Ancient Roman Civilization

Caligula’s father was a beloved military leader, so the Romans were initially glad to see his son take the throne, but Suetonius recounts the less flattering aspects of Caligula’s life and rule that followed his ascension. The narcissistic Caligula believed he was a god, and often replaced the busts of deities with his own. A devoted fan of gladiator fights, he also often had people assassinated, covered up the deed, and then claimed the deceased had committed suicide. Suetonius concludes this biography by detailing the omens that foreshadowed Caligula’s eventual assassination. 

Before his assassination, Julius Caesar named his great nephew Gaius Octavius as his successor. In this excerpt from The Twelve Caesars, Roman biographer Suetonius tells the life story of Octavius, who took the name Augustus when he became emperor. While Augustus did have a military career, Suetonius focuses on the dramatic details of Augustus’ personal life, making this biography more gossip-filled than its contemporaries. 

In the first authoritative biography of Alexander the Great written for a general audience in a generation, classicist and historian John C Martin tells the remarkable life of the great conqueror. The celebrated Macedonian king has been one of the most enduring figures in history. 

You’ve heard of Zeus, Poseidon, Aphrodite, etc. But what do you know about the Greek underworld, minor gods, and mythical beasts? Do you know how these stories were passed on from generation to generation or what significance they held for the people who believed in them? This fascinating audiobook introduces readers to the canon of Greek mythology and its influence on the world today in language, storytelling, and even science. 

The second volume in the trilogy that re-envisions Homer's Odyssey is once again told from the viewpoint of Alexi, the young Trojan boy. Captured by Odysseus after the fall of Troy, Alexi is forced to accompany the Greeks on their sea journey home to Ithaca. Cursed by the Sea God contains many of the iconic adventures of the homeward journey, including the encounter with the keeper of the winds, the descent into Hades, the fateful visit to the cannibal Laestrygonians and many more.

Two and a half millennia after it was created, Homer's Odyssey remains one of humanity's most memorable adventure stories. In this re-creation of Homer's classic as a young adult novel, we see the aftermath of the Trojan War through the eyes of Alexi, a fifteen-year-old Trojan boy. Orphaned by the war and enslaved by Odysseus himself, Alexi has a very different view of the conquering heroes of legend.

There was once a time, nearly four thousand years ago, when the tall towers of a city called Troy reached gleaming into the sky; when its proud king fought against an invading army in a desperate siege.

The Adventures of Odysseus is the story of what happened after the Trojan War when Odysseus, the most cunning of all the Greek heroes, left Troy and made his way back home to his wife Penelope and his son Telemachus. It was first told by a poet named Homer nearly 3,000 years ago and is retold in this new version especially for younger listeners.

Famous for his superhuman strength, Hercules is the most popular hero in Greek mythology. The son of Zeus - king of the gods - and a mortal mother, Hercules faces the wrath of Zeus' wife, Hera, who resents her illegitimate stepson and vows to bring him misery. With her magical powers, she tricks Hercules into performing a series of 12 seemingly impossible labors, each one a test of his strength, courage, cunning, and fighting skill. Is Hercules strong enough to foil her scheme?

A comienzos del siglo III a. de C., el Mediterráneo era testigo de la existencia de dos extraordinarias potencias: Cartago y Roma. Tras la espectacular expansión del segundo y su victoria en la primera guerra púnica, surgió la definitiva rivalidad entre ambos, la cual estalló militarmente otra vez en el 218 a. de C, cuando una de las figuras militares más importantes de todos los tiempos, el gran Aníbal, cruza los Alpes y ataca a Roma desde su propio territorio.

El Imperio Romano fue una de las fuerzas más imponentes del mundo antiguo. Esta no es solo la historia de la conquista o su increíble organización, o de las instituciones que lo hicieron posible. El Imperio Romano no es otro aburrido cuento histórico. Por el contrario, despierta nuestra imaginación, nuestros miedos y hasta nos entretiene.

