Clarendon Ancient History Series – serie

Alexander the Great changed the world that he knew--but how he did it, and how much of his story is truth and how much is invented, is hard to tell. One of our most important sources for his achievements and personality is Plutarch's Life of Alexander, and this is the first detailed commentary in English for over fifty years, along with a thorough introduction and translation. It is a sister volume to the author's 2011 edition (also in the Clarendon Ancient History Series) of Plutarch's Caesar, the Life paired with Alexander in Plutarch's series of Parallel Lives.The life of Alexander the Great was clouded in legend from his own lifetime, not least because Alexander himself curated his image with such care. Disentangling the truth is not an easy task, especially because our surviving narratives, including Plutarch's, all date from centuries later under the Roman empire. Plutarch's Life of Alexander is especially important for Alexander's early years, but for his later achievements too it often supplements or corrects our other accounts; it is also a considerable literary achievement, as Plutarch produces a memorable picture of a brilliant soldier, full of spirit and ambition, gradually coarsened by his own successes and his suspicions of his friends until his final months at Babylon in a court full of superstition, terror, and dread. Plutarch had to navigate his way through an unusually vast stock of material to produce this portrait. This commentary discusses those literary techniques in detail as well as providing a thorough investigation of the historical issues that Plutarch's narrative raises.

This is the first commentary in any language on Aeschines' Against Timarchos, the prosecution speech in the politically crucial trial of 346/5BC. The case in essence was that Timarchos was legally ineligible to engage in active politics because he had engaged in improper homosexual relationships in the past and had wasted his inheritance on debauchery. The speech is our most important source for Athenian legal sanctions and moral attitudes concerning same-sex relations, and has been the focus of intense recent debates on the nature of Greek sexualities and on the relationship between sex, politics, and cultural life. It illuminates Athenian politics at the time when Athens faced the challenge to her independence from Philip of Macedon. It is a rhetorical masterpiece of misrepresentation, which persuaded the jury to convict Timarchos despite the fact that Aeschines had virtually no evidence of his misdeeds. This book provides a new translation, a full introduction, and a commentary, all accessible to those without knowledge of Greek. The introduction explores the main issues of the case, including Aeschines' career, Athenian laws and attitudes relating to homosexual relations, and the reasons for Aeschines' success: it is suggested that the verdict reflects the same moral and cultural unease in Athens which was shortly to produce the attempts at political, social, and cultural renewal associated with the age of Lycurgus. The fully documented commentary pays attention to the rhetorical strategy of the speech, explores important aspects of the language used, especially in relation to the moral denunciation of Timarchos' sexual and other malpractices, and explains all references to historical events and people.

Plutarch's Life of Caesar deals with the best known Roman of them all, Julius Caesar, and his vivid narrative covers most of the major events of the last generation of the Republic, as well as painting an insightful picture of this man who sacrificed everything for power. Pelling's volume gives a new translation of the Life together with a full introduction and running commentary on the events it describes. Culminating in the crossing of the Rubicon, Caesar's victory in the Civil War, and finally his assassination on the Ides of March, 44 BC, it goes on to trace the first stages of the new phase of civil war which followed and, in its turn, led to the establishment of the principate. The volume also discusses both the historical and the literary aspects of the Life, relating it both to the broader history of the Republic and to Plutarch's other works, especially the Life of Alexander with which it forms a pair of Parallel Lives. A separate section of the Introduction also discusses Shakespeare's adaptation of Plutarch in Julius Caesar, and points out ways in which the subtle remoulding of Plutarch's material can illuminate the techniques and interests of both authors.

Pompeius Trogus, a Romanized Gaul living in the age of Augustus, wrote a forty-four book universal history (The Philippic History) of the non-Roman, Mediterranean world. This work was later abbreviated by a certain M. Junianus Justinus, better known as Justin. This volume presents the first modern English translation and scholarly commentary on Books 11-12 of Justin's so-called 'Epitome' of the history.These books constitute one of the five major sources for the history of Alexander the Great and belong to the so-called 'Vulgate' tradition, which in the opinion of many scholars derives ultimately from the lost historian Clearchus of Alexandria. The original work of Pompeius Trogus appears to have had stylistic and historical influences on the better known History of Alexander by Quintus Curius Rufus.In this volume the authors tease out and differentiate as far as possible the relative contributions of the historian Trogus and the 'epitomator' Justin. The commentary examines the relationship of Justin-Trogus to both the extant sources and the works of the lost Alexander historians, and a serious attempt is made to explain errors or deviations from well-known sources in terms of the methods of historian and 'epitomator' before resorting to the expedient of textual emendation. A second volume, covering books 13-15, is forthcoming.

