The Oxford Companion to Classical Civilization

Book Description

CIVILIZATION IN ALL ITS ASPECTS For more than 2000 years the civilizations of ancient Greece and Rome have captivated our collective imagination and provided fresh inspiration for every age. Now, for the first time, The Oxford Companion to Classical Civilization distils the fruits of recent scholarship to provide the most up-to-date and authoritative survey of the Greek and Roman worlds in all their aspects. Drawing on the latest edition of the highly praised Oxford Classical Dictionary, this new illustrated Oxford Companion offers unrivalled access to the latest knowledge of classical civilization, making it the perfect guide for general readers interested in learning more about the very bedrock of Western culture. HISTORY AND POLITICS the events, achievements, and personalities of 2500 years of history of Greece and Rome and their immediate neighbours, as well as the underlying issues from democracy to propaganda, famine and finance, Hellenization and mercenaries, population, and slavery ETHICS AND MORALS, LAW AND PUNISHMENT individual philosophers and their schools, and ethical issues, such as corruption; prison; torture; abortion; attitudes to animals, to wealth, or to warfare; suicide; freedom; and intellectual or religious intolerance SOCIAL AND FAMILY LIFE food and drink, cookery, houses, and dress; childbirth; sexual behaviour, including rape and incest; and broader social topics such as status, kinship and the family, ritualized friendship, tourism, and urbanization LANGUAGE, LITERATURE, ART AND SCHOLARSHIP writers and poets, orators and playwrights, literacy and books, archives and education, literary genres, painting and sculpture, and the writing of history RELIGION AND MYTHOLOGY Greek, Roman, and Egyptian beliefs, cults, and rituals, from oracles and curses, to sacred prostitution, together with their attendant deities and mythological creatures, mingle with Judaism and early Christianity TECHNOLOGY, SCIENCE, AND MEDICINE the birth of the scientific method in experiment, and all manner of discovery , exploration, treatment, and theorizing on disease, geography, climate, astronomy, mineralogy, navigation, sanitation, vivisection MAJOR ESSAYS and BRILLIANT ILLUSTRATION Specially designed articles on the individuals and themes of central importance provide a useful overview for the modern reader from Alexander to Xenophon, Cicero and Hannibal; and from the histories of Greece and Rome, to Christianity, and architecture. Imaginatvely chosen and striking illustrations underline further the sophistication and complextity of classical civilization, making the ancient world dramatically present.

Customer Reviews:

The Oxford Companion to Classical Civilization.......2003-06-19

A stunning revelation to the classical world . this book is more of a classical hero than herakles was

A necessary resource for the student of early christianity.......2001-04-09

This book is indispendable for a person like myself who got a degree in world religions in general, and early christianity in particular, and who, therefore, lacks an in-depth background in the secular history of Greece and Rome. I hesitated a while before writing a review because I had not read a sufficient number of articles. However, the time has come for comment. I find the shorter articles informative, but at times leaving me waanting more. The longer ones are more satisfying. I was tempted to buy the longer version of The Companion (The Oxford Classical Dictionary), but decided against it after reading the reviews. I am happy with my decision. If I want more information on a topic, I can find it elsewhere. I find that The Companion covers more topics than I need, but I enjoy randomingly paging through the book, selecting what strikes my fancy before going to sleep at night. This is a treasured resource that enhances my understanding of the milieu of early christianity.

"Condensed" version still weighy volume.......2000-09-01

The publication of The Oxford Classical Dictionary, weighing in at 1,640 pages and $99.95 price tag may have told many people more about the Ancient Greek and Roman worlds more than they wanted to know. To them, this companion will be of prime interest.

To pare down the selections, the same editors who updated the dictionary relied on an all or nothing rule: either an entry would be reproduced in its entirety, or it would be dropped. Of the 40 Claudius in the original dictionary, only the Roman emperor popularized in "I, Claudius" made the cut. In addition, the editors kicked the type size up a point or two and recast the longer essays into a one-column layout with the background lightly shaded. Even at half the price, it still offers nearly 800 pages and contains a selection of maps and color photographs not found in its larger brethern. For those who were reluctant to shell out a C-note, this is an appealing alternative.

A good starting place.......2000-02-27

As a standard introductory reference text, I found the Oxford Companion invaluable as a good beginning point to pursue any line of inquiry regarding the classical age. Weighing in at nearly 800 pages, this book is a weighty tome, not something to carry around lightly. Navigation within the book is easy with appropriate cross referencing, such as pointing you at GAIUS when you look up Caligula and warning you of other articles relating to the same subject. Also classical sources are clearly cited and I have followed a number of these up in standard translations to check their opinion. Spread throughout the book are numerous colour and black & white photographs of archaeological evidence and other artefacts. Also throughout the volume and are a number of special reference entries of extended length discussing in more detail important people, places or themes. Such as sections on: Homer, painting and slavery. As in any extended encyclopaedia project, the number of contributors is huge. Inevitably, given the small amount of space available for each section, each item is unlikely to offer a full range of scholarly thought, opinion and research. As with any reference text, it should be used as a starting point for research, not as a substitute.