The Roman Republic’s development from a city state into a world power that controlled large swathes of modern Italy, Gaul, and Spain, as well as other parts of Europe is seen by many as being the direct result of Roman fear of the “Celtic Threat”. The sacking of Rome by the Gauls in 386 BCE became indelibly imprinted into the Roman psyche, and with this fear came a desire to put as much distance as possible between the city of Rome and any potential enemy. The result was the gradual acquisition of buffer zones that became provinces of an empire that grew.

As a consequence of his actions during the Ludus uprising, Fallon's love, Cai, has been stripped of his decurion rank and cast down to serve as one of Caesar's gladiators. Amid fighting for Cai's freedom, Fallon soon learns Caesar's enemies are plotting against him and planning to get revenge on his fearsome gladiatrices. When Caesar is murdered by these conspirators, Fallon and the girls lose any sort of protection they once had. Fallon also realizes the foreign Queen Cleopatra is now in grave danger.

The Romans hated Pompey’s greedy father, Strabo, with a vengeance. Yet when Pompey rose in prominence, Plutarch notes that he developed the opposite character, and the Romans loved him for it. Pompey had many great accomplishments in his military and political life, but his legacy lies in forming the First Triumvirate with Crassus and Caesar. When the alliance eventually dissolved, and Pompey fled from Caesar to his death, the Roman world would never be the same.

Con este audio libro, viajarás a la antigua Roma, donde los gladiadores luchaban en el famoso Coliseo, los emperadores eran asesinados para dar paso a nuevos emperadores, se creaban calendarios y la mitología griega se convertía en mitología romana. Diviértete viendo lo que queda de esta increíble sociedad mientras exploras las antiguas ruinas y los mapas de guerra. Pon a prueba tus conocimientos con las actividades al final de cada capítulo y observa cómo la historia cobra vida mientras conoces el fascinante Imperio romano.

Marcus Aurelius was an outstanding person and Emperor of Ancient Rome. He was far more concerned with ways of thinking than with warfare. Being a small boy he applied himself to task with education. Marcus preferred others over himself, putting his own welfare aside for the good of other people. 

Among all the periods in ancient Egyptian history, the Ptolemaic Kingdom and its most famous ruler, Cleopatra, may be the most well-known today. By the 4th century BCE, it appeared as though ancient Egypt was in its final death throes. It had long ceased to be an influential kingdom in the Near East and Mediterranean regions, and it had been ruled over by a succession of foreign peoples including Libyans, Nubians, Assyrians, and Persians. But just when Egypt seemed was doomed to pass forever into obscurity, it was reinvigorated by outsiders, most notably Alexander the Great. 

En el siglo I de nuestra era vivió un hombre llamado Jesús en Judea, en ese tiempo una provincia de Roma. El hombre de origen rural era considerado por unos como un profeta, por otros como un loco y por otros más como un peligro para la seguridad de Israel. En sus últimos días predicó en Jerusalén sobre la inminente destrucción de la ciudad santa y de su templo. Su profecía incluía lenguaje parabólico.

Among all the natural disasters that struck Rome, one of the most well-known is the Great Fire of Rome, in part due to the popular myth that Emperor Nero fiddled while the Eternal City burned, even though no fiddle existed in first century Rome. Even though those accounts are likely apocryphal, it is true that on the night of July 18, AD 64, the most significant event of Nero's time in power - and the one which, for better or for worse, would seal his name in infamy throughout the ages - took place.

Ka, the time-travelling cat, has vanished again, leaving a clue, a Roman word on Topher’s computer - ‘Ca;;LLevA’. At first, Topher isn’t worried. Surely she’s safe among the cat-loving Romans? But when he follows her to Roman Britain, they’re both soon embroiled in conflict. As oppressed Britons fight the Romans, Topher faces a desperate choice - should he help his British brother or his Roman friend?Another thrilling adventure for older children about Ka and Topher, from bestselling author Julia Jarman.