Egypt, Greece, and Rome: Civilizations of the Ancient Mediterranean / Edition 3

by Charles Freeman

Overview

Egypt, Greece, and Rome is regarded as one of the best general histories of the ancient world. It is written for the general reader and the student coming to the subject for the first time and provides a reliable and highly accessible point of entry to the period.

Beignning with the early Middle Eastern civilizations of Sumer, and continuing right through to the Islmic invasions and the birth of modern Europe after the collapse of the Roman empire, the book ranges beyond political history to cover art and architecture, philosophy, literature, society, and economy. A wide range of maps, illustrations, and photographs complements the text.

This third edition has been extensively revised to appeal to the general reader with several chapters completely rewritten and a great deal of new material added, including a new selection of images.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780199651924
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	05/27/2014
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	824
Sales rank:	650,332
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.60(d)

About the Author

Charles Freeman is a freelance academic historian with wide interests in the history of European culture and thought.

In recent years, he has developed a study tour programme of Italy, including Sicily. He has now led twelve tours, the latest to Friuli, with Turin on the schedule for 2013. In 2005 Charles was appointed to the Editorial Board of the Blue Guides as Historical Consultant and he has written the historical introductions to several volumes of the new editions including Rome, Florence, Venice, and Mainland Greece. He is also the author of The Blue Guide Sites of Antiquity: Fifty Sites that Explain the Classical World (2009) which has been widely praised.

Table of Contents

DedicationForeword to the Third edition, Oswyn MurrayAuthor's PrefaceAcknowledgementsList of PlatesList of MapsList of Figures1. Approaching the Ancient World2. The Birth of Civilization: The Ancient Near East, 5000- 1200 BC3. Pyramids and Power, the Creation of an Egyptian State, 3500-1985 BC4. Stability and Expansion, Egypt in the Middle and New Kingdoms, 1985- 1000 BCInterlude 1: The Amarna Letters5. Living in New Kingdom Egypt6. The Ancient Near East, 1200- 500 BC7. 'The Sea between the Lands', the Mediterranean as the Cradle of the Classical World8. Civilizations of the Bronze Age Aegean, 2000 -1100 BC9. The Birth of a New Greece 1100 - 700 BC10. 'Travelling Heroes', The Greeks in a Wider World, 800-600 BCInterlude 2: Sappho and Lyric Poetry11. Hoplites and Tyrants: The Emergence of the City State12. Craftsmanship and Creativity in Archaic Greece13. The Persian Wars14. The Greek Way of Life15. Experiencing the Supernatural: the Spiritual World of the GreeksInterlude 3: 'After this all becomes possible.' Creating Classical Art, 500 - 460 BC16. Democracy and Empire, Athens in the Fifth Century17. Rethinking the World: From Aeschylus to AristotleInterlude 4: Rhetoric18. The Struggle for Power, 431- 338 BC19. Alexander the Great and the Transformation of the Greek World20. Tensions and Creativity: The Hellenistic World, 323 -30 BCInterlude 5: Celts and Parthians21. The Etruscans and Early Rome22. Rome Becomes a Mediterranean Power23. Rome, A Republic Under StressInterlude 6: Voices from the Republic24. The Failure of Republican PoliticsInterlude 7: Women in the Roman Republic25. Augustus and the Founding of Empire26. Consolidating the Roman Empire, AD 14-161Interlude 8: The Sebasteion at Aphrodisias27. Running and Defending an Empire28. Social and Economic Life in the EmpireInterlude 9: The Romans as Builders29. The Flourishing of Greek Culture30. An Empire in Crisis, AD 161-31331. The Early Christian Communities, AD 33-31332. Constantine and His Successors33. The Christian Emperor34. The Collapse of the Classical West, 395-60035. The Emergence of the Byzantine Empire36. LegaciesWhat to Read NextDate ChartList of EventsIndex

Editorial Reviews

"Charles Freeman is my favourite universal historian of the ancient world, which he interprets in the broadest geographical and temporal senses ... This new edition of Egypt, Greece, and Rome cannot be recommended too highly as the one-stop shop for all historically curious travellers in these eternally and endlessly fascinating lands." — Professor Paul Cartledge, Cambridge University

"Freeman's survey of the ancient world is a remarkable achievement ... The book is written in a clear and approachable style ideally suited to the target audience, which is defined as the general reader and students in need of a foundation text to guide them into the study of the great and important cultures of antiquity. This new edition will certainly ensure that Freeman's study will continue to hold its place as a classic introduction to the ancient world in all its aspects." — Professor Alan B. Lloyd, President of the Egypt Exploration Society

"This admirably ambitious work provides a very useful introduction to three of the great civilizations of the Ancient World: Egypt, Greece, and Rome. Charles Freeman should be applauded for having taken on this gargantuan task." — Professor Richard Miles, University of Sydney

"Charles Freeman's work on updating this, the third edition of Egypt, Greece and Rome, has ensured this book continues to be a must-read, offering clear insights into the latest thinking and discoveries about the ancient Mediterranean world in an engaging and thought-provoking manner." — Dr Michael Scott, University of Warwick

"An enormously ambitious book ... The text is approachable and readable. It can be used both for sustained study as well as for idle browsing and dipping into. It is informative, succinct. There are no tedious digressions or woolly bits. It offers an opinion where an opinion is useful but does not dogmatically press an agenda. For the general reader, it is difficult to imagine how it could have been better done." — Annabel Barber, Blue Guides

"Freeman is to be commended for the scope and detail of the work ... [it] is beautifully illustrated and written in clear and clever prose. Freeman writes with the authority not only of a historian, but also an archaeologist ... and a traveler who has trod the well-worn paths of our ancient forebears. His rigorous approach ensures that the book will continue to be an authoritative survey of the history and culture of the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern regions." — Carrie L. Sulosky Weaver, Classical Journal Online

From the Publisher