You cannot please everybody all the time. On balance I think you have to accept that a work of this nature is going to throw up anomalies or controversial entries which not all readers will agree with. It is the nature of academic pursuit of knowledge to encounter disagreements or views which do not match your own. I very much doubt if hardly any of the contributors listed, would completely agree with each other on the articles which they have written. This is the nature of encyclopedias.

Particularly the arena of classical history, is prone to heated debate over the most simplest of issues, due to the lack of evidence or the interpretation of what exists, such as it is. In short there are no `facts' only interpretation.

Quite helpful----with at least one serious exception........1999-07-13

With one serious exception (see below) I have thus far found The Oxford Companion to Classical Civilization to be quite helpful.

Having purchased this book as a supplemental reference for my study of biblical literature, I was shocked, angered and disappointmented upon coming across the article on "Christianity," by Philip Rousseau.

The fact that Rousseau describes Christianity in unflattering terms is not nearly so significant as the fact that his "facts" appear poorly researched and loosely strung together in an obvious attempt to vilify Christianity. Summarizing the life and ministry of Jesus in terms of "the wonder-working holy man," for example, does gross injustice to both Jesus' teachings and miracle claims.

Rousseau presents Christianity as little more than an arrogant thief and counterfeiter, stealing ideas and images first from the Jews and then from secular philosophers. In so doing, Rousseau completely disregards the concept of God's progressive revelation and the fact that no one has a patent on the truth. The New Testament books, the last of which was written prior to the close of the first century A.D., are unanimous in their presentation of the gospel as God's secret plan now unveiled for all peoples in all places. Whether for good or ill, Christian apologists later sought to convey infinite Christian truths using common finite imagery. Indeed, some did try to "blend" Christian thought and secular philosophy, although even in such cases enlightenment and not deceit was their primary motivation.

Book Description

In this beautifully illustrated book, the popular novelist provides a historical naval context to the adventures of the hero of his many books, Horatio Hornblower. Thirty-full-page maps help the reader follow Hornblower's world travels and decorative sketches convey the atmosphere as well as the actions. Originally published in England in 1964, the book explains how Forester assembled his plots and what events in the Royal Navy inspired the adventures he wrote about.

Customer Reviews:

Essential for the Hornblower reader.......2004-02-22

On reading the Hornblower adventure novels we are taking to coves, harbors, islands, and other places where Horatio Hornblower went during his illustrious career. One of the problems one encounters is that while the geographic descriptions in the novels are pretty good, it takes a good bit of imagination to follow the adventures around the real estate. The Companion solves this problem by providing maps of each scene of action and reference points to follow. Horatio would never have put to sea without a good map, and neither should you. The last half of the Companion is the "biographer's" story of how he came to write each novel. Frequently he was on a cruise or vacation somewhere and imagined sea battles taking place where his cruise ship now leisurely sailed. It's interesting to see how Horatio's life unfolded.

Gone through Hornblower and still hungry?.......2003-09-18

We all are. This one will help, but you'll still be hungry. The Hornblower Companion is the best effort I've ever found to pull all the Hornblower books into a line and examine how they fit together. A reference book.

The Mental and Physical Shape of the Hornblower Plots!.......2001-12-22

I would strongly recommend this book for any fan of the Hornblower novels.

I have written my review for someone who has read most or all of the Hornblower novels. If you have not read most of the novels and plan to, do not read the rest of this review. This review may inadvertently spoil a future story for you, although I tried to avoid doing that.

When I found this book, I did not know what to expect. I had noticed that some reviewers of the Horatio Hornblower novels seemed to have background on Forester's writing influences that I wished I had. I didn't know that those references were contained in an extended essay contained in the second half of this book, described as Author's Personal Notes, 1963, and Postscript, dated 1964. What a treat!

Mr. Forester begins by showing a page of the long hand he used to draft the books. From there, he goes on to describe the general writing process that he favored for creating his novels. Then, he turns to the origins of Hornblower in his thinking. The book becomes even more fascinating as he explains the ways he developed each of the stories in the saga. I had always wondered why he did this in such an scattered chronology, but the essay makes it clear what the purposes were behind all of this seeming haphazardness. Knowing how tight many of the scrapes are into which Hornblower fell, you will marvel at how much thinking went into developing those fascinating scenarios. Mr. Forester also keeps a running background of the world events and activities in his own life (including illnesses) that played a role in his thinking. The postscript describes the development of the plot for the unfinished final novel, Hornblower During the Crisis.

