Ancient Politics

Socrates the lover. Socrates the warrior. An innovative and insightful exploration of the passionate early life of Socrates and the influences that led him to become the first and greatest of philosophers. Socrates - the man whose logic and questioning gave birth to the ideas of Western thought, and whose execution heralded the end of the Athenian Golden Age. Despite his preeminence among the great thinkers of the past, precious little of his story is known, and what is often begins and ends with his trial and death.

Marcus Aurelius's timeless insights into human behaviour show that 2000 years on, not much has changed in the workplace and we could all do well if we focus on what we can control and worry less about things we can't. As head of the Roman empire, he encountered his fair share of difficult people, frustrating situations and political infighting. In Meditations, Marcus Aurelius encouraged us to accept other people's inevitable shortcomings, make the most of our short life, resist the temptations of fame and flattery and, when things get too much, take a cosmic perspective of our existence.

Cleopatra was a descendant of Ptolemy I Soter, a general who served the legendary Macedonian king Alexander the Great. She reigned over Egypt for nearly 21 years, and she first stepped onto the throne when she was just 18 years old. Her life was full of challenges and treacherous events, but she proved to be one of the most important figures in ancient history. Most historians who wrote about her were heavily influenced by the Romans, who had managed to erase her side of the story. In this audiobook, you will discover the truth about the last pharaoh of ancient Egypt.

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.

In 1955, on a visit to South Africa, Robert Ardrey became aware of the growing evidence that man had evolved on the African continent from carnivorous, predatory stock - ones who had also, long before man, achieved the use of weapons. A dramatist, Ardrey's interest in the African discoveries sprang less from purely scientific grounds than from the radical new light they cast on the eternal question: Why do we behave as we do? Are we naturally inclined towards war and weapons?

It was an explosion that reverberated across the country—and into the very heart of early-twentieth-century America. On the morning of October 1, 1910, the walls of the Los Angeles Times Building buckled as a thunderous detonation sent men, machinery, and mortar rocketing into the night air. When at last the wreckage had been sifted and the hospital triage units consulted, twenty-one people were declared dead and dozens more injured. But as it turned out, this was just a prelude to the devastation that was to come.

From the author of Caligula comes a new stand-alone novel in the Damned Emperors series: Commodus. AD 162. Rome is enjoying a period of stability and prosperity. The Empire's bounds are increasing, and two sons are born into the imperial succession for the first time in nearly a century. But all is not as it appears - cracks are beginning to show. The wars have rumbled on too long, and there are whispers of a sickness in the East. Just 30 years later, the Empire will be caught up in civil war, the imperial dynasty ended and Rome burned.

In this thrilling story of intellectual and archaeological discovery, David Roberts recounts his last 20 years of far-flung exploits in search of spectacular prehistoric ruins and rock art panels known to very few modern travelers. His adventures range across Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, and southwestern Colorado, and illuminate the mysteries of the Ancestral Puebloans and their contemporary neighbors the Mogollon and Fremont, as well as of the more recent Navajo and Comanche.

In this acclaimed Plato masterpiece, you travel back in time to attend an elaborate high society dinner. At this party, you meet Plato's mentor, Socrates, and the comic poet Aristophanes. During the banquet, each of these men is invited to praise Eros, the god of love and desire. You witness them deliver speeches that embody their wisdom and philosophies on love. You hear Socrates' celebrated account of Diotima, the prophetess who taught him that love is the manifestation of human goodness. Finally, you even hear from the famous Alcibiades.

This is an audiobook that will help you become familiar with the gigantic world of Irish folklore, the Celts, and so many mysteries that have often been left out at school, but are, nonetheless, just as fascinating as some of the Greek or Roman cultural anecdotes. Dive into the world of fairies, goddesses, heroes, giants, and Selkies. Learn about the mysteries of the ancient world on the British Isles, as well as on the mainland in the old European nations.

