History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)

Book Description

Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.

Customer Reviews:

Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03

Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.

Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19

Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.

Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09

There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.

For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.

Very Interesting.......2007-03-07

It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.

History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10

Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.

I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.

Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.

Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.

I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.

This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.

History: Fiction or Science? Chronology 2 (Chronology)

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Check and see
Suprise! Suprise!
Prescient St Augustine?
Something of a disappointment
Romulus courts Helen, Paris founds Rome, Moses goes to Troy..

History: Fiction or Science? Chronology 2 (Chronology)
Anatoly T Fomenko
Manufacturer: Delamere Resources LLC
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Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 2913621066

Product Description

`History: Fiction or Science? Chronology 2` is the second volume of the most explosive and astounding tractate on history ever written - however, every theory it contains, no matter how unorthodox, is backed by rock solid scientific data. The book is easy and pleasant to read; it is well-illustrated, contains hundreds of charts, graphs and illustrations, copies of ancient manuscripts, and countless facts attesting to the falsity of the chronology used nowadays. You will be amazed to discover: - That the chronology universally accepted today and taken for granted is simply wrong; - That ALL methods of dating of ancient sources and artefacts known today are erroneous or non-exact; - That there is not a single document that could be reliably dated earlier than the XIth century; The Author refers to the Middle Ages as the Antiquity and proves mutual superimposition of the Second and the Third Roman Empire, both of which become identified as the respective kingdoms of Israel and Judah. Furthermore, he asserts that the famous reform of the Occidental Church in the XI century by Pope Gregory Hildebrand was the reflection of the XII century reforms of Byzantine emperor Andronicus who in his turn identifies with Jesus Christ. The Trojan war counted by Homer happened only as late as of the XIII century A.D. and the great poet actually lived in XIV century A.D. No stone in history of Antiquity is left unturned. Literally. This book is the beginning of a major correction to the chronology we live with.

Customer Reviews:

Check and see.......2007-06-21

I don't care what other people say of this book. Those affirmig it's fake, they hadn't ever read it. Or have some special reasons to do so. "Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see..." This book won't make you feel comfortable. It'll make you feel free. It'll make you feel you're "not the only one" to feel you'd been lied to for centuries.

Suprise! Suprise!.......2007-03-22

Here is a serie of books which turns "the whole world" upside down. I learned a lot of it and I hope that a new book from A.T. Fomenko will follow very quick. A absolute must for everybody who is interested in history or even a little bit from it.

Prescient St Augustine?.......2006-02-05

We can so far divide the New Chronology into the following three parts:

a) The verifiable theory that proves consensual chronology wrong with the aid of astronomy, statistics and mathematics;

b) The new chronology hypothesis based on a new understanding of known historical facts and the most likely logical explanation of the most obvious inconsistencies inherent in the official version of history;

c) The history conjectures, that is experimental historical reconstructions based on assumptions that the authors believe to make sense in the light of their research and linguistic parallels - void of ironclad factual support to date.

Fomenko's theory complies with the most rigid scientific standards as a whole:

It gives a coherent explanation of what we already know.

- It is consistent: independent lines of inquiry all lead to the same conclusion.

- The predictions it makes are confirmed empirically.

Fomenko goes by the following axioms:

- Chronology is the basis of history;

- Human evolution has always been linear, gradual and irreversible;

- The "cyclic" nature of human civilization is a myth, likewise all the gaps, duplicates, "dark ages" and "renaissances" that we know from consensual history;

- The accumulation of geographical knowledge as reflected in cartography is a gradual and irreversible process;

- The chronological distance between a given manuscript and the events described therein is proportional to the amount of distortions it contains;

- There is no "useless" information in authentic ancient sources.

Why the mainstream historians do not shower mathematician Academician Dr.Prof Fomenko with thanks and laurels?

The Russians:

Because Fomenko asserts that there was no such thing as the Tartar and Mongol invasion followed by three centuries of slavery, providing a formidable body of documental evidence to prove his assertion. The so-called "Tartars and Mongols" were the actual ancestors of the modern Russians, living in a bilingual state with Arabic spoken as freely as Russian. The ancient Russian state was governed by a double structure of civil and military authorities. The hordes were actually professional armies with a tradition of lifelong conscription (the recruitment being the so-called "blood tax"). Their "invasions" were punitive operations against the regions that attempted tax evasion. Fomenko proves that Russian history as we know it today is a blatant forgery concocted by a host of German scientists brought to Russia by the usurper dynasty of the Romanovs, whose ascension to the throne was the result of coup d'état, charged with the mission of making their reign look legitimate. Fomenko proves Ivan the Terrible to be a collation of four rulers, no less. They represented the two rival dynasties - the legitimate rulers and the ambitious upstarts. The winner took it all! Over some 30 years of controversy, Russian historians have made a most remarkable transition - they were initially accusing the young mathematician Fomenko of anticommunist dissident activity and attempts to deface the historical legacy of Soviet Russia; nowadays the middle-aged mathematician is accused of adhering to "pro-communist Russian nationalism" and defacing the proud historical legacy of Great Russia.

