This book examines the Histories of Herodotus within the context of the intellectual climate of the mid to late fifth century BC. Herodotus is read widely for his accounts of archaic Greek history but his descriptions of Egypt, Scythia and Libya are equally fascinating. Rosalind Thomas concentrates on the latter, along with Herodotus' accounts of the wonders of nature and his methods of convincing his audiences, seeing these as part of the world of scientific inquiry and controversy more familiar from the natural philosophers and medical works of the time.

Herodotus in Context: Ethnography, Science and the Art of Persuasion

Thomas, Rosalind

Science & Math

Cambridge University Press

Scholars are becoming increasingly aware that, despite its written literature, ancient Greece was in many aspects an oral society. In the first major attempt to study the implications of this discovery, Dr. Thomas stresses the coexistence of literacy and oral tradition in Greece and examines their interaction. Concentrating on the plentiful evidence of Classical Athens, she shows how the use of writing developed only gradually and under the influence of the previous oral communications. Using insights from anthropology, the author isolates different types of Athenian oral tradition, constructing a picture of Athenian traditions and exploring why they changed and disappeared. Thomas researches not only the nature of individual traditions, but the mechanisms of oral tradition and memory in general; then the possible effect of writing on oral tradition. This study provides crucial insights into the methods and achievements of the Greek historians and therefore into the very material of Greek history.

Oral Tradition and Written Record in Classical Athens (Cambridge Studies in Oral and Literate Culture, Series Number 18)

History

Ancient Civilizations

Literacy and Orality in Ancient Greece (Key Themes in Ancient History)

Product Description This book explores the role of written and oral communication in Greece and is the first systematic and sustained treatment at this level. It examines the recent theoretical debates about literacy and orality and explores the uses of writing and oral communication, and their interaction, in ancient Greece. It sets the significance of written and oral communication as much as possible in their social and historical context, and stresses the specifically Greek characteristics in their use. It draws together the results of recent studies and suggests further avenues of inquiry. All ancient evidence is translated. Review "Rosalind Thomas explores the roles and interactions of writing and oral communication in eight readable chapters, providing both a broadly informed overview of basic issues and sensible insights of her own....The whole is dotted with valuable specific information and insights. The presentation is fluid and fluent...." Carol Thomas, Bryn Mawr Classical Review"...an excellent, obliquely angled introduction to the study of ancient Greece as a whole." James Davidson, Times Literary Supplement"...a work of major importance. It belongs in the library of every classicist, and of every scholar who works in the theory of oral transmission and/or the development of literacy." Ex Libris Book Description Explores the role of written and oral communication in Greece. Book Description Recent theoretical debates about literacy and orality are examined and the uses of writing and oral communication explored in the first systematic examination of their social and historical significance in ancient Greece.

This book explores the role of written and oral communication in Greece and is the first systematic and sustained treatment at this level. It examines the recent theoretical debates about literacy and orality and explores the uses of writing and oral communication, and their interaction, in ancient Greece. It sets the significance of written and oral communication as much as possible in their social and historical context, and stresses the specifically Greek characteristics in their use. It draws together the results of recent studies and suggests further avenues of inquiry. All ancient evidence is translated.

Literature & Fiction

History & Criticism

To Suffolk with Love: The Life of Felix Thornley Cobbold

Pawprint Publishing

Greek 'local histories', better called polis and island histories, have usually been seen as the poor relation of mainstream 'great' Greek historiography, and yet they were demonstrably popular and extremely numerous from the late Classical period into the Hellenistic. The extensive fragments and testimonia were collected by Felix Jacoby and have been supplemented since with recent finds and inscriptions. Yet while the Athenian histories have received considerable attention, those of other cities have not: this is the first book to consider the polis and island histories as a whole, and as an important cultural and political phenomenon. It challenges the common label of 'antiquarianism' and argues that their role in helping to create 'imagined communities' must be seen partly as a response to fragile and changing status in a changing and expanding Greek world. Important themes are discussed alongside case studies of particular places (including Samos, Miletus, Erythrai, Megara, Athens).

Polis Histories, Collective Memories and the Greek World

Product Description 
Greek 'local histories', better called polis and island histories, have usually been seen as the poor relation of mainstream 'great' Greek historiography, and yet they were demonstrably popular and extremely numerous from the late Classical period into the Hellenistic. The extensive fragments and testimonia were collected by Felix Jacoby and have been supplemented since with recent finds and inscriptions. Yet while the Athenian histories have received considerable attention, those of other cities have not: this is the first book to consider the polis and island histories as a whole, and as an important cultural and political phenomenon. It challenges the common label of 'antiquarianism' and argues that their role in helping to create 'imagined communities' must be seen partly as a response to fragile and changing status in a changing and expanding Greek world. Important themes are discussed alongside case studies of particular places (including Samos, Miletus, Erythrai, Megara, Athens). 
 Review 
‘… a vital addition to the canon of ancient Greek historical prose and essential reading for all scholars.’ J. Tucci, Choice\n‘An important read for those studying Classical Antiquity, this may also be of interest to those interested in military history, for the insights it gives into how usually suspect works such as local histories can be used with profit.’ Albert Nofi, The NYMAS Review 
 Book Description 
Re-assesses the phenomenon of Greek 'local history-writing' and its role in creating political and cultural identity in a changing world. 
 About the Author 
Rosalind Thomas is Professor of Greek History at the University of Oxford and a Fellow of Balliol College. Her publications include Oral Tradition and Written Record in Classical Athens (Cambridge, 1989), Literacy and Orality in Ancient Greece (Cambridge, 1992), and Herodotus in Context (Cambridge, 2000).

Practical, easy-to-follow guidelines help a kindergarten teacher learn how to set up a workable kindergarten, prepare materials, discipline fairly, encourage cooperative learning, assess students' process, and more.

How to Manage Your Kindergarten Classroom

Education & Teaching

Schools & Teaching

Teacher Created Resources

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

Books by Thomas, Rosalind

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

Herodotus in Context: Ethnography, Science and the Art of Persuasion

Oral Tradition and Written Record in Classical Athens (Cambridge Studies in Oral and Literate Culture, Series Number 18)

Literacy and Orality in Ancient Greece (Key Themes in Ancient History)

Literacy and Orality in Ancient Greece (Key Themes in Ancient History)

Oral Tradition and Written Record in Classical Athens (Cambridge Studies in Oral and Literate Culture, Series Number 18)

Herodotus in Context: Ethnography, Science and the Art of Persuasion

To Suffolk with Love: The Life of Felix Thornley Cobbold

Polis Histories, Collective Memories and the Greek World

Polis Histories, Collective Memories and the Greek World

How to Manage Your Kindergarten Classroom