Alan Lloyd – författare

Herodotus, one of the earliest and greatest of Western prose authors, set out in the late fifth century BC to describe the world as he knew it - its peoples and their achievements, together with the causes and course of the great wars that brought the Greek cities into conflict with the empires of the Near East. Each subsequent generation of historians has sought to use his text and to measure their knowledge of these cultures against his words.This commentary by leading scholars, originally published in Italian, has been fully revised by the original authors and has now been edited for English-speaking readers by Oswyn Murray and Alfonso Moreno. It is designed for use alongside the Oxford Classical Text of Herodotus, and will replace the century-old historical commentary of How and Wells (1912) as the most authoritative account of modern scholarship on Herodotus.Books I-IV cover the history and cultures of Lydia, Egypt, Persia, and the nomads of Scythia and North Africa, in their contacts with the Greeks from mythical times to the start of the fifth century BC; these themes, with many digressions, are woven into an account of the expansion of the Persian Empire and its relations with the Greeks.

Herodotus, one of the earliest and greatest of Western prose authors, set out in the late fifth century BC to describe the world as he knew it - its peoples and their achievements, together with the causes and course of the great wars that brought the Greek cities into conflict with the empires of the Near East. Each subsequent generation of historians has sought to use his text and to measure their knowledge of these cultures against his words. This commentary by leading scholars, originally published in Italian, has been fully revised by the original authors and has now been edited for English-speaking readers by O. Murray and A. Moreno. It is designed for use alongside the Oxford Classical Text of Herodotus, and will replace the century-old historical commentary of How and Wells (1912) as the most authoritative account of modern scholarship on Herodotus.Books I-IV cover the history and cultures of Lydia, Egypt, Persia, and the nomads of Scythia and North Africa, in their contacts with the Greeks from mythical times to the start of the fifth century BC; these themes, with many digressions, are woven into an account of the expansion of the Persian Empire and its relations with the Greeks.

At Marathon an army of Greek city states, including Sparta and Athens, met the Persian army of Darius. This was the key battle of Western civilisation, for Athens were defending not only their independence but their radical new political form, democracy. Alan Lloyd details the course of Athenian democracy, its religion and culture and the uneasy alliances with other city-states, such as Sparta. Out of this historical background Lloyd brings the battle alive with a story-teller''s vitality, evoking the final run of Philippides, the Athenian messenger, who brought the news of the Greek victory back to Athens, a feat now commemorated in the modern marathon.

Combining fictional characterisation and factual research Alan Lloyd asks who were these people who lived in Pompeii and what were their lives like in those last days before the disaster? Alan Lloyd, an acclaimed historian and novelist, breathes life into the ghosts that haunt the empty streets, quiet courtyards and silent rooms of Pompeii while stirring the imagination of everyone who has seen the well-preserved ruins of the ancient city. Through the eyes of Taras, Lloyd''s imaginatively reconstructed narrator, we discover the real Pompeii, its geography, history and culture with a compelling urgency as the city''s last day approaches. Alan Lloyd''s brand of popular history concentrates on the details and colour that make for engrossing reading, the skilful depiction of a seminal moment in history and, above all, a readable narrative. Pompeii''s Secrets is an engrossing adventure novel, as well as a fascinating historical survey.