The Westerners:

Because Fomenko blows consensual Russian history to smithereens, successfully removing a crucial cornerstone from underneath the otherwise impeccable edifice of World History. Fomenko adds insult to injury, wiping out one by one the Ancient Rome (the foundation of Rome in Italy is dated to the XIV century A. D.), the Ancient Greece and its numerous poleis, which he identifies as the mediaeval crusader settlements on the territory of Greece, and the Ancient Egypt (the pyramids of Giza become dated to the XI-XV century A. D. and identified as the royal cemetery of the Global "Mongolian" Empire, no less). The civilization of the Ancient Egypt is irrefutably dated to the XII-XV century A. D. with the aid of the ancient Egyptian horoscopes cut in stone. He was the first one to decipher and date all such horoscopes, coming up with mediaeval dates in every case. English historians rage at the suggestion that the history of Ancient England was de facto a Byzantine import transplanted to the English soil by the fugitive Byzantine nobility. To reward the English historians who consider themselves the true scribes of World History, the cover of the present book portrays Tintoretto's Jesus Christ crucified on the Big Ben.

The Chinese:

Because Fomenko wipes out the Ancient History of China outright. No such thing. Full point. The compilation of the so-called Ancient Chinese History is reliably datable to the XVII-XVIII century only. It is perfectly recognizable as the Ancient European history, reworked and transcribed in hieroglyphs as yet another historical transplantation, this time performed on the Chinese soil by the loving Jesuit hands. The Chinese are the next in line to go berserk. Chinese history is inevitably bound to get both more ancient and more eventful, proportionally to the growing involvement of China in the world affairs. Chinese historians will keep on finding valid proof of prehistoric Chinese spaceflights until the Politburo orders them to shut up.

The Arabs:

Too bad. Islam with all its key figures is datable to XV-XVI century A. D. Arabic historians may find consolation in the crucial historical role of the Ottoman Empire in the XVI-XVII century. The trouble is that this empire was initially a Christian state, with Hagia Sophia identifiable as Temple of Solomon, according to Fomenko! We can only guess if the acquisition of Alexander the Great (a Macedonian and a Christian) as the founder of the Muslim World Empire will make Fomenko's theories more acceptable to the Arabic mainstream. He certainly does not spare any holy cows at all, claiming The Stone of Qa'Aba in Mecca to contain the lost Arch of the Covenant.

The Divinity:

Despite of reiterated statement that his theory is all about chronology and not Religion, Fomenko stirs up a whole condominium of wasp nests. His collection of anathemas, fatwa, and other condemnations from all parties concerned is already considerable. Little wonder, considering that the history of religions à la Fomenko looks as follows: the pre-Christian period (before the XI century and JC), Bacchic Christianity (XI-XII century, before and after JC), JC Christianity (XII-XVI century) and its subsequent mutations into Orthodox Christianity, the Catholicism, Islam, Buddhism, and so on.

According to Fomenko we know strictly NOTHING about the events that predate the X century A. D.

St Augustin was prescient when he spoke unto us: "be wary of mathematicians, particularly when they speak the truth."

Something of a disappointment.......2005-09-09

After having read the first volume of this expected series of 7 volumes I was triggered by the thesis of these authors that ancient Greek and Roman history did in fact take place in the Middle Ages. So I started studying medieval history of the Middle East - also known as Islamic history - to find out if the opponents of the ancient Greeks and Romans - the Acheamenid Persians, Sassanids, Scythians, Egyptians, etc. - also have their duplicates in medieval history. My search was disappointing: none of the many medieval Islamic dynasties seemed to correspond to the ancient middle eastern rulers.

However, I did find a close correspondence between Herodotus' Persian kings and medieval events:

- the defeat and capture of an Anatolian king - the Lydian Croesus - by the Persian conqueror Cyrus is identical to the defeat and capture of another Anatolian king - sultan Bayezid - by the Asian/Mongol conqueror Tamerlane;
- the Persian conquest of Egypt by the cruel tyrant Cambyses reds almost exactly as the Ottoman conquest of Egypt by Selim the Grim (note the nickname!);
- Darius the Lawgiver of the Persian Empire looks very much alike to Sulayman the Magnificent, the Lawgiver in Islamic history;
- Xerxes, whose main claim to fame is to be defeated by the Greeks at the naval battle of Salamis, looks like Selim II (the Sot) whose main claim to fame is to be defeated by a Spanish-Italian alliance at the naval battle of Lepanto.

I should have expected Fomenko et al. to arrive at similar conclusions, however, they claim that the Persian kings are the alter egos of the Angevin kings of Sicily whose biographies do not contain the exploits of the Persian kings.

The similiarities I indicate lead to the conclusion that Herodotus must have written his Histories at the close of the 16th century. But this is extremely late, given that Herodotus is "the Father of History", so therefore all other "ancient" histories must have been fabricated even later. Yet, the founders of modern chronology - Scaliger and Petavius - laid their foundations also at the close of the 16th century and had the full corpus of ancient histories already at their disposal.

It seems to me that Fomenko has to address these inconsistencies, maybe in the forthcoming 5 volumes?

Another critique of their book is that the correspondencies between different rulers are often based on a superficial comparison of the biographies; upon a more thorough comparison many details appear that do not correspond at all.

Finally, the authors rely heavily on the works of Gregorovius (1821-1891!!) - his medieval histories of Rome and Athens - as the source of medieval history; these works are - at least in the West - hoplessly outdated and have been superceded by more up-to-date works (for instance, Julius Norwich's trilogy on Byzantine history is not even cited).

Romulus courts Helen, Paris founds Rome, Moses goes to Troy.........2005-07-30

If you agree with Fomenko that Roman chronology is basically the foundation of the entire edifice of global chronology; you would also certainly agree that despite its numerous gaps and inconsistencies, Roman history is the best-documented field of ancient history, and thus a reference scale. But how well is the actual date of the Eternal City's foundation known?