After reading the essay, I was pleased to realize that I could now understand many of the quirks in the novels. If you read the novels in order, his wife, Maria, barely exists. Yet in Beat to Quarters, you get all kinds of development of Lady Barbara as a character. Forester notes that Maria was an afterthought to an assumption that Hornblower was married in Beat to Quarters, and Mr. Forester treated poor Maria in just that way when he later wrote her in as a character.

In the novels, there are many wonderful references to the Naval Chronicle, written by ships' officers to be read by other ships' officers, seamen and their families. Little did I know that reading old editions of the Chronicle was an important part of Mr. Forester's developing fascination with creating a fictional British naval officer hero for the Napoleonic years.

In the first half of the book, you get a series of simple maps which employ the place names used in the relevant novels to locate where key events took place in each story. You can enjoy these maps while reading the novels, or refer to them to refresh your mind about the plots after you have not read the books in some time. This arrangement makes sense, so that you will not learn too much about what happens in the future to Hornblower if you read the books in the chronological order of Hornblower's fictional life, beginning with Mr. Midshipman Hornblower. The first map is an overview of all the routes of all Hornblower's fictional voyages. The subsequent twenty-nine maps go through each book in order of the action. I wish I had had these maps available while I was reading Hornblower and the Hotspur and Ship of the Line. They would have added to my enjoyment. The maps for the canal and the Thames for Hornblower and the Atropos are very interesting as well.

Where else would it help to know the lay of the land and the issues involved before launching forward? Almost everywhere, I think.

Before blundering around without a clue, be sure to check that the resources you need are not available to you!

Good Reference for the Hornblower saga.......2001-07-11

I just got this book three days ago.... I was very excited when I got it. I have read several of the Hornblower novels years ago. I want to get back into the saga from the beginning and use this as a visual reference.

This book is similar to the one that was created for the Patrick O'Brian books. However, the second half of the book is notes and personal thoughts of CSF himself. Very interesting. I am looking forward to finding out the inner thoughts of this great author as he created and developed the Hornblower character as well as the various other characters.

The first part of the book presents maps and descriptions of the various events for each of the books. It's a wonderful tool to help understand visually the circumstances of the events of the books.

This book is a bargain for the Hornblower fan.

Second Half Is More Interesting.......2000-10-11

This book is basically divided into two parts - the first is a series of maps showing the areas where the various Hornblower books take place, and the routes he took. The information is pretty basic, and Forester doesn't go much into tactics or anything in detail - just a straight map and some comments. The second part, though, is practically a book on the "making of" Hornblower, his writing career and his insights into his own life and that of his fictional creation. This is where the real meat is, and well worth the price on its own. You realize how much of Forester was in Hornblower - of course, this is often true of many fictional characters, but here you can see the extent of the parallels in personality. Not essential for your Hornblower collection, but well worth a read nonetheless. For those with a desire for much more detail, track down C. Northecote Parkinson's "Life and Times of Horatio Hornblower, a fictional biography which is impeccably researched and "fills in the gaps" which Forester didn't chronicle about the naval hero.

The Hornblower companion;: An atlas and personal commentary on the writing of the Hornblower saga,

Average customer rating:

The Hornblower companion;: An atlas and personal commentary on the writing of the Hornblower saga,
C. S Forester
Manufacturer: Pinnacle Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
Similar Items:

Hornblower During the Crisis (Hornblower Saga)
Hornblower : Beat to Quarters
The Life and Times of Horatio Hornblower: A Biography of C. S. Forester's Famous Naval Hero
Hornblower and the "Hotspur" (Hornblower Series)
Commodore Hornblower (Hornblower, 9)

ASIN: 0523004400

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THE HORNBLOWER COMPANION - AN ATLAS AND PERSONAL COMMENTARY ON THE WRITING OF THE HORNBLOWER SAGA
C.S. Forester
Manufacturer: Bonanza Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000J4X8PG

The Hornblower Companion: An Atlas and Personal Commentary on the Writing of the Hornblower Saga, with illustrations and Maps

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The Hornblower Companion: An Atlas and Personal Commentary on the Writing of the Hornblower Saga, with illustrations and Maps
C. S. Forester
Manufacturer: Little Brown & Co.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000J502CM

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Hornblower Companion
C S Forester
Manufacturer: LITTLE BROWN & CO @
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000UE6GCW

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The Hornblower Companion
C.S. Forester
Manufacturer: Pinnacle Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0000CMDSI

The Hornblower Companion (the Complete and Indespensible Guide )

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The Hornblower Companion (the Complete and Indespensible Guide )
C.S. Forester
Manufacturer: Pinnacle
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000O6ABYK

THE OXFORD COMPANION TO CLASSICAL CIVILIZATION.

