I quoted these lines aloud to my wife and we laughed:* "the powerful Greek foundation of Cumae, then under the eccentric but highly effective rule of an effeminate despot who first made his name as a male prostitute, Aristodemus the Queen"* "They were fighting Jugurtha, a very able but unscrupulo...
Very interesting read, thorough while still staying focused on the most important parts primarily. Interspersed with quotes and passages from classical authors, which adds an important dimension to the narrative, namely: how the Romans themselves saw their historical evolution and the changes th...
Actually read in January of 2009. The following is a review written at the time that I am moving to my Goodreads library. Most people remember Cicero as an orator and praise him for his rhetorical skills, but few realize that he had a very full political career as well. He worked his way up th...
He found Rome made of clay and left it made of marble. As Rome’s first emperor, Augustus transformed the unruly Republic into the greatest empire the world had ever seen. His consolidation and expansion of Roman power two thousand years ago laid the foundations, for all of Western history to foll...
Now the tourist resort of Mersa Matrouh, this small coastal town commands a large and beautiful lagoon with miles of sandy beach. In this delightful spot (promoted today as a “corner of paradise”), Antony plunged into the deepest gloom. He had hoped to make contact with four of his legions in Cyr...
People could still remember the young man who read out Trajan’s letters to the Senate in a Spanish accent. A half foreigner, he had spent most of his adult career soldiering abroad on the empire’s barbarian frontiers. If he was to take to the road for long years in the provinces, as he meant to d...
The fifteenth of March was a public holiday, marking the end of winter. From the early morning, crowds of people had been streaming out of the city. It was almost as if Rome were being evacuated. Families abandoned the busy streets and huddled houses and crossed the River Tiber. In the countrysid...