Firstly, Rome is supposed to have been founded by the Trojans who had to flee after the fall of Troy. Some claim Rome to have been founded by Aeneas and Ulysses shortly after Troy had fallen; others are of the opinion that there was an entire dynasty that ruled for 500 years between the fall of Troy and the foundation of Rome.

Well, that's just an innocent 500 years long misunderstanding compared with what heretic Fomenko says, asserts, proves in his second volume: Second Roman Empire, Third Roman Empire, Biblical Kingdom of Israel, Biblical Kingdom of Judah, Holy Roman Empire are stories about basically same events, written from different points of view at different times. The underlying events have actually taken place during xii-xv cy. These histories have been written and perfected by multitude of highly talented humanist and clerical writers of xiii-xvi cy disguised as "ancients" with glorious names like Homer, Pluto, Thucydides etc..Chronology 2.0 beta..

Historians are kindly invited to report the bugs.

The Military Institutions of the Romans (Military Classics)

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The Bible of European soldiers for a thousand years

The Military Institutions of the Romans (Military Classics)
Flavius Vegetius Renatus
Manufacturer: Greenwood Press Reprint
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Binding: Hardcover

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Flavius Vegetius Renatus was a Roman of high rank who collected and synthesized from ancient manuscripts and regulations the military customs and wisdom that made ancient Rome great.

Customer Reviews:

The Bible of European soldiers for a thousand years.......1999-12-28

Vegetius' compilation of the military wisdom and costoms of the Romans has been the most influential military work written in the western world. Compiled for the Emperor Valentinian II about 390 ad, just before Rome was captured and burned by Alaric, King of the Goths, it was circulated for a thousand years in manuscript form. First printed in English in 1489. This work helped to bring back discipline and cadenced marching. "discipline is superior to strength; but if that discipline is neglected there is no longer any difference between the soldier and the peasant."

Amazon.com

Quo Vadis for our times! Well, not exactly. It's been awhile since anyone tackled the Roman Empire as entertainingly as Gillespie has done in this book, a nearly-straight historical novel which should please readers of fantasy, too. Germanic Auriane is a combination of the noble, natural savage, and the heroine marked from birth for great deeds. Roman Marcus Julianus is the personification of the highest civilized, republican Roman values. Both are typical and atypical of their societies, fighting for what each believes to be just. Their individual struggles with the clashing Roman and Teutonic cultures are carried out in the Northern forests and in the salons and arena of Rome. Strongly- drawn characters, a setting both familiar and exotic (we all know something of imperial Rome, but very few of us are well-informed about it), a whiff of New-Age ancient mysticism, and a subdued but important romance subplot drive the sweeping novel of Auriane's growth and maturity and Rome's decadence.

Book Description

On the day of her birth, Auriane received a mysterious amulet from a priestess-and a doubleedged prophecy of doom and glory. The daughter of a Germanic tribal chieftain, Auriane witnessed unspeakable horrors committed against her people by ruthless invaders. And when tragedy tore her family apart, she took the oath of a warrior, and vowed revenge. Tales of her brilliant swath of conquest carried as far as Rome, to the renowned statesman Marcus Julianus-who felt his destiny intertwined with Auriane's, and wore about his neck an identical amulet

Customer Reviews:

A Fascinating Book.......2007-10-04

This is a big book by any standards, 800 pages and is the result of years of research and study by the author into the culture, and history of Rome and the Germanic tribes. I found it fascinating, exciting and thought provoking. In fact everything that a good book should be.

The year is AD 83 and the Emperor Domitian has crossed the Rhine with four legions, approximately 24,000 men and they have not marched that far for the exercise. The German tribes have tried to maintain their independence for as long as they can, but against such might their resistance is futile. Thus begins this mammoth book that takes us from the heartlands of the Rhine back to the decadence and temptations of ancient Rome.

A young woman Auriane, daughter of a chieftain who was to become the most revered prophetess of the tribes is captured and taken to Rome as a slave. There her life is changed completely and everything that she stands for is brushed away like so much rubbish. But having known her destiny from being a child Auriane is not about to bow to the yoke of Rome without a fight . . .

A sumptuous tale with few stops for breath.......2007-09-12

There is much I could say about "The Light Bearer" which has already been said, but as I don't review all the books in McCullough's Masters of Rome series (of which I've ready each book), I don't feel I can properly do justice to the greatness of this sweeping epic, which unlike McCullough's work, spans not just from Rome, but from a not well known Germanic tribe called the Chattians.

Gillespie does an amazing job of keeping Rome and Germania separate in writing details, with an inevitable connection between the two. Much is equally known about both the Chattians and the Romans as if written by two authors with the same writing style.

Some high points I point out are the very subtle rise of Domitianus's deranged paranoia and Caligulan/Neronian style reign, though the foreshadowing was a bit too obvious for my tastes.

Other interesting bits are the use and apparent source of commonly known modern things among the Chattians, such as the Goddess of the underworld, Hel, and the Eastre celebration, involving children dressed as rabbits and the hiding of colored eggs.

Because the flaws are so few and insignificant in the face of the greater elements, I think it's easier to point them out:

The writing is very sumptuous, but often at times it can get too dense and bogged down in details. This occurs mostly the first time Auriane enters the Colisseum.

