performance studies, and all Greek and Latin is translated.

Argues that the mysterious Roman satirist Juvenal actively worked to wipe all trace of the author from the text as a way of processing and publicising a dangerous political climate. Will interest scholars of the literature and history of imperial Rome and those working in authorship and anonymity studies.

Wherever the idea of a world appears, there is an expression of cosmography. Cosmography, here, is defined as the rhetoric of cosmology: the art of composing worlds. This book pursues an anthropological and literary trajectory through ancient Greek cosmography through the diverse and strikingly rich history of Hyperborea.

The embrace of reception theory has been one of the hallmarks of studies of classical literature over the last 30 years. This volume, containing essays by 15 internationally renowned scholars, builds on the critical insights gained from this revolution to consider reception within Greek antiquity itself.

This study describes the meaning of libertas as a political idea at Rome during the two hundred years or so between the Gracchi and Trajan, a period in which the Republican constitution gradually gave way and was finally superceded by the Principate which, in its own turn, considerably changed during the first century AD.

Studies the philosophical development of the meaning of the Greek word eoikos, which can be used to describe similarity, plausibility or even suitability. It focuses on Xenophanes, Parmenides and Plato's Timaeus and shows how such a study serves to enhance our understanding of their epistemology and methodology.

Explores how the ancient Romans negotiated the interface of economics and ethics and handled needs and wants throughout their history. Focuses on the desirability of individual and collective self-restraint in the pursuit of wealth, physical pleasures (food, drink, sex) and power.

This book focuses on the development of Platonic philosophy at the hands of Roman writers between the first century BCE and the early fifth century CE. It discusses the interpretation of Plato's Timaeus by Cicero, Apuleius, Calcidius, and Augustine, and examines how these authors created new contexts and settings for the intellectual heritage they received and thereby contributed to the construction of the complex and multifaceted genre of Roman Platonism. It takes advantage of the authors' treatment of Plato's Timaeus as a continuous point of reference to illustrate the individuality and originality of each writer in his engagement with this Greek philosophical text; each chooses a specific vocabulary, methodology, and literary setting for his appropriation of Timaean doctrine. The authors' contributions to the dialogue's history of transmission are shown to have enriched and prolonged the enduring significance of Plato's cosmology.

Explores the ideological use of Carthage in the most authoritative of the Augustan literary texts, the Aeneid of Virgil. Addressed to students and scholars of the classical world interested in the literature and ideology produced under autocratic regimes, the representations of enemies and the relationship between history, poetry, and myth.

This book speaks to all admirers of Delphi and its famous prophecies, whether they are experts on ancient Greek religion, students of the ancient world, or just lovers of a good story. It highlights key themes of oracle stories and finds religious meaning in the infamous oracular ambiguity.

This book sheds new light on Virgil's Aeneid via a detailed study of Ascanius, Aeneas' young son and ancestor of the emperor Augustus. In a work that will appeal to students of literature, history and childhood studies, Rogerson shows how the characterisation of Ascanius reflects contemporary concerns about Rome's future.

In this book, Sophia M. Connell sets out Aristotle's views on female animals and argues that they should be seen in a much more positive light than has been previously thought. This results in a reassessment of many fundamental aspects of Aristotle's metaphysics, philosophy and methodology.

In pre-Roman Italy and Sicily, dozens of languages and writing systems competed and interacted. Using new archaeological evidence and modern theories of bilingualism, this book explores the relationship between Greek and Oscan, two of the most widely spoken languages in the south of the peninsula.