Pompeius Trogus, a Romanized Gaul living in the age of Augustus, wrote a forty four-book universal history (The Philippic History) of the non-Roman, Mediterranean world. This work was later abbreviated by a certain M. Junianus Justinus, better know as Justin. This volume presents the first modern English translation and scholarly commentary on Books 11-12 of Justin's so-called "Epitome" of the history.These books constitute one of the five major sources for the history of Alexander the Great and belong to the so-called "Vulgate" tradition, which in the opinion of many scholars derives ultimately from the lost historian Clearchus of Alexandria. The original work of Pompeius Trogus appears to have had stylistic and historical influences on the better know History of Alexander by Quintus Curtius Rufus.In this volume the authors tease out and differentiate as far as possible the relative contributions of the historian Trogus and the "epitomator", Justin. The commentary examines the relationship of Justin-Trogus to both the extant sources and the works of the lost Alexander historians, and a serous attempt is made to explain errors or deviations from well-known sources in terms of the methods of historian and "epitomator" before resorting to the expedient of textual emendation. A second volume, covering books 13-15, is forthcoming.

Eusebius' Life of Constantine is the most important single record of Constantine, the emperor who turned the Roman Empire from prosecuting the Church to supporting it, with huge and lasting consequences for Europe and Christianity. The only English version previously available is based on a seventeenth-century Greek edition, but two new critical editions produced this century make a new English version necessary. The authors of this edition present the results of the recent scholarly debate, as well as their own researches so as to clarify the significance of Eusebius' work and introduce the student to the text and its interpretation, thus opening up the contentious issues. At face value much of what Eusebius wrote is false. This book shows how, once his partisan interpretations and rhetoric are properly understood, both Eusebius' text and the documents it contains give vital historical insights.

Eusebius' Life of Constantine is the most important single record of Constantine, the emperor who turned the Roman Empire from prosecuting the Church to supporting it, with huge and lasting consequences for Europe and Christianity. The only English version previously available is based on a seventeenth-century Greek edition, but two new critical editions produced this century make a new English version necessary. The authors of this edition present the results of the recent scholarly debate, as well as their own researches so as to clarify the significance of Eusebius' work and introduce the student to the text and its interpretation, thus opening up the contentious issues. At face value much of what Eusebius wrote is false. This book shows how, once his partisan interpretations and rhetoric are properly understood, both Eusebius' text and the documents it contains give vital historical insights.

Valerius Maximus stands alone as an extant prose author of the early principate who devoted specific interest to the Romans' attitude to religion. In eight chapters he presents a variety of material selected from earlier authors, such as Cicero, Livy, and Varro, to illustrate central areas of Roman religious thought and practice: augury, omens, dreams, and miracles. Valerius has not been translated into English since 1678 and there has never been a detailed commentary on his work in any language. With the growing interest in the non-Judaeo-Christian religions of the Mediterranean world and scholars recognizing that Roman religion should not be approached with Judaeo-Christian presuppositions or through the filter of the Christian Fathers, Valerius Maximus gives us an opportunity to see an unexceptional pagan speaking about his religion.

This edition of the papyrus containing Didymos' comments on some of Demosthenes' speeches aims to provide the student with a new reading of the text, a facing translation that is carefully edited for those who cannot use the Greek to show what is extant and what is restored, and a detailed commentary that considers all issues related to the restoration of the text and to its historical content. All Greek is translated into English so that the discussion is fully accessible. In addition, throughout the introduction and commentary an attempt is made to arrive at a balanced appraisal of Didymos' position in the history of scholarship.