Also, the sex. I've become used to ancient historical novels writing sex scenes very metaphorically and obtusely, without using direct wording. Gillespie appears to take it to such an extreme, with the vividly flowery writing between Marcus and Auriane's lovemaking that it becomes like a dense poem jackknifing from the wonders of nature and life and the gods in an obtuse manner, you nearly forget that the two characters are having sex. So over the top is the writing, that the way Gillespie describes it, you'd think Auriane was having blinding orgasms at just Marcus's touch on her arm or chest.

With the state of Rome at this point, and the main character being a foreigner and enemy to Rome, it's inevitable that a bias against Rome would be drawn, but the male character of Marcus Arrius Julianus is so much the outcast that there is little distinction between how Auriane and Marcus view the Roman world despite their differences. Auriane views Rome as savage and barbaric, and a plague on Fria's realm, whereas Marcus views it in somewhat the same fashion, but figures it's all he has, so he may as well love it.

Aside from Julianus and some of the senators friendly to him, you'd think Rome was a festering pot of corruption, barbarity, and bloodlust the epitome of the Roman view of the barbarians, while the Chattians are viewed as pure, natural, children of the earth that can do no wrong and are victimized by everyone from Rome to their neighboring tribes. Any opposition to Baldemar, Auriane's father and chieftain of the Chattians, is viewed as petty greed and personal problems on the part of the dissenter.

Some forgiveable offenses include loose ends, which may be tied up in the sequel "Lady of the Light", or the as of yet unnamed second sequel, including both Marcus and Auriane having amulets of earth from their childhood, duplicates of one another, and Auriane's seeming mystical foresight.

All these flaws are minimal, in my view, and not much to drag the otherwise epic tale down a full star in rating.

There is one issue with both Auriane and Marcus Julianus which may detract some readers, though is apparently done in such a way that broad interpretation can explain it away as easily as it couldn't: Gillespie may be guilty of "Mary-Sue"ing with Auriane and Marcus Julianus. Both seem to be greater than their surroundings, meant for greater things not yet known to either, and with little to no flaws beyond what their separate societies have naturally imbued in them (stubborn traditionalism in Auriane, cynic realism in Marcus), and beautiful physiques. From a certain point of view, many of their actions or words appear to be Mary Sue-ish reflections of the author's own point of view (determined by the narrative) or of a sense of moral or social well-being beyond that of someone from ancient times.

Or this could simply be the tired ramblings of a fussy reader.

Either way, the over 1000 page epic was a great read, and a highly insightful view into how the Germanic tribes of the early Roman Empire, and the early Roman Empire itself may have been.

I loved it! Suspenseful, passionate, breathtaking imagery.......2007-05-18

The Lightbearer is truly an amazing read. Once I began it, I couldn't pull myself away from the spell of Auriane, woman warrior, fighting for the survival of her embattled Germanic tribe against the all powerful Roman army. The characters are so richly drawn, I had an immediate sense of our shared humanity, despite the remoteness of their times. I was captivated by the vivid descriptions of these two worlds, sometimes hauntingly beautiful, sometimes disturbingly barbarous, always artfully rendered through Gillespie's exquisite prose. This is definitely a page turner filled with passion, struggle, heroism, and intriguing myth. With this carefully crafted tale Gillespie enters the arena of master storyteller.

A Book to Savor.......2007-05-18

Every possible element of good writing comes alive in this book. Gillespie recreates a lost time with such powerful detail we can feel we're living there with her characters. Those characters are larger than life, just as they should be in an historical novel of epic scope. Who would want to read about Robin Hood if he couldn't shoot an arrow straight?
But best of all is the plot. I don't *think* I read books for plot, but without a plot, no book really succeeds. It's like the skeleton of a human. You don't want to look at someone's hipbones directly, but without them, there are no graceful dancers. Gillespie's plot is as intricate as a 3,000 piece jigsaw puzzle and that's what drew me in and got me so involved with the characters that I was disappointed to see the book end -- and it's not a short book, either.

A Really Bad Soap Opera.......2007-05-17

As a student of ancient art, archaeology, and history, this book was on my "to read" list for a long time. Sadly, I was unable to get past the first 100 pages and I tried, I really did. I have never NOT finished a book. This book is awful and tries to hard, screaming "amateur." I guess I should have judged this one by the cover...

The storyline is rambling and full of tacky feminism/mysticism. The diologue is overdone with an absurd amount of metaphors and similies (bordering on laughable). The characters have no depth, despite insight into their thoughts at every possible moment. Everyone is so dramatic and over-the-top. I felt no emotional attachement and didn't care what happened to any of them. I also took issue with the over-simplified and stereotyped "good, harmonious tribes of the north" v.s the "evil, war-mongering Romans."

However, it must be said that Gillespie did a lot of research to present historic facts in order to re-create the time period. It's just too bad the novel reads like a really bad soap opera script.

The Complete Greek Tragedies: Sophocles II: Ajax, The Women of Trachis, Electra & Philoctetes

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Great!!! :)
The four non-Theban plays of Sophocles.
The four non-Theban plays of Sophocles.

