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The ancient biographer and essayist Plutarch thought deeply about the leadership qualities of the eminent Greeks and Romans he profiled in his famous - and massive - Lives, including politicians and generals such as Pericles, Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, and Mark Antony. Luckily for us, Plutarch distilled what he learned about wise leadership in a handful of essays, which are filled with essential lessons for experienced and aspiring leaders in any field today.

The sixth-century AD witnessed a remarkable turn-around in the Roman Empire's fortunes. Justinian's general, Belisarius, recovered North Africa and Italy from the barbarians. An impressive new law code was inaugurated that would endure to this day. Astonishing building projects rivalled the great monuments of Old Rome.

Africa is the continent where the first humans were born. They explored the vast land and produced the first tools. And although we migrated from that continent, we never completely abandoned it. From the beginning of time, humans lived and worked in Africa, leaving evidence of their existence in the sands of the Sahara Desert and the valleys of the great rivers, such as the Nile and the Niger. Some of the earliest great civilizations were born there, and they give us an insight into the smaller kingdoms of ancient Africa.

Founded by Alexander the Great and built by self-styled Greek pharaohs, the city of Alexandria at its height dwarfed both Athens and Rome. It was the marvel of its age, legendary for its vast palaces, safe harbors, and magnificent lighthouse. But it was most famous for the astonishing intellectual efflorescence it fostered and the library it produced. If the European Renaissance was the "rebirth" of Western culture, then Alexandria, Egypt, was its birthplace.

In our modern age the biblical Genesis flood account has been probed and analyzed for answers to scientific, apologetic, and historical questions. It is a text that has called forth flood geology, fueled searches for remnants of the ark on Mount Ararat, and inspired a full-size replica of Noah's ark in a biblical theme park. Some claim that the very veracity of Scripture hinges on a particular reading of the flood narrative. But do we understand what we are reading? Longman and Walton urge us to ask, what might the biblical author have been saying to his ancient audience?

In these four dialogues, Plato develops the Socratic belief in responsibility for one's self and shows Socrates living and dying under his philosophy. In Euthyphro, Socrates debates goodness outside the courthouse, Apology sees him in court, rebutting all charges of impiety, in Crito, he refuses an entreaty to escape from prison, and in Phaedo, Socrates faces his impending death with calmness and skillful discussion of immortality.

Pagans explores the rise of Christianity from a surprising and unique viewpoint: that of the people who witnessed their ways of life destroyed by what seemed then a powerful religious cult. These "pagans" were actually pious Greeks, Romans, Syrians, and Gauls, who observed the traditions of their ancestors. To these devout polytheists, Christians who worshiped only one deity were immoral atheists who believed that a splash of water on the deathbed could erase a lifetime of sin.

The scandalous image of the Empress Messalina as a ruthless and sexually insatiable schemer, derived from the work of Roman historians such as Tacitus and Suetonius, has taken deep root in the Western imagination. The stories they told about her included nightly visits to a brothel and a twenty-four-hour sex competition with a prostitute. Tales like these have defined the empress's legacy, but her real story is much more complex. In her new life of Messalina, the classicist Honor Cargill-Martin reappraises one of the most slandered and underestimated female figures of ancient history.

Suétone est un haut fonctionnaire romain, membre de l'ordre équestre, auteur de nombreux ouvrages dont la "Vie des douze Césars" qui rassemble les biographies de Jules César à Domitien. Il a vécu à la fin du Ier siècle et au début du IIème siècle. En tant que secrétaire de l'empereur Hadrien, Suétone avait accès aux archives impériales, ce qui lui permettait de consulter les sources contemporaines telles que les procès-verbaux des séances du Sénat, des lettres et des testaments d'empereurs.

The Phoenicians remain one of the most enigmatic ancient civilizations, with historians and scholars prone to speculation and educated guesses. Although many Greek, Roman, and Egyptian writers reference the Phoenicians in trade records, military battles, and artistic transactions, few records were left by the original Phoenicians themselves, leaving modern scholars to fill in the blanks through educated guesses and material culture.

Égypte ancienne est " ce jour de bonheur que les dieux ont offert aux hommes " (Paul Morand) : il est temps de le (re)découvrir. Le "mystère" a toujours été attaché à l'Égypte des Pharaons. Malgré l'avancée des connaissances, cette grande civilisation continue de charrier des théories pseudo-scientifiques ou ésotériques. Ce livre audio effectue un tri salutaire entre celles-ci et l'état du savoir des égyptologues et archéologues.

The Spartacus War is the extraordinary story of the most famous slave rebellion in the ancient world, the fascinating true story behind a legend that has been the inspiration for novelists, filmmakers, and revolutionaries for 2,000 years. Starting with only 74 men, a gladiator named Spartacus incited a rebellion that threatened Rome itself.

Discover an alternate history to the human race as the authors of Forbidden Archeology challenge one of the most fundamental components of the modern scientific world view. Michael Cremo and Richard Thompson discuss the work of researchers who, over the past 2 centuries, have found bones and artifacts showing that people like ourselves existed on earth millions of years ago.

When Athenians suffered the shame of having lost a war from their own greed and foolishness, around 404 BCE the public's blame was directed at Socrates, a man whose unique appearance and behavior, as well as his disapproval of the democracy, made him a ready target. Socrates was subsequently put on trial and sentenced to death. However, as René Girard has pointed out, no individual can be held responsible for a communal crisis.

The acclaimed, New York Times-bestselling chronicle of the discovery of the legendary lost civilization of the Maya In 1839, rumors of extraordinary yet baffling stone ruins buried within the unmapped jungles of Central America reached two of the world’s most intrepid travelers. Seized by...

Since the Renaissance, Julius Caesar has been idolized as a superman. There is no doubt that Caesar was an extraordinary man. But as General Fuller points out, Caesar was more extraordinary for his reckless ambition, matchless daring, and ruthless tyranny than for his skills as a military commander. Caesar continually had to extricate himself from the results of mistaken judgments. His unpremeditated Gallic conquest was just one of Fuller's many examples.

Elles détenaient le pouvoir, elles ont fait la grandeur du monde antique. De Cléopâtre à Théodora, les portraits de 10 femmes exceptionnelles. On croit souvent que les femmes étaient exclues du pouvoir dans le monde antique. C'est un tort. Les textes nous racontent bien autre chose pour peu qu'on se penche sur les histoires foisonnantes qui ont traversé les siècles. Loin d'être cantonnées dans la sphère privée, les femmes ont en réalité souvent détenu les plus hauts pouvoirs politiques.

There are few characters in Egyptian myth whose image and name are more widely known than Horus. His name most probably means “The Distant One”; as the celestial falcon, his wings were believed to span the length of the distant sky, and his eyes were the sun and the moon. This name betrays the connection Horus shared with Re, the “all-powerful” sun god, and also hints at his earlier incarnation as one of the earliest celestial gods in Egyptian religious belief.

Do you know that Loki gave birth to an eight-legged horse? Or that the Ancient Celts believed that their ancestors are all demigods? Mythology is complicated, unpredictable, and wonderful. In this 4-book Collection, you will be taken through a journey from the beginning of the world all the way to the end of everything in Norse, Sumerian, Celtic, and Mesoamerican Mythology respectively.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER From the bestselling author of How the Irish Saved Civilization comes a compelling historical narrative about Jesus—an obscure rabbi from a backwater of the Roman Empire who became the central figure in Western Civilization. "Divertingly instructive...gratifying...