Egypt, Greece and Rome: Civilizations of the Ancient Mediterranean / Edition 2

by Charles Freeman

Overview

In this unique and comprehensive introduction to the region's three major civilizations, Egypt, Greece, and Rome draws a fascinating picture of the deep links between the cultures across the Mediterranean and explores the ways in which these civilizations continue their influence to this day. Beginning with the emergence of the earliest Egyptian civilization around 3500 BC, noted scholar Charles Freeman follows the history of the Mediterranean over a span of four millennia to AD 600, beyond the fall of the Roman empire in the west to the emergence of the Byzantine empire in the east. Generously illustrated in both color and black and white, and drawing on the most up to date scholarship, Egypt, Greece and Rome is a superb introduction for anyone seeking a better understanding of the civilizations of the ancient Mediterranean and their legacy to the West.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	2900199263645
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	04/29/2004
Edition description:	REV
Pages:	736
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 1.25(h) x 9.00(d)

About the Author

Charles Freeman has taught ancient history in Cambridge's Adult Education program and leads study tours of Italy for the Historical Association. He is the author of The Closing of the Western Mind: The Rise of Faith and the Fall of Reason.

Table of Contents

	List of Colour Plates	xv
	List of Maps	xvi
1.	Rediscovering the Ancient World	1
2.	Egypt, the Gift of the Nile, 3200-1500 BC	14
3.	Egypt as an Imperial Power, 1500-1000 BC	33
4.	Daily Life in New Kingdom Egypt	46
5.	The Ancient Near East, 3500-500 BC	58
6.	The Early Greeks, 2000-700 BC	76
7.	The Greeks in a Wider World, 800-600 BC	96
8.	Hoplites and Tyrants: The Emergence of the City State	115
9.	Cultural Change in the Archaic Age	134
10.	The Persian Wars	150
Interlude 1	Herodotus and Fgypt	166
11.	Everyday Life in Classical Greece	169
12.	Religion and Culture in the Greek World	186
13.	Athens: Democracy and Empire	197
14.	From Aeschylus to Aristotle	218
15.	The Struggle for Power, 431-338 BC	240
16.	Alexander of Macedon and the Expansion of the Greek World	257
17.	The Hellenistic World	274
Interlude 2	Celts and Parthians	294
18.	The Etruscans and Early Rome	299
19.	Rome becomes a Mediterranean Power	319
20.	From the Gracchi to Caesar, 133-55 BC	337
Interlude 3	Voices from the Republic	358
21.	The Fall of the Roman Republic, 55-31 BC	362
Interlude 4	Women in the Roman Republic	377
22.	Augustus and the Founding of Empire	381
23.	Consolidating the Empire, AD 14-138	396
24.	Adminstering and Defending the Empire	422
Interlude 5	The Romans as Builders	440
25.	Social and Economic Life in the Empire	447
26.	Transformations: The Roman Empire, 138-313	463
27.	The Foundations of Christianity	483
28.	The Empire in the Fourth Century	499
29.	The Creation of a New Europe, 395-600	518
30.	The Emergence of the Byzantine Empire	536
	Epilogue: Legacies	555
	Suggestions for Further Reading	564
	Date Chart and List of Events	584
	Acknowledgements of Sources	613
	Index	618

Editorial Reviews

"A useful introduction to the ancient Mediterranean civilizations."—Library Journal

"Cover[s] an immense variety of material with competence and sensitivity to nuance. "—Booklist

From the Publisher