The Complete Greek Tragedies: Sophocles II: Ajax, The Women of Trachis, Electra & Philoctetes
Sophocles
Manufacturer: University Of Chicago Press
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Binding: Paperback

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The Complete Greek Tragedies: Sophocles I: Oedipus The King, Oedipus at Colonus, Antigone
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The Complete Greek Tragedies: Euripides V: Electra, The Phoenician Women, The Bacchae
Aeschylus I: Oresteia (The Complete Greek Tragedies)
The Complete Greek Tragedies: Aeschylus II: The Suppliant Maidens and The Persians, Seven against Thebes and Prometheus Bound

ASIN: 0226307867

Book Description

"These authoritative translations consign all other complete collections to the wastebasket."—Robert Brustein, The New Republic

"This is it. No qualifications. Go out and buy it everybody."—Kenneth Rexroth, The Nation

"The translations deliberately avoid the highly wrought and affectedly poetic; their idiom is contemporary....They have life and speed and suppleness of phrase."—Times Education Supplement

"These translations belong to our time. A keen poetic sensibility repeatedly quickens them; and without this inner fire the most academically flawless rendering is dead."—Warren D. Anderson, American Oxonian

"The critical commentaries and the versions themselves...are fresh, unpretentious, above all, functional."—Commonweal

"Grene is one of the great translators."—Conor Cruise O'Brien, London Sunday Times

"Richmond Lattimore is that rara avis in our age, the classical scholar who is at the same time an accomplished poet."—Dudley Fitts, New York Times Book Review

Customer Reviews:

Great!!! :).......2001-11-23

When I entered college, I was surprised to hear that there were so few Greek tragedies extent in the world today. I was also surprised that Sophocles actually had more plays than the Oedipus cycle. After debating whether to buy this translation of the texts (I am trying to collect all the Greek tragedies in this series), I finally checked it out of the library. Personally, I think that these plays are better than Oedipus, possibly because I think that Oedipus is rather overdone by high schools and colleges all over.

Ajax: It was good. I was kind of annoyed that the translator decided to mark each choral ode by its parts, which wasn't necessary. This play is about Ajax, one of the heroes of the Trojan War; this tale goes past the Trojan War portrayed in the Iliad, however. In the Odyssey, Odysseus meets Ajax in the underworld who is upset because Odysseus won the contest against him for Achilles armor. This play expands on the outcome of this contest. Ajax, disgraced, desperately turns himself against the Greek warriors, especially Odysseus. At the end, he kills himself because of his loss of honor.

The Women of Trachis: Definately climbing near Medea for my favorite Greek tragedy. This play is about Deianeira, a wife of Heracles. When Heracles returns from a city with a new mistress, Deianeira decides to take action against the man he loves. She uses a potion that was given to her by a Centaur, whom Heracles killed when the Centaur attempted to rape her. The Centaur gave her some of his blood and told her it is a love potion to give to Heracles, so if his attention ever wanders, she could bring it back to her. When Heracles brings home the new woman, Deianeira decides to use it. What Deianeira didn't realize, though, is that the Centaur wanted revenge upon Heracles, and the blood was actually poison.

Electra: Unlike the Electra in Aechyllus' Oresteia, this Electra is focused on a bit more. She resembles the Electra of Euripides. Same story: Orestes returns to avenge his father Agamemnon's murder by his mother, Clytaemnestra, and Aegisthus, Agamemnon's cousin and Clytaemnestra's consort. Electra has been living with Clytaemnestra and Aegisthus, and she was the person who saved Orestes from Clytaemnestra's rage. (Why did she murder Agamemnon? She could have just been an evil wife, but Agamemnon did sacrifice their daughter Iphigenia when he sailed for Troy.) This play is about Electra's pain and desperate hope that Orestes will return.

Philoctetes: When the Greeks sailed for Troy, one of the Greeks was bitten by a venomous snake, and the Greek soldiers abandoned him on an island before reaching Troy. After the events of the Iliad, and after Achilles death, the Greeks capture a son of Priam who prophesized that the Greeks would not be able to take Troy without Philoctetes' bow and arrows. This bow was given to Philoctetes by Heracles. This play is about Odysseus and Neoptolemus' conspiracy to steel the bow. Neoptolemus is to pretend that his is bitter towards Agamemnon, Menelaus and Odysseus because of the contest of Achilles' armor (Neoptolemus is Achilles son). Neoptolemus befriends Philoctetes and no longer wants to deceive him, plus he realizes that the prophesy not only demands the bow and arrows, but Philoctetes himself. (These bow and arrows are fated to kills Paris, the "cause" of the Trojan War for abducting Helen.)

I definately recommend this collection of plays, especially if you are an Ancient Greek nut like me! :)

The four non-Theban plays of Sophocles........1999-06-17

"Ajax" is probably the earliest extant play of Sophocles. Sophocles is the earliest known playwright to use painted scenery. He also decreased the importance of the chorus, added a third actor, and abandoned the trilogy format (each play is complete by itself). Ajax is the classical Greek tragedy about the downfall of a man who is sinned against and has a tragic flaw; in this case, insolence and pride. Ajax becomes enraged when Achilles' armor is awarded to Odysseus instead of to him. Agamemnon and Menelaus also exhibit insolence when they refuse to bury Ajax after his suicide. But, Odysseus changes their minds. This play is probably the earliest known example of a play containing a scene of violence on the stage instead of offstage. In "The Women of Trachis," considered my many critics to be the poorest of the seven extant plays of Sophocles, the wife of Heracles, Deianira, unknowingly sends a poisoned robe to her husband who has finally completed his labors. She is also concerned that she has allowed a rival for the affections of her husband to enter her household. Hercules has sent the captive Iole to Deianira. As Hercules lies dying, he orders his son Hyllus to marry Iole. Does Hercules truly love Iole? Even when dying, he is concerned for her future. In "Electra," the daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra awaits the return of her brother Orestes so that he can avenge the murder of their father. I think that many scholars have tended to misread this play. It is a play about Electra, not about Orestes or Clytemnestra or Aegisthus. And, it is a tragedy. Should one allow hatred to rule their own lives to such an extent as seen in Electra, even when one is in the right? Finally, "Philoctetes," a member of a group of plays that won first prize in Athens, is concerned with a man who has been left marooned on an island several years earlier (because of his disease) under orders of Agamemnon and Menelaus. But, the two kings later discover that Troy cannot be conquered without Philoctetes and his bow, a bow given to him by Heracles. Odysseus and Neoptolemus (the son of the late Achilles) arrive at the island to persuade or trick Philoctetes to return with them. Neoptolemus wants to be noble in his actions; yet, his commander, Odysseus, wants to use guile. At the end, a deus-ex-machina device is used to resolve the conflict. All four plays should be required reading for any educated person.