The Germania of Tacitus is the most extensive account of the ancient Germans written during the Roman period, but has been relatively neglected in the scholarship of the English-speaking world: the last commentary appeared in 1938, and only a handful of studies have appeared since that time. In recent decades, however, there have been important scholarly developments that significantly affect our understanding of it. Ongoing archaeological work in western and central Europe has greatly increased our knowledge of the iron-age cultures in those regions, while new anthropological and literary approaches have called into question some of the traditional assumptions that shaped the use of this text as a historical source. This new commentary, together with the extensive introduction, provides a current and comprehensive guide to the relevant textual and archaeological evidence and also examines the methodological issues involved in the interpretation of this important work.

As a detailed study of the human animal, described by its author as the raison d'etre of nature, Book Seven of the elder Pliny's Natural History is crucial to the understanding of the work as a whole. In addition, however, it provides a valuable insight into the extraordinary complex of ideas and beliefs current in Pliny's era, many of which have resonances for other eras and cultures. The present study includes a substantial introduction examining the background to Pliny's life, thought, and writing, together with a modern English translation, and a detailed commentary which emphasizes the importance of Book Seven as possibly the most fascinating cultural record surviving from early imperial Rome.

Rome's annual elections were central to the relationship between its citizenry and political leadership, and canvassing for office played no small part in their outcomes. The Brief Handbook on Canvassing for Office (Commentariolum Petitionis), composed by Quintus Cicero for his elder brother, the famous orator and statesman Marcus, is our fullest account of campaigning for office in republican Rome, incorporating candid advice on how best to mobilize political support from voters of every social class alongside searing political vituperation. This volume offers both the Latin text and a fresh translation of the Brief Handbook, as well as the first scholarly commentary on the text in the English language. Its purpose is to aid readers in their appreciation of the Brief Handbook in its multiple guises: as a literary text, an ideological document, a likely specimen of electoral propaganda, and a resource for recovering various aspects of late republican political and cultural history, such as group identities, Roman friendship, and civic rituals. While the comprehensive commentary clarifies the cultural, historical, and literary problems of the text, an incisive introduction supplies the reader with an account of the nature and practice of elections and canvassing for office in the late republic, as well as a detailed rehearsal of particular aspects of Cicero's career that provides the necessary context for understanding his campaign for the consulship in 64. The introduction also examines the literary dimensions of the work, and particularly the question of its authorship: considerations that are crucial to its proper interpretation as a historical source.

Sallust (86-35 BC) was a historian of major importance, writing at the time of the late Roman Republic. This is the first ever full-length commentary and English translation of one of his major works, the Histories, covering the years 78-67 BC, one of the least well-documented periods of the era. The translation is based on a text freshly examined for the first time since the original edition of 1891-3, and also includes newly discovered material.

The period covered by Sallust's Histories - 78-67 BC - forms part of the less well-documented eras of the late Republic. Sallust's contribution, despite its fragmentary transmission (about five hundred fragments of narrative, four speeches, and two letters preserved intact), remains of major importance to ancient historians. For nearly a century, scholars have consulted the edition of B. Maurenbrecher (1891-3) - a work, for its time, of considerable merit. Continuing research on the period has produced material with a bearing on the interpretation of the text; in addition, several fragments not known to Maurenbrecher have subsequently been discovered.For this new translation, Dr McGushin has freshly revised Maurenbrecher's placement and ordering of the fragments, and incorporated this newly discovered material. Together with a comprehensive introduction, he also provides a detailed interpretation in the first ever full-length commentary on the work.

Atthis was the name given to the local history of Attica. This genre of historiography was invented in the fifth century by Hellanikos of Lesbos. Written in chronicle form, based upon kings and archons, it covered all aspects of Attic affairs from their mythical beginnings to the contemporary history of the individual author. It was a fascinating blend of patriotic fiction and historical fact.Though there were at least seven men who wrote Atthides, none of their works has survived intact. This volume presents in translation for the first time all the fragments of the Atthis of the fourth-century Athenian politician and historian, Androtion, and the testimonia for his life and career. Androtion was one of the most respected Atthidographers. His work was the basis of the Atthis of Philochoros, the last and greatest product of this genre. Androtion's Atthis was also a source for Aristotle's Constitution of the Athenians, though not it is argued, to the extent and in the manner usually believed. The genre and the individual Atthidographers, and Androtion and his career are discussed in the extensive Introduction. The inidividual fragments are analysed in detail in the Commentary. Throughout particular attention is devoted to Jacoby's theory of the political bias of the Atthidographers, which is shown to be unfounded.