In 45 BCE, the Roman statesman Cicero fell to pieces when his beloved daughter, Tullia, died from complications of childbirth. But from the depths of despair, Cicero fought his way back. In an effort to cope with his loss, he wrote a consolation speech—not for others, as had always been done, but for himself. And it worked. Cicero's Consolation was something new in literature, equal parts philosophy and motivational speech.

In On the Firmness of the Wise Man Seneca argues that Stoicism is not as harsh as it first appears. Recalling the figure of Cato the Younger, Seneca argues that Cato as a wise person suffered neither injury nor insult. Although Serenus objects to this paradox, Seneca provides further analogies to emphasize the impervious nature of the wise person. In chapter 5 Seneca distinguishes between contumelia (insults) and iniuria (injuries).

"The Art of War", by the Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu, was written in fifth century BC and remains one of the most influential strategy treatises of all time. It was held as the most important military treatise for 1500 years, and has now a pervasive influence on Eastern and Western military thinking, business tactics, legal strategy and beyond. The ancient wisdom of this ultimate guide to combat strategy is indeed applicable in all areas of life by anyone willing to ensure every kind of victory.

Marcus Licinius Crassus (115-53 BCE) was a modern man in an ancient world, a pioneer disrupter of finance and politics, and the richest man of the last years of the Roman republic. Without his catastrophic ambition, this trailblazing tycoon might have quietly entered history as Rome's first modern political financier. Instead, Crassus and his son led an army on an unprovoked campaign against Parthia into what are now the borderlands of Turkey, Syria, and Iraq, losing a battle at Carrhae which scarred Roman minds for generations.

This audiobook explains the divine female principle as the source of creation - both metaphysically and physically; the feminine dual nature of Isis with Nephthys; the relationship (and oneness) of the female and male principles; the numerology of Isis and Osiris; Isis’ role as the Virgin Mother; explanation of about 20 female deities as the manifestations of the feminine attributes; the role of Isis’ ideology throughout the world; the allegory of Isis, Osiris, and Horus; and much more. This book will fill both the mind with comprehensive information as well as the heart.

Experience the Greek Pantheon as never before and discover how ancient Greek mythology forged the bedrock of Western Civilization, even if you're a newcomer to the world of Olympus. The enigma of Greek mythology has fascinated and puzzled historians, philosophers, literary geniuses, and inquisitive minds alike. Are you one of those minds? Do you wonder at the magnificent tales of Zeus, Hades, Athena, and the menagerie of gods that populated the ancient world?

The tide of modern life is sweeping us even further into isolation—away from each other, from the world, from ourselves. To turn this tide, Lama Tsomo has created the latest addition to her Ancient Wisdom for Our Times series: Deepening Wisdom, Deepening Connection. Building on the ideas and practices in the first two books—Why Bother: An Introduction and Wisdom Compassion (Starting with Yourself)—this new volume actively engages listeners, expanding our understanding and guiding our practice in the several key areas.

If you're into self-help and personal development, you've most likely come across the terms stoicism and stoic philosophy a lot these days. Unlike a fancy-sounding pop psychology trend or personal development quick fix, stoicism is a powerful ancient Greek philosophy concept.

Join Egyptologist Garry J. Shaw on an entertaining tour up the Nile, through a beautiful and fascinating landscape populated with a rich mythology: the stories of Horus, Isis, Osiris, and their enemies and allies in tales of vengeance, tragedy, and fantastic metamorphoses. Shaw retells these stories with his characteristic wit, and reconnects them to the temples and monuments that still stand today, offering a fresh look at the most visited sites of Egypt.

Rosmersholm is a play surrounding the deep and intense political and cultural change in Norway in the middle of the 1880s, a period during which the traditional ruling class were forced to relinquish their right to impose their ideals on the rest of society. We follow Johannes Rosmer, a pastor who has resigned from his position; Rebecca West, a woman who sees Rosmer's potential and believes she can help him to realize his dream of creating a world of "happy, noble people"; and Headmaster Kroll, Rosmer's former best friend.