We are all classicists--we come into touch with the classics on a daily basis: in our culture, politics, medicine, architecture, language, and literature. What are the true roots of these influences, however, and how do our interpretations of these aspects of the classics differ from their original reality? This introduction to the classics begins with a visit to the British Museum to view the frieze which once decorated the Apollo Temple a Bassae. Through these sculptures John Henderson and Mary Beard prompt us to consider the significance of the study of Classics as a means of discovery and enquiry, its value in terms of literature, philosophy, and culture, its source of imagery, and the reasons for the continuation of these images into and beyond the twentieth century. Designed for the general reader and student alike, A Very Short Introduction to Classics challenges readers to adopt a fresh approach to the Classics as a major cultural influence, both in the ancient world and twentieth-century--emphasizing the continuing need to understand and investigate this enduring subject.

Classics: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions)

Henderson, John

BEARD, Mary

Reference

Oxford University Press

We are all classicists--we come into touch with the classics on a daily basis: in our culture, politics, medicine, architecture, language, and literature. What are the true roots of these influences, however, and how do our interpretations of these aspects of the classics differ from their original reality? This introduction to the classics begins with a visit to the British Museum to view the frieze which once decorated the Apollo Temple a Bassae. Through these sculptures John Henderson and Mary Beard prompt us to consider the significance of the study of Classics as a means of discovery and enquiry, its value in terms of literature, philosophy, and culture, its source of imagery, and the reasons for the continuation of these images into and beyond the twentieth century. Designed for the general reader and student alike, A Very Short Introduction to Classics challenges readers to adopt a fresh approach to the Classics as a major cultural influence, both in the ancient world and twentieth-century--emphasizing the continuing need to understand and investigate this enduring subject. About the Series: Combining authority with wit, accessibility, and style, Very Short Introductions offer an introduction to some of life's most interesting topics. Written by experts for the newcomer, they demonstrate the finest contemporary thinking about the central problems and issues in hundreds of key topics, from philosophy to Freud, quantum theory to Islam.

Classics: A Very Short Introduction

Arts & Photography

Laughter in Ancient Rome: On Joking, Tickling, and Cracking Up (Sather Classical Lectures) (Volume 71)

What made the Romans laugh? Was ancient Rome a carnival, filled with practical jokes and hearty chuckles? Or was it a carefully regulated culture in which the uncontrollable excess of laughter was a force to fear―a world of wit, irony, and knowing smiles? How did Romans make sense of laughter? What role did it play in the world of the law courts, the imperial palace, or the spectacles of the arena? Laughter in Ancient Rome explores one of the most intriguing, but also trickiest, of historical subjects. Drawing on a wide range of Roman writing―from essays on rhetoric to a surviving Roman joke book―Mary Beard tracks down the giggles, smirks, and guffaws of the ancient Romans themselves. From ancient “monkey business” to the role of a chuckle in a culture of tyranny, she explores Roman humor from the hilarious, to the momentous, to the surprising. But she also reflects on even bigger historical questions. What kind of history of laughter can we possibly tell? Can we ever really “get” the Romans’ jokes?

Laughter in Ancient Rome: On Joking, Tickling, and Cracking Up (Sather Classical Lectures) by Beard, Mary (2014) Hardcover (Volume 71)

Humor & Entertainment

Humor

University of California Press

This book offers a radical new survey of more than a thousand years of religious life in Rome, from the foundation of the city to its rise to world empire and its conversion to Christianity. It sets religion in its full cultural context, between the primitive hamlet of the eighth century BC and the cosmopolitan, multicultural society of the first centuries of the Christian era.

Religions of Rome: Volume 1, A History

History

North, John

Price, Simon

Ancient Civilizations

Cambridge University Press

This book offers a radical new survey of more than a thousand years of religious life in Rome, from the foundation of the city to its rise to world empire and its conversion to Christianity. It sets religion in its full cultural context, between the primitive hamlet of the eighth century BC and the cosmopolitan, multicultural society of the first centuries of the Christian era.

Religions of Rome: Volume 1: A History

This book, the second of the two volumes that make up Religions of Rome, presents a wide range of documents illustrating religious life in the Roman world from the early Republic to the late Empire (both visual evidence and texts in translation). More than just a "sourcebook," it explores some of the major themes and problems of Roman religion (such as sacrifice, the religious calendar, divination and prediction). Each document has an introduction, explanatory notes and bibliography, and is used as the starting point for further discussion.

Religions of Rome: Volume 2, A Sourcebook

Religions of Rome: Volume 2: A Sourcebook

The Invention of Jane Harrison (Revealing Antiquity)

Jane Ellen Harrison (1850-1928) is the most famous female Classicist in history, the author of books that revolutionized our understanding of Greek culture and religion. A star in the British academic world, she became the quintessential Cambridge woman--as Virginia Woolf suggested when, in A Room of One's Own, she claims to have glimpsed Harrison's ghost in the college gardens.  This lively and innovative portrayal of a fascinating woman raises the question of who wins (and how) in the competition for academic fame. Mary Beard captures Harrison's ability to create her own image. And she contrasts her story with that of Eugénie Sellers Strong, a younger contemporary and onetime intimate, the author of major work on Roman art and once a glittering figure at the British School in Rome--but who lost the race for renown. The setting for the story of Harrison's career is Classical scholarship in this period--its internal arguments and allegiances and especially the influence of the anthropological strain most strikingly exemplified by Sir James Frazer. Questioning the common criteria for identifying intellectual "influence" and "movements," Beard exposes the mythology that is embedded in the history of Classics. At the same time she provides a vivid picture of a sparkling intellectual scene. The Invention of Jane Harrison offers shrewd history and undiluted fun.

Biographies & Memoirs

Arts & Literature

Harvard University Press

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by BEARD, Mary. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by BEARD, Mary

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by BEARD, Mary. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Classics: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions)

Classics: A Very Short Introduction

Laughter in Ancient Rome: On Joking, Tickling, and Cracking Up (Sather Classical Lectures) by Beard, Mary (2014) Hardcover (Volume 71)

Laughter in Ancient Rome: On Joking, Tickling, and Cracking Up (Sather Classical Lectures) (Volume 71)

Laughter in Ancient Rome: On Joking, Tickling, and Cracking Up (Sather Classical Lectures) (Volume 71)

Religions of Rome: Volume 1, A History

Religions of Rome: Volume 1: A History

Religions of Rome: Volume 2, A Sourcebook

Religions of Rome: Volume 2: A Sourcebook

The Invention of Jane Harrison (Revealing Antiquity)