Elizabeth Rawson – författare

Ancient polemics on Sparta (by Plato, Aristotle, Plutarch, and others) have had a remarkable afterlife in the political and educational thought of Renaissance Italy, the France of the Philosophes, Whig England, and Nazi Germany. This book outlines the little we know of ancient Sparta, describes Greek reaction to the ambiguous institutions of the great rival to democratic Athens, makes a first attempt to follow the subsequent fortunes of the debate, and indicates Sparta's role over twenty-five centuries in the intellectual history of Europe.

The late Elizabeth Rawson (1934-1988) was a distinguished specialist in the history, society, and culture of the later Roman Republic and Augustan period, whose sudden death at the end of a visit to China came when she was at the height of her powers, and had just been elected as a Fellow of the British Academy.Her papers form a closely related group, published over a short period of time between 1971 and 1989. The topics covered include the workings of Roman politics and society, historical and antiquarian thinking at Rome, and literary and cultural history. They are reproduced here in the order in which they were published, and together form an essential contribution to the understanding of the central period of Roman history.

Volume IX of the second edition of The Cambridge Ancient History has for its main theme the process commonly known as the 'Fall of the Roman Republic'. Chapters 1-12 supply a narrative of the period from 133 BC to the death of Cicero in 43 BC, with a prelude analysing the situation and problems of the Republic from the turning-point year 146 BC. Chapters 13-19 offer analysis of aspects of Roman society, institutions, and ideas during the period. The chapters treat public and private law, the beginnings of imperial administration, the economy of Rome and Italy, and the growth of the city of Rome, and finally intellectual life and religion. The portrait is of a society not in decay or decline but, rather, outstripping its strength and attracting the administrations of men who rescued it at the price of transforming it politically.