The four non-Theban plays of Sophocles........1999-06-17

The Complete Greek Tragedies: Euripides V: Electra, The Phoenician Women, The Bacchae

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Very fine version
Excellent for undergraduates
What Electra Complex?

The Complete Greek Tragedies: Euripides V: Electra, The Phoenician Women, The Bacchae
Euripides
Manufacturer: University Of Chicago Press
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Binding: Paperback

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The Complete Greek Tragedies: Euripides I: Alcestis, The Medea, The Heracleidae, Hippolytus
The Complete Greek Tragedies: Sophocles I: Oedipus The King, Oedipus at Colonus, Antigone
Aeschylus I: Oresteia (The Complete Greek Tragedies)
The Complete Greek Tragedies: Sophocles II: Ajax, The Women of Trachis, Electra & Philoctetes
The Complete Greek Tragedies: Euripides II: The Cyclops and Heracles, Iphigenia in Tauris, Helen

ASIN: 0226307840

Book Description

In nine paperback volumes, the Grene and Lattimore editions offer the most comprehensive selection of the Greek tragedies available in English. Over the years these authoritative, critically acclaimed editions have been the preferred choice of over three million readers for personal libraries and individual study as well as for classroom use.

Customer Reviews:

Very fine version.......2007-08-19

The three plays presented in "Euripides V" are all important works: Electra, The Phoenician Women, and The Bacchae.

The editors are David Grene (who translated and provided the Introduction to "The History" by Herodotus) and Richmond Lattimore. Both are well reputed scholars of the classics. Before each play, they provide useful context and critical evaluations of the work. Emily Townsend Vermeule provides a competent translation.

The works stand or fall on the basis of the original quality of the plays and the competence of the translation. As such, each of the plays is worthwhile. The editors do a nice job of providing critical analysis (note some of the comparisons between Sophocles and Euripides).

In the end, this is a useful version of the three plays and a nice entree to the work of one of the great Greek tragedians. The work closes with a nice chronology of the plays of Euripides. In the final analysis, well done.

Excellent for undergraduates.......2000-05-15

A readable translation of the plays of Euripides. Enough historical background is given in the foreword and the introductions to each play that the reader has a better grasp of the meaning of the play to those who viewed in antiquity. A bit conservative in the translation at times but nonetheless well done.

What Electra Complex?.......2000-05-08

Euripides V contains some of the most popular and famous tragedies by the Greek playwrite Euripiedes. Electra, the first play, is a must for anyone studying or interested in mythology and tragedies. The Phoenician Women adn The Bacchae are also wonderful plays that prime examples of what Greek tragedies are all about. Even if this is your first time reading tragedies, as was mine, the introduction by Grene and Lattimore pave the road for the stories.

Her Share of the Blessings: Women's Religions among Pagans, Jews, and Christians in the Greco-Roman World

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Her Share of the Blessings: Women's Religions among Pagans, Jews, and Christians in the Greco-Roman World
Ross Shepard Kraemer
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
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Binding: Paperback

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Women's Religions in the Greco-Roman World: A Sourcebook
Women and Christian Origins
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Women and Religion: The Original Sourcebook of Women in Christian Thought

ASIN: 0195086708

Book Description

In this pathbreaking volume, Ross Shepard Kraemer provides the first comprehensive look at women's religions in Greco-Roman antiquity. She vividly recreates the religious lives of early Christian, Jewish, and pagan women, with many fascinating examples: Greek women's devotion to goddesses, rites of Roman matrons, Jewish women in rabbinic and diaspora communities, Christian women's struggles to exercise authority and autonomy, and women's roles as leaders in the full spectrum of Greco-Roman religions. In every case, Kraemer reveals the connections between the social constraints under which women lived, and their religious beliefs and practices. The relationship among female autonomy, sexuality, and religion emerges as a persistent theme. Analyzing the monastic Jewish Therapeutae and various Christian communities, Kraemer demonstrates the paradoxical liberation which women achieved by rejection of sexuality, the body, and the female. In the epilogue, Kraemer pursues the disturbing implications such findings have for contemporary women. Based on an astonishing variety of primary sources, Her Share of the Blessings is an insightful work that goes beyond the limitations of previous scholarship to provide a more accurate portrait of women in the Greco-Roman world.

