5. Beneath the Surface
Mary Beard and John Henderson
in Classics: A Very Short Introduction
‘Beneath the Surface’ considers more detailed thoughts on the construction of such monuments as the Apollo Temple at Bassae and the various society conditions that made the building ...
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10. ‘Et in Arcadia Ego’
Mary Beard and John Henderson
in Classics: A Very Short Introduction
‘Et in Arcadia Ego’ is based on the term coined by Pope Clement IX in the 17th century, who found inspiration from Virgil's ‘Arcadian’ Eclogues. Its story tells of death and paradise and ...
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4. The Akkadian Empire, 2334–2193 bce
Amanda H. Podany
in The Ancient Near East: A Very Short Introduction
‘The Akkadian Empire, 2334–2193 bce’ describes how in the mid-twenty-fourth century bce the leader Sargon was able to conquer many of the little city states of Mesopotamia to create a new ...
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1. Introducing Assyria
Karen Radner
in Ancient Assyria: A Very Short Introduction
Ancient Assyria was one of many states flourishing in the Middle East in the millennia before the beginning of the common era, but the long-lived kingdom was one of the most influential. ...
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4. The calendar and festivals
Norman Solomon
in Judaism: A Very Short Introduction (2nd edn)
The key to the Jewish calendar is Nature and the pattern of sunrise and sunset. Temple procedures were scheduled into a day that began at dawn and for other purposes the day began at ...
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3. Aztec expansion through conquest and trade
Davíd Carrasco
in The Aztecs: A Very Short Introduction
‘Aztec expansion through conquest and trade’ examines the Codex Mendoza. The Codex Mendoza is a rare example of Spanish and Aztec cooperation, and tells the story of the Aztec people. ...
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Literary compositions of the scrolls collections
Timothy H. Lim
in The Dead Sea Scrolls: A Very Short Introduction (2nd edn)
‘Literary compositions of the scrolls collections’ shows that the literary nature of the scroll collections would suggest that they originally belonged to one or more libraries rather than ...
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2. On Site
Mary Beard and John Henderson
in Classics: A Very Short Introduction
‘On Site’ describes the nineteenth-century exploration of Greece and the connections to Rome. The rediscovery of Greece was, in a way, the rediscovery of the origins of western culture as a ...
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7. The Art of Reconstruction
Mary Beard and John Henderson
in Classics: A Very Short Introduction
‘The Art of Reconstruction’ shows that part of Classics is the piecing together of scattered fragments to give an idea of what the whole once was like and what it meant. It is largely ...
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3. Being There
Mary Beard and John Henderson
in Classics: A Very Short Introduction
‘Being There’ experience Classics in the light of what previous generations have said, thought, and written about the ancient world. But the differences lie, even more strikingly, in the ...
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3. Jesus in his 1st-century context
Richard Bauckham
in Jesus: A Very Short Introduction
What do the Gospel accounts tell us about ‘Jesus in his 1st-century context ’? Jewish Palestine is under the rule of the Roman Empire. Whilst Roman rule is fairly tolerant of local customs ...
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3. The Early Dynastic period, 2900–2334 bce
Amanda H. Podany
in The Ancient Near East: A Very Short Introduction
‘The Early Dynastic period, 2900–2334 bce’ shows how the birth of the long-lasting tradition of hereditary kingship came from Mesopotamia and examines what we have learnt about this period ...
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7. The Old Babylonian period, 2004–1595 bce
Amanda H. Podany
in The Ancient Near East: A Very Short Introduction
‘The Old Babylonian period, 2004–1595 bce’ looks at a kingdom that dominated a large area of land in what is now Iraq and part of Syria, the kingdom of Hammurabi of Babylon. Hammurabi of ...
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2. The beginning of cities, 3600–2900 bce
Amanda H. Podany
in The Ancient Near East: A Very Short Introduction
‘The beginning of cities, 3600–2900 bce’ starts this history of the ancient Near East by looking at the beginning of the period of prosperity in Mesopotamia, focusing in particular on the ...
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The Dead Sea Scrolls: A Very Short Introduction (2nd edn)
Timothy H. Lim
The Dead Sea Scrolls: A Very Short introduction discusses the cultural significance of the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls and the religious, political, and legal ...
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Jewish sectarianism in the Second Temple period
Timothy H. Lim
in The Dead Sea Scrolls: A Very Short Introduction (2nd edn)
‘Jewish sectarianism in the Second Temple period’ contextualizes the Dead Sea Scrolls within the history of Second Temple Judaism and discusses the origins and history of the Qumran ...
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5. Festivity, tourism, and souvenirs
Ian Reader
in Pilgrimage: A Very Short Introduction
‘Festivity, tourism, and souvenirs’ describes the elements that are often woven into pilgrimage structures: celebration, entertainment, holidays, markets, and shopping. The scope ...
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Ancient Assyria: A Very Short Introduction
Karen Radner
Assyria was one of the most influential kingdoms of the Ancient Near East. Ancient Assyria: A Very Short Introduction sketches the history of Assyria from city state to empire, from the ...
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2. Assyrian places
Karen Radner
in Ancient Assyria: A Very Short Introduction
‘Assyrian places’ considers the exploration of key sites that provide insight into Assyria’s rediscovery since the mid-19th century. Firstly, it looks at the city where everything ...
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3. Assyrians at home
Karen Radner
in Ancient Assyria: A Very Short Introduction
‘Assyrians at home’ describes the great variety of living conditions and human experiences in the Assyrian Empire in the 7th century, the period when the source material is most numerous ...
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