Ancient Philosophy

In exploring how the Christian religion became such a defining feature of the European landscape, and how a small sect of isolated congregations was transformed into a mass movement centrally directed from Rome, Heather shows how Christendom constantly battled against both so-called 'heresies' and other forms of belief. From the crisis that followed the collapse of the Roman Empire, which left the religion teetering on the edge of extinction, to the astonishing revolution in which the Papacy emerged as the head of a vast international corporation.

Recognizing the power of the new and trying to understand and promote the conditions that make it possible, the Greeks were the first to write about innovation and even the first to record a word for forging something new. In short, the Greeks "invented" innovation itself - and they still have a great deal to teach us about it. How to Innovate is an engaging introduction to key ideas about - and examples of - innovation and creative thinking from ancient Greece. Armand D'Angour provides lively new translations of selections from Aristotle, Diodorus, and Athenaeus.

The rise of Rome is one of the great stories of world history and fortunately we have a reliable and at times an eyewitness account, from the Greek historian Polybius of Megalopolis. Polybius reports on the main confrontations with the authority of a man who was present at many events and also visited historic sites of importance to ensure his accounts of the past were accurate.

One of the most influential Roman perspectives on religion came from a nonreligious belief system that is finding new adherents even today: Stoicism. How did the Stoics think about religion? In How to Think About God, Philip Freeman presents vivid new translations of Cicero's On the Nature of the Gods and The Dream of Scipio. In these brief works, Cicero offers a Stoic view of belief, divinity, and human immortality, giving eloquent expression to the religious ideas of one of the most popular schools of Roman and Greek philosophy.

The philosophy of Ancient Greece provides the background of Western ethical thought and politics. In this approachable introduction, Hugh Griffith, a leading translator of Plato, covers the main ground from the Pre-Socratics through Plato, Aristotle, the Stoics, and the Epicureans.

No direct explanation is given for the origin and nature of the luminous bodies, the sun, the planets, and the stars. Because the Sumerians regarded the moon-god, who went by the names Sin and Nanna, as the son of the air-god Enlil, it does not seem unreasonable to suggest that they saw the moon as a bright, air-like body fashioned from the atmosphere. As the sun-god Utu and the Venus goddess Inanna are always referred to as children of the moon-god, these luminous bodies were probably imagined as having come from the moon after the latter had been formed from the atmosphere.

Au début de l'histoire de l'humanité, les dieux tout comme les cultes variaient d'une communauté à l'autre. Les premiers peuples chassés par la force de leur territoire ont craint que des divinités étrangères ou ennemies ne puissent les protéger. Des chefs ont alors fondé une nouvelle religion. Certains d'entre eux se sont basés sur des textes anciens et d'autres ont affirmé avoir eu des révélations.

If you want to discover the captivating history of Mesoamerica, then check out this four-in-one audiobook. You'll learn all about the Olmec, Zapotec, Mayan, and Aztec people.

This simplistic and ingenious allegory from one of the fathers of Western philosophy casts light on society’s naiveté and ignorance.

What could be more essential than the discovery and analysis of self, the composite of that consciousness which constitutes one's whole being? This book of sound logic presents revealingly and in entirety the four phases of human living: The Mysteries, The Technique, The Pitfalls, and Attainment. Do you not, at times, entertain the question as to whether you are living your life to your best advantage?

In How to Be, Adam Nicolson takes us on a glorious, immersive journey. Grounded in the belief that places give access to minds, however distant and strange, this book reintroduces us to our earliest thinkers through the lands they inhabited. To know the mental occupations of Homer or Heraclitus, one must visit their cities, sail their seas, and find landscapes not overwhelmed by the millennia that have passed but retain the atmosphere of that ancient life. Nicolson takes us to the dawn of investigative thought and a nexus of cross-cultural connection.

The first robot to walk the earth was a bronze giant called Talos. This wondrous machine was created not by MIT Robotics Lab, but by Hephaestus, the Greek god of invention, more than 2,500 years ago. In this groundbreaking account of the earliest expressions of the timeless impulse to create artificial life, Adrienne Mayor tells the fascinating story of how ancient Greek, Roman, Indian, and Chinese myths envisioned artificial life, automata, self-moving devices, and human enhancements - and how these visions relate to and reflect the ancient invention of real animated machines.

Have you ever wondered what Japan was like long ago? The Japanese people have had a long and interesting history, filled with warrior queens, emperors, and discoveries that have changed the world. Both parents and children will enjoy learning about Ancient Japan in this fun, up-to-date history of the Japanese people. Did you know that the Japanese were the first people to create pottery? That might not sound important, but there were no plates, bowls, jars, or pots before the ancient people in Japan invented all of that!

The Indus Valley civilization was founded at least over 5000 years ago in the area that is now modern-day Pakistan and northern India. The Harappan people lived there in peace by focusing on agriculture, crafting, and trading. This audiobook will discuss how the Harappan built their cities, lived their daily lives, what they believed happened after they died, and so much more!

Gaius Musonius Rufus was a Roman Stoic philosopher of the first century AD. He has been referred to as the Roman Socrates and is also remembered for being the teacher of Epictetus. He taught philosophy in Rome during the reign of Nero and so was sent into exile in 65 AD, returning to Rome only under Galba. Twenty-one of his lectures survive together with a few fragmentary notes from others, all of which are contained in this narration.

Along with Stoicism and Epicureanism, Skepticism is one of the three major schools of ancient Greek philosophy that claim to offer a way of living as well as thinking. How to Keep an Open Mind provides an unmatched introduction to skepticism by presenting a fresh, modern translation of key passages from the writings of Sextus Empiricus, the only Greek skeptic whose works have survived.

Summary and analysis of The Kybalion - The Kybalion was first published in 1912 by the Yogi Publication Society. This is a specialized analysis that codifies the concepts and ideas of the book. The book purports to be based upon ancient Hermeticism and contains much of the ancient wisdom of the Egyptian and Greek world. It is said that the book was written by the famous lawyer William Walker Atkinson under the name The Three Initiates.

Epictetus was brought as a slave to Rome, where he became a great teacher. His philosophy, called stoicism, was practical, not theoretical - aimed at relieving suffering here and now. And Epictetus knew suffering. Besides being a former slave, he was lame in one leg and walked with a crutch. Turning these obstacles to his advantage, Epictetus learned that lasting peace and happiness can only come from within. The Manual is a collection of Epictetus' essential teachings. It points the way to inner harmony and freedom, through all of life's storms and stresses.

Covering the whole of the ancient Greek experience from its beginnings late in the third millennium BCE to the Roman conquest in 30 BCE, Out of One, Many is an accessible and lively introduction to the Greeks and their ways of living and thinking. In this fresh and witty exploration of the thought, culture, society, and history of the Greeks, Jennifer Roberts traces not only the common values that united them across the seas and the centuries, but also the enormous diversity in their ideas and beliefs.

Acclaimed historian and best-selling author Paul Johnson’s books have been translated into dozens of languages. In Socrates: A Man for Our Times, Johnson draws from little-known resources to construct a fascinating account of one of history’s greatest thinkers. Socrates transcended class limitations in Athens during the fifth century B.C. to develop ideas that still shape the way we think about the human body and soul, including the workings of the human mind.