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Troy From A New Perspective
Failure
The female and Trojan side of the war.
FLOP!
The Best of Greek Mythology

Troy
Adèle Geras
Manufacturer: Harcourt Paperbacks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Ithaka
Goddess of Yesterday
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Inside the Walls of Troy: A Novel of the Women Who Lived the Trojan War

ASIN: 0152045708

Amazon.com's Best of 2001

Homer's mighty epic poem, The Iliad, is the earliest written literature of Western civilization. Adele Geras, best known for her trilogy based on Sleeping Beauty, takes on the seemingly impertinent task of retelling the siege of Troy as a young adult novel, but manages to carry it off without trivializing the original. The great battles of the bronze-clad warriors and the clashes between Achilles and Hector and Odysseus are seen at a distance from the walls of the city, where the Trojan townsfolk gather to sit each day and cheer the action like spectators at some archaic football game.

The passion of Helen and Paris, Hector's farewell to his ill-fated infant son, and other familiar domestic scenes are seen from a closer perspective, through the eyes of the four teenage protagonists. Marpessa is Helen's young servant, and her sister Xanthe is nursemaid to Hector's baby son, while Iason, who is secretly beloved by their friend Polyxena, tends the horses and yearns for Xanthe, who has a crush on Alastor, who has impregnated Marpessa. These complicated, interlocking infatuations and love affairs work themselves out against a background of siege and bloodshed watched over by the gods. Artemis, Mars, Poseidon, and Pallas Athene appear in visions to reveal their plans to the characters (and to us), but their words blow away like mist as soon as they are gone. Meanwhile, the bawdy gossip of three old serving maids in the kitchen emulates a Greek chorus. The story winds to its inevitable destination with the emergence of the Greeks from the wooden horse and the bloody sack of the city--a suitably violent end to an ancient and violent tale. (Ages 12 and older) --Patty Campbell

Book Description

The siege of Troy has lasted almost ten years. Inside the walled city, food is scarce and death is common. From the heights of Mount Olympus, the Gods keep watch. But Aphrodite, Goddess of Love, is bored with the endless, dreary war. Aided by Eros's bow, the goddess sends two sisters down a bloody path to an awful truth: In the fury of war, love strikes the deadliest blows.
Heralded by fans and critics alike, Adèle Geras breathes personality, heartbreak, and humor into this classic story.

Customer Reviews:

Troy From A New Perspective.......2007-09-06

This book is a beautiful, poignant retelling of one of the most ancient and enduring stories of all time. The tragic events that have haunted and thrilled us for generations are brought brilliantly to life under the skilled hand of Adèle Geras, and made fresh by an interesting new perspective. The story is romantic and utterly exquisite, the language poetic and lovely but easy to understand.

The new, non-Iliad characters in the novel, Marpessa, Xanthe, Iason, Alastor, and Polyxena, are all believable and very human. For the most part they are servants, and all of them are lower in class then the heroic, royal characters that we usually associate with Troy. This puts them in a prime position to witness important events and interact with all of the tragedy's important characters without interfering with the normal flow of events.

The traditional characters, both the gods and the humans, are for once in the background, but they are still highly important and their personalities are explored. Often, from the perspectives of our main characters, we see wholly new sides of the characters of the Iliad, which adds interest and innovation to the novel.

As for the novel itself, it is nicely balanced and layered. The story takes place during the war, but it is not essentially about the war, but rather about the experiences of the young people who are living in Troy during the war. For the story of the war, read the Iliad. You are likely to be disappointed if you pick up this novel expecting multiple battle descriptions and gory details. Instead, expect a novel about the nature of the human soul, and how both love and war can warp and change it.

Failure.......2007-08-14

I was about the age of the protagonists when I first read this book, I should have enjoyed it, or at least related to it on some level. However, having just taken a Latin class where we concentrated study on the Trojan War that year, there were (and still are) no words for how disappointing, disturbed, and sorry that book was. I haven't picked it up since then, but I have no intention of selling it, because it's just not worth wasting the money.
I had so many expectations for this story. I had actually expected it to be a refreshing view on a familiar story. No dice. Whatever this was, it wasn't what I expected it to be. It was actually far from it.

The female and Trojan side of the war........2006-10-22

Remember that movie from a few years ago with the same title? Remember how much it sucked because sanitized the legend and took out all the gods? Well, here's a novel for us true lovers of "The Iliad" and Greek Mythology. Told beautifully (though sometimes meanderingly) from the perspective of the Trojans, most particularly the women, is the fall of Troy. The women stand perfectly for Troy, a city at the mercy of the masculine forces of the war. The women will be the only survivors of Troy, and they will be the ones that lose their loved ones after years of starvation and sacrifice. It is the women that survive to grieve. The book is perfectly faithful to the original work, complete with the meddling gods (beautifully described in poetic imagry), particularly Troy's patron goddess, Aphrodite, who complicates the lives of three women and two men, by creating yet another juicy and mythological soap opera. The characters are well-drawn, and the action--though told second-hand (as is fitting)--is emotionally powerful. Grade: A-

FLOP!.......2006-09-20

There are many reasons I liked this book, but even more reasons that I absolutely hated it. I love stories and mythology, and was very excited to get to read another book on this subject. I really enjoyed the scenes where it talked about the war and different conflicts between the Greeks and Trojans. However, more then half of the book is about girl fights, illicit relationships, and unwanted pregnancies. The author obviously didn't research the war enough, because she hardly ever talks about it, although it usually is interesting when she does. Instead of this book being an epic, which was my first expectation, it turned out more like a soap opera. I read several reviews of this book before I actually read the story, and all of them claimed that the book was a sure hit for people interested in mythology. The book hardly ever has anything to do with this, and most of it's views of the Greek Gods are wrong. No character in the story seems to be paying attention to the fact that their entire city is collapsing around them and that they are all probably going to die soon. There are a few parts of the book about old ladies gossiping, which is utterly pointless and seems to have nothing to do with most of the rest of the story, and the rest is about two teenage sisters who are obviously the most important beings in the world, because they seem to believe that there is nothing more important to pay attention to in the world of Troy besides themselves and the beautiful boy Alastor, who was brave enough to spend all of five minutes fighting in the war before getting wounded and withdrawing for good. The book is generous enough to lend one paragraph of it's bazillion-page sea of disgusting boringness to Hector's death, probably the most important event of the entire war. I can not honestly recommend this book to anyone, and suggest just reading the Iliad instead.

