You may have to Search all our reviewed books and magazines, click the sign up button below to create a free account.
Alexander's Lovers reveals the personality of Alexander the Great through the mirror of the lives of those with whom he pursued romantic relationships, including his friend Hephaistion, his queen Roxane, his mistress Barsine & Bagoas the Eunuch. Did you know that Alexander got the idea of adopting Persian dress from a book he read in his youth? Had you realised that Alexander's pursuit of divine honours was part of his emulation of Achilles, that Bagoas undertook a diplomatic mission or that Hephaistion's diplomacy kept Athens from joining a Spartan rebellion? Are you aware that Aetion's painting of Alexander's marriage depicted Hephaistion & Bagoas as well as Roxane and really depicted the King's passions? Which girl was betrothed to Alexander's son? Would it surprise you that Alexander's mourning for Hephaistion was conducted according to models from Homer and Euripides? If you would like to get to know Alexander on a more personal level, then you need to read this book. Second edition, revised & updated.
In 2004 the author's first book, The Lost Tomb of Alexander the Great, was published to the accompaniment of international media attention, since it reported the first credible suggestion as to the current whereabouts of the long-vanished corpse of the illustrious conqueror. In the intervening years, direct progress on testing of the candidate remains has been thwarted by the Church authorities, yet much new information has emerged, casting the enigma in an ever more probing light. It may turn out to be the greatest archaeological story of the century, for nobody has yet been able to refute the author's novel suggestion that the body stolen from Alexandria in AD828 and now in Venice may have acquired a false identity in the 4th century AD. This updated and extended account lays bare the forgotten secrets of one of the greatest mysteries bequeathed to us by the ancient world. Includes the author's several published academic articles on the subject as Appendices. Over 80 illustrations.
The most influential account of the career of Alexander the Great was penned by Cleitarchus in the decades after Alexander's death. Most of the surviving ancient texts on Alexander were based upon his work, but every copy of the original was destroyed in antiquity. Now the entire book is being revived in an exciting reconstruction based upon an in-depth analysis of the surviving ancient works that it inspired. This volume presents the section dealing with Alexander's campaigns in Afghanistan. It became a blood-soaked slog against unrelenting opponents who adopted the same guerrilla resistance as is seen there today. Alexander was also beset by internal dissension with treason and plot within his own camp. How he coped with these dual challenges, through ruthless force in combination with conciliatory gestures, still offers useful lessons in strategy. Alexander was uniquely successful in establishing the region's rule by Greek kings for the next few centuries. A date for Alexander's accession is also proposed.
New research reveals hitherto unrecognised evidence and provides a fresh insight into the disappearance of The Tomb of Alexander the Great. The disappearance and fate of the tomb of Alexander the Great in Alexandria is among the most momentous and tantalising of all the mysteries we have inherited from the ancient world. Generations of archaeologists and historians have sucumbed to the allure of the quest; yet have failed to find convincing answers. Now with the dawning of the 21st century new research is revealing hitherto unrecognised evidence and providing fresh insights, creating a frisson of renewed excitement in academic circles. This new title combines a detailed chronological account of the history of the tomb with the first publication of new discoveries. Finally, an intriguing new possibility is explored regarding the whereabouts of Alexander's mummified remains.
The project to bring together all the books of the world in Alexandria was not only intended to contribute to the glory of the Ptolemies, but also aimed to attract scholars to the city, who would be capable of exploiting these books to produce others and to thus advance the literature and science of their time. This book demonstrates that the availability and critical study of the 500,000 scrolls which the Library of Alexandria probably contained made possible the production of some remarkable pieces of Alexandrian literature and philosophy, the considerable increase in historical and geographical knowledge, as well as outstanding contributions to the history of mathematics, astronomy, mechanics, and medicine. The book recalls how Alexandria was founded and became the most beautiful city in the ancient world. It also recalls the incredible series of wars, popular revolts, assassinations, palace intrigues, and debaucheries that brought about the inexorable decline of this city and its Library.
'One of the greatest historical novels ever written' SARAH WATERS 'I love to find queer representation in historical fiction. . . Renault's eye for intimacy is amazing' DOUGLAS STUART 'Fierce, complex and eloquent' MADELINE MILLER 'Mary Renault is a shining light' HILARY MANTEL *** A groundbreaking queer classic and powerful reimagining of the last years of Alexander the Great, told through the eyes of his lover. I thought, There goes my lord, whom I was born to follow. I have found a king. And, I said to myself, looking after him as he walked away, I will have him, if I die for it. Bagoas, abducted as a boy and sold as a eunuch, has been transported to the heart of the Persian court as cour...
This Companion covers a range of receptions of ancient Greek and Roman gender and sexuality. It explores ancient representations of these concepts as we define them today, as well as recent perspectives that have been projected back onto antiquity. Beginning in antiquity, the chapters examine how the ancient Greeks and Romans regarded concepts of what we would today call "gender" and "sexuality" based on the evidence available to us, and chart the varied interpretations and receptions of these concepts across time to the present day. In exploring how different cultures have "received" the classical past, the volume investigates these cultures’ different interpretations of Greek and Roman s...
Herewith an historical journey from the third century to the multiethnic metropolis of the twentieth century, bringing together two diverse histories of the city. Ancient Alexandria was built by the Greek Ptolemies who in thirty years completed the first lighthouse and the grand library and museum which functioned as a university with the emphasis on science, known as 'The Alexandrian School', attracting scholars from all over the ancient world. Two of the most eminent were Euclid, the father of geometry, and Claudios Ptolemy, writer of The Almagest, a book on astronomy. These are the oldest surviving science textbooks and the city was known as "the birthplace of science". Herein there are s...
The most influential account of the career of Alexander the Great was penned by Cleitarchus the son of Deinon, a Greek writing in Alexandria in the decades after Alexander's death. Most of the surviving ancient texts on Alexander were more or less based upon his work, but every single copy of the original was discarded or destroyed in antiquity. The question is: how far might it be possible to reconstruct it from the secondary writings? In response, this book presents an extensive reconstruction of Cleitarchus' account of the death of Alexander the Great in the stifling summer heat of Babylon in 323BC. It sweeps through a dramatic series of antecedent episodes culminating in the funeral of Hephaistion. Soon after it climaxes with Alexander's own expiry, then thunders on into the shock and chaos of the aftermath in a text studded with eulogistic orations and scintillating speeches. It is a must for any fascinated by the deep political undercurrents that streamed beneath a pivotal event in our history.