Greek Science

Before the Greeks, the idea of the world was dominated by god-kings and their priests, in a life ruled by imagined metaphysical monsters. 2,500 years ago, in a succession of small eastern Mediterranean harbour-cities, that way of thinking began to change. Men (and some women) decided to cast off mental subservience and apply their own worrying and thinking minds to the conundrums of life. These great innovators shaped the beginnings of philosophy. Adam Nicolson travels through this transforming world and asks what light these ancient thinkers can throw on our deepest preconceptions.

What is at stake is far from insignificant: it is how one should live one's life. Plato's The Republic is widely acknowledged as the cornerstone of Western philosophy. Presented in the form of a dialogue between Socrates and three different interlocutors, it is an inquiry into the notion of a perfect community and the ideal individual within it. During the conversation, other questions are raised: What is goodness? What is reality? What is knowledge?

"L'Éthique à Nicomaque" d'Aristote est composée de neuf livres qui traitent des moyens d'atteindre le bonheur en développant la vertu. Les deux derniers livres sont consacrés à définir l'amitié, telle qu'elle existe et telle qu'elle doit être vécue par l'homme vertueux. La méthode aristotélicienne permet de distinguer les différentes causes et les différentes manifestations de l'amitié, nécessaire à l'homme et qui lui révèle son appartenance à la communauté. Le véritable ami est celui qui aime l'autre pour lui, et non en vue de ce qu'il peut lui apporter.

Perception, memory, truth, and knowledge all play major roles in this dialogue. What is remarkable about Plato's treatment of those ideas is how contemporary are both the questions and the answers he puts in the mouths of his characters. Socrates is adamant in asserting that he does not know the answers but that his function is simply to help formulate and critically examine the doctrines presented by others.

Already a classic, this landmark study of early Western thought now appears in a new edition with expanded coverage of the Middle Ages. Author Anthony Gottlieb looks afresh at the writings of the great thinkers, questions much of conventional wisdom, and explains his findings with unbridled brilliance and clarity. From the pre-Socratic philosophers through the celebrated days of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, up to Renaissance visionaries like Erasmus and Bacon, philosophy emerges here as a phenomenon unconfined by any one discipline.

Parmenion, the Lion of Macedon - a lone hero in search of salvation and instead finding destiny. Alexander, the Dark Prince - a child who will become Alexander, founder of the greatest empire the world has ever known. He will conquer all, save for the Chaos Spirit, the immortal evil that dwells in his soul. Together they will be forced into other dimensions, across time, into enchanted worlds full of wonder and sorcery....

Daniel Klein journeys to the Greek island Hydra to discover the secrets of aging happily. Drawing on the lives of his Greek friends, as well as philosophers ranging from Epicurus to Sartre, Klein learns to appreciate old age as a distinct and extraordinarily valuable stage of life. He uncovers simple pleasures that are uniquely available late in life, as well as headier pleasures that only a mature mind can fully appreciate.

Descendants of the Fates are always born in threes: one to weave, one to draw, and one to cut the threads that connect people to the things they love and to life itself. The Ora sisters are no exception. Io, the youngest, uses her Fate-born abilities as a private investigator in the half-sunken city of Alante. But her latest job leads her to a horrific discovery: somebody is abducting women, maiming their life-threads, and setting the resulting wraiths loose in the city to kill.

Para Marco Aurelio, cualquier acto de injusticia era «una blasfemia». Cicerón afirmó que el sentido del honor y el carácter de una persona definen sus actos. En Ser justo en un mundo injusto, Ryan Holiday afirma que la justicia es la virtud que rige todas las demás virtudes. Todo lo que vale la pena perseguir en la vida debe surgir de un compromiso con la justicia, del deseo de hacer el bien en este mundo.

In the tradition of his best-selling debut novel The Lost Books of the Odyssey, Zachary Mason's Metamorphica transforms Ovid's epic poem of endless transformation. It reimagines the stories of Narcissus, Pygmalion and Galatea, Midas, and Atalanta and strings them together like the stars in constellations - even Ovid becomes a story. It's as though the ancient mythologies had been rewritten by Borges or Calvino.

Gripping tales that abound with fantastic characters and astonishing twists and turns, Greek myths confront what it means to be mortal in a world of powerful forces beyond human control. Little wonder that they continue to fascinate readers thousands of years after they were first told. Gods and Mortals is a major new telling of ancient Greek myths by one of the world's preeminent experts.

The influence of Aristotle, the prince of philosophers, on the intellectual history of the West is second to none. In this book, Jonathan Barnes examines Aristotle's scientific researches, his discoveries in logic and his metaphysical theories, his work in psychology and in ethics and politics, and his ideas about art and poetry, placing his teachings in their historical context.

The original Latin name of this important essay by Seneca, written around 60 CE, was De Beneficiis, which is why it is generally translated as ‘On Benefits'. However, it is more usefully titled ‘On Favours', because this is what it is essentially about: the giving and receiving of favours, with all the implications of such transactions.

La pensée stoïcienne est avant tout une médecine de l'âme. Toute entière tendue vers l'application pratique, c'est un véritable manuel de vie, qui nous donne les clefs pour nous détacher de la souffrance quotidienne et nous approcher de la sagesse d'une vie vertueuse. Les écrits stoïques sont parvenus jusqu'à nous sous forme de fragments, qui contiennent chacun l'essence des enseignements dont nous avons besoin aujourd'hui pour rentrer dans la pensée de ses grands auteurs.

When Hunter Cassidy revealed her true power to Slade Baines during a fight for their lives, everything she wanted was ripped away from her. Now, with her heart in pieces, Hunter is left only with her determination to find and destroy the deadly weapon that led her to infiltrate the Assassin's Legion in the first place.

Ever familiar and instructive, Davis shows why the ancient tales of gods and heroes, from Mount Olympus to Machu Picchu, from ancient Rome to the icy land of the Norse, continue to speak to us today, in our movies, art, language, and music. For mythology novices and buffs alike, and for anyone who loves a good story, Don't Know Much About Mythology is a lively and insightful look into the greatest stories ever told.

Perhaps the most important book in philosophy after the Allegory of the Cave. Incomparable logic and findings about the things that matter in life with a clear succinct prose touch.

Découvrez le véritable chef-d'œuvre de la pensée philosophique! Écoutez le livre audio Apologie de Socrate et plongez au cœur de l'Athènes antique alors que Socrate, l'un des plus grands penseurs de l'histoire, se tient devant le tribunal et se défend contre les accusations injustes qui ont conduit à sa condamnation à mort. À travers cette plaidoirie mémorable, vous allez découvrir les principes intemporels de la philosophie et de la justice, ainsi que la vision profonde de Socrate sur la vérité et la vertu.

Helen Hamilton has spent her entire 16 years trying to hide how different she is. And it's getting harder. Nightmares of a desperate desert journey have Helen waking parched, only to find her sheets damaged by dirt and dust. At school she's haunted by hallucinations of three women weeping tears of blood... and when Helen first crosses paths with Lucas Delos, she has no way of knowing they're destined to play the leading roles in a tragedy the Fates insist on repeating throughout history.

The Greek Gods are dead, but their legacy remains. Kairos, pirate lord of Histria, is concerned. A dungeon on his island turns out to be the last entrance to the Underworld, full of wealth and dangers; while beyond the sea the Poison King Mithridates builds up his forces. Enemies old and new prepare for a new war that will determine who shall replace the fallen Olympians. And Kairos is determined to be on the winning side.