This volume provides a new translation of Books 57 and 58 of Cassius Dio's Roman History and the 'fragments' of these books preserved in later Byzantine epitomes, as well as the first English language commentary to examine them in their entirety. Dio's Roman History covers almost 1,000 years from the founding of Rome up to the early third century AD, with Books 57 and 58 focusing on the reign of the emperor Tiberius (AD 14-37): his account of this period is one of the most important to have survived from antiquity, not least as it preserves a historiographical tradition in some ways distinct from that of Tacitus and Suetonius. These books also reveal something of his authorial preoccupations and present a glimpse into the mind of the historian, and especially into his understanding of the mechanics of imperial government. The focus of the commentary is both historical and historiographical, in so far as it aims to illuminate not only issues arising from Dio's account of the Tiberian principate, but also to reveal the unity of his work and literary programme: a series of appendices complement the analysis by providing discussion of some of the key historical problems surrounding Dio and the reign of Tiberius. The translation (the first since the Loeb Classical Library edition of E. Cary) aims for both clarity and accuracy, and particular care has been taken to separate the various textual traditions that have been used to reconstruct the lost portions of Dio's text. An accompanying general introduction offers an accessible overview of Cassius Dio's approach to history based on the latest research in the field, and will be of particular use to graduate and undergraduate students coming to the text for the first time.

This volume provides readers with a new translation and up to date historical and rhetorical commentary on the only extant speech of the Athenian leader Lycurgus (390s/380s-324 BCE), one of Athens' most influential statesman and orators. His prosecutorial speech, Against Leocrates, delivered in 330 BCE, indicted his compatriot for treason, claiming that he fled Athens after the battle of Chaeronea when the city was under threat of attack by Philip II of Macedonia, though this attack never materialized. Although Leocrates was acquitted after the evenly split jury ultimately came down in favour of the defence, the speech is much more than a condemnation of an alleged misconduct: it provides valuable information on the historical and political events around Chaeronea and offers Lycurgus' vision of what Athens could and should do in those circumstances, in light of models which he fashioned from Athenian and other Greek mythical and historical pasts. Not only his legal and rhetorical strategies and the merits of the case are examined here, but also what the speech tells us about his and his contemporaries' perceptions of patriotism, their religious beliefs, views of desirable citizenship, and the tensions between the individual and the state. A detailed introduction complements the new English translation of the speech with an authoritative account of its history and manuscript tradition, as well as an overview of the trial's procedure, Lycurgus' motives for initiating it, and Leocrates' defence. It also provides a survey of Athenian democracy and judicial system in the late fourth century BCE which will be invaluable for readers new to the text, covering Lycurgus' career, his ideology and program for Athens, and what these meant to individual Athenians and democracy, while the in-depth commentary analysing the historical, legal, and rhetorical facets of this multi-layered and unique oration will be of use to both students and advanced scholars of ancient Greek history and rhetoric.

This volume showcases for the first time in the Clarendon Ancient History Series one of the best-known prose authors of classical Athens: Xenophon. Poroi (or, Revenue-Sources) was the final work of his large and varied output, written in the mid-350s BCE at a time when Athens had failed to prevent the collapse of her second Aegean 'empire', and was impoverished and demoralized in consequence. Back in Athens after a lifetime abroad, the elderly Xenophon took an optimistic view of the plight of his fellow-citizens: though their days as a free-spending imperial power may have been over, they could fall back on the city's own, unique assets - both human (the large community of resident and visiting foreigners) and material (the natural resources of Attica itself, notably the silver-mines) - strategically exploiting them in order to set the city on the road to peace and prosperity. Xenophon fleshed out this general position with many specific proposals, in doing so situating Poroi not only in a tradition of early economic thought, but also in the realm of practical politics. Framed by a General Introduction and the first-ever full Commentary on the work in English, this new and unprecedentedly accurate translation offers an authoritative yet accessible overview of the text, its context, and its historical, socio-political, and economic implications that will be invaluable to both students new to the work and to more experienced scholars. Challenging the view that there is a significant overlap between Xenophon's ideas and the policies associated (in the 350s and 340s) with Euboulos, it argues, rather, that Poroi was ahead of its time and in fact anticipated the programme of Athens' leading statesman of the 330s and 320s: Lykourgos.