The Best of Greek Mythology.......2006-08-29

Adele Geras has beautifully combined the mortal and immortal world in this historic and mythological novel. I have read many Greek mythology novels but nothing compares to this wonderfully written book. There wasn't any part of the novel that didn't appeal to me. Adele has done a fabulous job binding life, love, war, and death. It is one of the best books written of ALL TIMES. I recommend it to anyone interested in MYTHOLOGY. You just won't be able to put the book down. I agree that although TROY was a battle (Trojan War) the book did not include much of it, until the very end. But from a reader's point of view, I have to say the novel is very well balanced. Please, read "TROY". I liked it so much that I rented the "TROY" movie - the movie and the book are quiet different. WHO knew.....that a war could happen because of a beautiful girl?

The Complete Greek Tragedies: Euripides IV: Rhesus, The Suppliant Women, Orestes, Iphigenia in Aulis

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another rare play

The Complete Greek Tragedies: Euripides IV: Rhesus, The Suppliant Women, Orestes, Iphigenia in Aulis
Euripides
Manufacturer: University Of Chicago Press
ProductGroup: Book
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The Complete Greek Tragedies: Euripides II: The Cyclops and Heracles, Iphigenia in Tauris, Helen
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ASIN: 0226307832

Book Description

Customer Reviews:

another rare play.......2000-05-15

This fourth book in the Euripides series gives the reader another fairly rare play: Rhesus. Readable translation that is easily affordable with good general introductions. A bit too conservative in translation at points.

Lysistrata and Other Plays (Penguin Classics)

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the father of western comedy...
Translation with wit but without true character of original

Lysistrata and Other Plays (Penguin Classics)
Aristophanes
Manufacturer: Penguin Classics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The History of the Peloponnesian War: Revised Edition (Penguin Classics)
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The Histories (Penguin Classics)
The Bacchae and Other Plays (Penguin Classics)
Medea and Other Plays (Penguin Classics)

ASIN: 0140448144
Release Date: 2003-04-29

Book Description

Writing at the time of political and social crisis in Athens Aristophanes was an eloquent yet bawdy challenger to the demagogue and the sophist. The Achanians is a plea for peace set against the background of the long war with Sparta. In Lysistrata a band of women tap into the awesome power of sex in order to end a war. The darker comedy of The Clouds satirizes Athenian philosophers, Socrates in particular, and reflects the uncertainties of a generation in which all traditional religious and ethical beliefs were being challenged.

Customer Reviews:

the father of western comedy..........2004-11-14

Brilliantly written and translated (quite a feat considering the many word-plays in ancient Greek...), this book (or any of Arsitophanes' plays for that matter) is a 'must read' for the humourist and the classisist combined. When the King of Syracuse asked Plato what he should read to understand how the average Athenian thought, he was instructed to read Aristophanes. You will be fascinated to see just how 'modern' the humour is, or, as the introduction explains, how 'ancient' our modern comedy is.

'The Clouds', inlcuded in this volume, is the imfamous play that Plato criticised Aristophanes over after the death of Socrates: he claimed that the parody of his teacher helped those who secured Socrates' death. I'd like to think Socrates did not concur. It has been reported that he bowed in good humour after witnessing the performance. Also, 'Lysistrata' is often used as a proto-feminist story - although it is much more interesting than that. Ancient Greeks have, as one of their chief virtues and downfalls a drive to be self examining and critical. It gives todays social relativists plenty of ammunition. Those that use it as an anti-war/peace-at-any-cost story, when it is actually against civil war, have not studied Aristophanes enough, or are prepared to ignore what doesn't work for their cause...

Translation with wit but without true character of original.......1998-09-30

Alan Sommerstein went to some length to translate the puns and plays on words (as further explained in the endnotes), which results in a very active play, and, for the careful reader, wit in nearly every line. He also uses the endnotes to explain further the Greek personalities mentioned in the plays, which adds to the understanding; my recommendation would be to read the play straight, then read the associated endnotes, then reread the play in question.

This translation captures the humor of the original, which ranges from low-brow slapstick to witty one-liners to political asides--a union of vaudeville, Oscar Wilde, and Mark Russell. However, what Sommerstein utterly misses is the form of ancient Greek comedy. The lyric choruses are rendered in choppy iambic lines, with many of them set to tunes from Gilbert & Sullivan. Aristophanes meant to use vulgarity in the acting, not in the lines of the Chorus.

Two stars for verbal wit, two stars for completeness of endnotes, and one star for my love of "Lysistrata", minus one star for excessive use of campy tunes.

(For those of you who do like his translations, or those just looking for the other eight plays, they are contained in two more volumes. Sommerstein collaborated with David Barrett in the volume Knights/Peace/Birds/Women's Assembly/Wealth, while Barrett translated Wasps/Women's Assembly/Frogs. Barrett takes less care with the translation of humor, but does not destroy the credibility of the choral lines.)

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