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THE OXFORD COMPANION TO CLASSICAL CIVILIZATION.
Simon & Antony Spawforth (editors). Hornblower
Manufacturer: Oxford Univ. Press,
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000UZ8RMI

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Hornblower Companion, The
C. S. Forester
Manufacturer: Pinnacle Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000KWO842

Book Description

Arab Seafaring in the Indian Ocean in Ancient and Early Medieval Times. In this classic work George Hourani deals with the history of the sea trade of the Arabs in the Indian Ocean from its obscure origins many centuries before Christ to the time of its full extension to China and East Africa in the ninth and tenth centuries.

Customer Reviews:

Rare book on rarely looked subject.......2000-04-19

This classic masterpiece deserved reprinted more than anything else and it is done with an excellent expansion, especially on narrated accounts of travellers and geographers of the time. Inside you'll find an interesting correlation proposed between Islamic trading activities and their mastery of the Indian Ocean, its height and downfall until the 1000 AD. Buy it, especially if you're an Indonesian Muslim.

Arab Seafaring : Expanded Edition : In the Indian Ocean in Ancient and Early Medieval Times

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Arab Seafaring : Expanded Edition : In the Indian Ocean in Ancient and Early Medieval Times
George F. Revised and Expanded By John Carswell Hourani
Manufacturer: Princeton University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000KEO2W8

Arab seafaring in the Indian Ocean in ancient and early medieval times / by George Fadlo Hourani (Princeton Oriental studies)

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Arab seafaring in the Indian Ocean in ancient and early medieval times / by George Fadlo Hourani (Princeton Oriental studies)
George Fadlo Hourani
Manufacturer: Princeton University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Naval | Military | History | Subjects | Books

Book Description

Clear, thorough account, without complicated mathematics, explains geometric and the zone plate holography and the different types of holograms, including transmission, reflection, phase, projection, rainbow, and multiplex. It also shows basic setups for making holograms and provides step-by-step instructions so readers can make their own. 116 black-and-white illustrations.

Customer Reviews:

I did not received it yet........2007-03-08

I am trying to complain about delaying of this book, but I cannot make anyone to answer my question.

Book Description

Rapid population growth, increased demand for food and other natural resources, and political and socioeconomic stresses have all contributed to the worldwide development of marginal regions-fringe areas, boundaries, and frontier zones. In this book, contributors analyze the limitations and opportunities provided by the natural and human environments of different marginal regions and compare human and resource management approaches. They also offer potential strategies and policies that may lead to more successful spatial planning and more rational human activity in ecologically vulnerable areas.

Environmental Impacts for Water Resources Planning (Progress in Water Resources, Vol. 6)

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Environmental Impacts for Water Resources Planning (Progress in Water Resources, Vol. 6)
Mehmet Ali Yurdusev
Manufacturer: Computational Mechanics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Popular Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

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Water Supply & Land Use | Nature & Ecology | Science | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1853127922

Book Description

This book introduces a large-scale water resources planning model which is capable of considering environmental impacts of water schemes included. The idea is to undertake an environmental impact assessment of each scheme and then transform the outcome of this exercise into a cost modifier which will subsequently be used in an economic planning model. For this purpose an integrated model is developed by which it is possible to carry out all planning jobs using the same user inferface. The model assesses environmental impacts based on user evaluations and these evaluations are transformed into an Environmental Impact Factor. This is done for both construction and operation phases so that both constructional and operating costs of a scheme should be adjusted in terms of its environmental friendliness. The model is equipped with all necessary facilities such as: user interface, entry control diagnostics, electronic help for the use of the model, impact and the scheme descriptions. The book also includes a large scale application of the model to demonstrate its capabilities. In this form, it is a research book rather than a textbook.

Progress Against Growth: Daniel B. Luten on the American Landscape

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the problem of over population and how to slove the problem

Progress Against Growth: Daniel B. Luten on the American Landscape

Manufacturer: The Guilford Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Popular Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Sustainable Development | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Natural Resources | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

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General | Urban Planning & Development | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 089862665X

Customer Reviews:

the problem of over population and how to slove the problem.......1998-05-15

in 40 years we will have 12 billiion people and in 120 years 48 billion what about your grand kids ????....800 YEARS 1000 TRILLION there will be PEOPLE ENOUGH TO COVER THE WORLD!!!!!! LUTEN ASKES US ALL TO HAVE ONLY ONE KID PER COUPLE ......BRING THE WORLD POPULATION DOWN TO 500 MILLION AND THEN STAY THERE AS COUPLES COULD HAVE 2 KIDS FROM THEN ON ...... WE WOULD ALL BE RICH ; OR WE WILL HAVE NOT MUCH HOPE FOR OUR GRAND KIDS AND TIME IS RUNNING OUT JUST 40 YEARS AGO THE WORLD HAD 3 BILLION PEOPLE NOW 6 BILLION !!!!! TELL THE WORLD

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