Lucian's Alexander Or The False Prophet is a satiric biography of the religious entrepreneur and career fraudster Alexander of Abonouteichos. It recounts how, during the reign of Antoninus Pius (AD 138-161), Alexander succeeded in setting up a fraudulent new oracular cult of the snake-god Glykon in his home-town of Abonouteichos in Paphlagonia. In the Alexander, Lucian sets out to debunk the oracle as a scam, its founder as a debauched crook, and its clients as gullible idiots. The Alexander is an extraordinary and unclassifiable work: part biography, part invective, part Epicurean critique of divination. It casts a uniquely vivid light on social mores and religious beliefs in the Antonine age, and was a major influence on Erasmus, Ben Jonson, and Henry Fielding. The present volume is the first full-length treatment of the Alexander in English, and includes an extended historical and literary introduction, a new English translation, and a detailed commentary on the text. The volume also includes a translation of the surviving fragments of Oinomaos of Gadara's The Exposure of Sorcerers, a contemporary Cynic attack on oracular divination. All Greek is translated throughout.

Suetonius' Life of Julius Caesar (Vita Divi Iuli in the original Latin) deals with one of the best known of all Romans. His highly colourful account of Caesar's life begins a series of twelve Lives of Rome's first emperors (Caesars) and describes how Caesar was the gods' means of ending the Roman Republic and of introducing a new form of government. Suetonius presents a picture of a man who was driven in pursuit of power and honour, even initiating a bloody civil war to protect his own interests. Although Caesar was famously assassinated on the Ides of March 44 BC, his ultimate status was that of a god, Divus Iulius, as which he is celebrated by Suetonius. Wardle's volume provides a new translation of the Life with a full introduction and commentary on the events it describes. The volume discusses both the historical and the historiographical aspects of the Life, what we believe happened and what Suetonius says happened; it relates Suetonius' distinctive approach to life-writing to other examples from Greek and Roman authors and shows how the Life is a carefully constructed literary artefact rather than the styleless conglomeration of facts it has often been considered to be. Suetonius' account makes use of material written by Caesar's contemporaries as he rose to pre-eminence and reflects how subsequent generations, living and writing under the system that Suetonius for one believed he initiated, themselves imagined Caesar.

The Germania of Tacitus is the most extensive account of the ancient Germans written during the Roman period, but has been relatively neglected in the scholarship of the English-speaking world: the last commentary appeared in 1938, and only a handful of studies have appeared since that time. In recent decades, however, there have been important scholarly developments that significantly affect our understanding of it. Ongoing archaeological work in western and central Europe has greatly increased our knowledge of the iron-age cultures in those regions, while new anthropological and literary approaches have called into question some of the traditional assumptions that shaped the use of this text as a historical source. This new commentary, together with the extensive introduction, provides a current and comprehensive guide to the relevant textual and archaeological evidence and also examines the methodological issues involved in the interpretation of this important work.

Cicero's speech delivered in the mid 50s BC in defence of Gaius Rabirius Postumus was the last of a series of trials which followed the restoration of the Egyptian king, Ptolemy XII Auletes, to his throne. This had been secured through the services of a Roman army which had acted on the promise of a huge illegal bribe. Rabirius Postumus, a leading financier, had travelled to Egypt to collect the promised money acting on behalf of himself and other creditors of the king, including Caesar and Pompey. On his return political opponents placed him, amongst others, on trial. This book provides a new translation the speech and the first commentary in English of a work which is a major source for Roman and Egyptian history at the time of the late Republic. The extensive introduction furnishes a comprehensive review of the events surrounding the trial as well as a significant reappraisal of the career of Rabirius Postumus who is shown to be a major actor on the Roman political stage. The detailed commentary discusses historical and legal points and also includes a number of important textual emendations.

