Ancient World
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Rob Tempio
Publisher, Philosophy, Political Theory & Ancient World
Our list takes a broad disciplinary and geographically inclusive approach to understanding humanity’s ancient past, with an emphasis on seeing ancient civilizations as fluid sites of crosscultural interaction. Drawing on ancient history, archaeology, classics, mythology, philosophy, religion, and art history, it is informed by well-established approaches to textual and archaeological evidence, as well as by new methodologies. Covering regions from the Greco-Roman world to Egypt and the ancient Near East, and from Central Asia to East Asia, our books illuminate new ways of understanding ancient cultures, peoples, politics, philosophies, literary texts, and religions, and how these inform our present.
New & Noteworthy
Featured Audiobooks
Series
Ideas
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How did Romans manage the risks of childbirth?
From weather forecasts to astrology substacks, many people today structure their daily lives with the help of predictive information. Fundamentally, this was also true for ancient Romans.
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Listen in: After 1177 B.C.
Filled with lessons for today’s world about why some societies survive massive shocks while others do not, After 1177 B.C. reveals why this period, far from being the First Dark Age, was a new age with new inventions and new opportunities.
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How bad was the world’s first pandemic?
What exogenous shock knocked the Roman Empire from its prosperous and peaceful pinnacle? In recent years, historians have zeroed in on an infectious outbreak known as the Antonine plague—an apparent pox-like disease that ravaged not just Rome, but several Roman cities during Marcus’ reign.
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Listen in: Pox Romana
In the middle of the second century AD, Rome was at its prosperous and powerful apex. The emperor Marcus Aurelius reigned over a vast territory that stretched from Britain to Egypt. The Roman-made peace, or Pax Romana, seemed to be permanent.
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Gurus of degrowth: Say hello to the ancient Cynics
Mark Twain once quipped “Heaven goes by favor. If it went by merit, you would stay out and your dog would go in.”