This is the first commentary in any language on Aeschines' Against Timarchos, the prosecution speech in the politically crucial trial of 346/5BC. The case in essence was that Timarchos was legally ineligible to engage in active politics because he had engaged in improper homosexual relationships in the past and had wasted his inheritance on debauchery. The speech is our most important source for Athenian legal sanctions and moral attitudes concerning same-sex relations, and has been the focus of intense recent debates on the nature of Greek sexualities and on the relationship between sex, politics, and cultural life. It illuminates Athenian politics at the time when Athens faced the challenge to her independence from Philip of Macedon. It is a rhetorical masterpiece of misrepresentation, which persuaded the jury to convict Timarchos despite the fact that Aeschines had virtually no evidence of his misdeeds. This book provides a new translation, a full introduction, and a commentary, all accessible to those without knowledge of Greek. The introduction explores the main issues of the case, including Aeschines' career, Athenian laws and attitudes relating to homosexual relations, and the reasons for Aeschines' success: it is suggested that the verdict reflects the same moral and cultural unease in Athens which was shortly to produce the attempts at political, social, and cultural renewal associated with the age of Lycurgus. The fully documented commentary pays attention to the rhetorical strategy of the speech, explores important aspects of the language used, especially in relation to the moral denunciation of Timarchos' sexual and other malpractices, and explains all references to historical events and people.

As a detailed study of the human animal, described by its author as the raison d'etre of nature, Book Seven of the elder Pliny's Natural History is crucial to the understanding of the work as a whole. In addition, however, it provides valuable insight into the extraordinary complex of ideas and beliefs current in Pliny's era, many of which have resonances for other eras and cultures. The present study includes a substantial introduction examining the background to Pliny's life, thought, and writing, together with a modern English translation, and a detailed commentary which emphasizes the importance of Book Seven as possibly the most fascinating cultural record surviving from early imperial Rome.

Pompeius Trogus, a Romanized Gaul living in the age of Augustus, wrote a forty-four book universal history (The Philippic History) of the non-Roman Mediterranean world. This work was later abbreviated by M. Junianus Justinus. Alexander the Great's life has been examined in minute detail by scholars for many decades, but the period of chaos that ensued after his death in 323 BC has received much less attention. Few historical sources recount the history of this period consecutively. Justin's abbreviated epitome of the lost Philippic history of Pompeius Trogus is the only relatively continuous account we have left of the events that transpired in the 40 years from 323 BC. This volume supplies a historical analysis of this unique source for the difficult period of Alexander's Successors up to 297 BC, a full translation, and running commentary on Books 13-15.

Pompeius Trogus, a Romanized Gaul living in the age of Augustus, wrote a forty-four book universal history (The Philippic History) of the non-Roman Mediterranean world. This work was later abbreviated by M. Junianus Justinus. Alexander the Great's life has been examined in minute detail by scholars for many decades, but the period of chaos that ensued after his death in 323 BC has received much less attention. Few historical sources recount the history of this period consecutively. Justin's abbreviated epitome of the lost Philippic history of Pompeius Trogus is the only relatively continuous account we have left of the events that transpired in the 40 years from 323 BC. This volume supplies a historical analysis of this unique source for the difficult period of Alexander's Successors up to 297 BC, a full translation, and running commentary on Books 13-15.

A new translation of, and commentary on, Cicero's defence of Publius Sestius against a charge of public violence. Pro Sestio is arguably the most important of Cicero's political speeches that survive from the nearly two decades separating the Speeches against Catiline and the Second Philippic. Its account of recent history provides any student of Rome with a fascinating way into the period; its depiction of public meetings, demonstrations, and violence are highly pertinent to the current debate on the place of 'the crowd in Rome in the late Republic'; the speech is also among the best introductions we have to traditional Republican values and ethics in action.

This volume contains a new translation of, and commentary on, Cicero's defense of Publius Sestius against a charge of public violence. Pro Sestio is arguably the most important of Cicero's political speeches that survive from the nearly two decades separating the Speeches against Catiline and the Second Philippic. Its account of recent history provides any student of Rome with a fascinating way into the period; its depiction of public meetings, demonstrations, and violence are highly pertinent to the current debate on the place of "the crowd in Rome in the late Republic"; the speech is also among the best introductions we have to traditional Republican values and ethics in action.

This edition of the papyrus containing Didymos' comments on some of Demosthenes' speeches aims to provide the student with a new reading of the text, a facing translation that is carefully edited for those who cannot use the Greek to show what is extant and what is restored, and a detailed commentary that considers all issues related to the restoration of the text and to its historical content. All Greek is translated into English so that the discussion is fully accessible. In addition, throughout the introduction and commentary an attempt is made to arrive at a balanced appraisal of Didymos' position in the history of scholarship.