The Cambridge Dictionary of Classical Civilization

Description

The Cambridge Guide to Classical Civilization provides an authoritative survey of the classical world, combining the traditional strengths of classical subjects with new approaches examining the social and cultural features of the ancient Greek and Roman world. Ranging in time from post-Bronze Age Greece to the later Roman Empire, it looks not only at ancient Greece and Rome, but discusses those cultures with which Greeks and Romans exchanged information and culture (e.g. Phoenicians, Celts and Jews) and those remote peoples with whom they were in contact (e.g. Persia, China and India). It paints a vivid new picture of ancient life, exploring material realities such as dress and technology. It emphasises the transmission of classical learning and explores our debts to Greece and Rome. Highly-illustrated, with hundreds of entries by leading scholars, this Guide is a superb reference work and definitive companion for anyone with an interest in the ancient world.

Graham Shipley is Professor of Ancient History at the University of Leicester. His previous publications include A History of Samos, 800-188 BC (Clarendon, 1987) and The Greek World after Alexander, 323-30 BC (Routledge, 2000). He is the author of numerous articles on the ancient city and has made major contributions to the Laconia Survey volumes at the British School at Athens. He is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London. John Vanderspoel is Professor of Late Antiquity at the University of Calgary. He is the author of Themistius and the Imperial Court (University of Michigan Press, 1995) and numerous articles on Roman history and intellectual and religious developments in the imperial Roman period. He was the founding editor of The Ancient History Bulletin. David Mattingly is Professor of Roman Archaeology at the University of Leicester. He is author or editor of numerous books, including Tripoitania (Batsford, 1995), Life, Death and Entertainment in the Roman World (with David Potter, University of Michigan Press, 1999), Economies Beyond Agriculture in the Classical World (with John Salmon, Routledge, 2000) and An Atlas of Roman Britain (with Barri Jones, Oxbow, 2002). He is a Fellow of the British Academy and Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London. Lin Foxhall is Professor of Greek Archaeology and History at the University of Leicester. She is the editor of Thinking Men (with John Salmon, Routledge, 1998) and Money, Labour and Land (Routledge, 2002). She is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London.

'Like the OCD, The Cambridge Dictionary of Classical Civilization has literally dozens of marvellous entries, many of which are written by prominent experts in the field. No one will fail to encounter a new idea or new item of information in the work. Students, especially, will appreciate the efforts taken by the editors and contributors to make the analyses accessible and lively.' Bryn Mawr Classical Review 'The editors are to be congratulated on the balance they have achieved in the content between the traditional and the new ... there is a varied range of contributors, from the venerable, usual suspects, to the fresh, new voices. [It] will be indispensable to students at all levels - especially if paperback editions become available.' JRS 'Make no mistake about it: this work is highly recommended for all academic and larger public libraries.' Booklist 'Thirteen years in gestation, this work offers an authoritative summary of our current understanding of the ancients [...] An essential purchase for all academic libraries.' American Reference Books Annual 'Covering everything from debt (a trap for the poor) to homosexuality to papyrus, this worthy companion to the older and larger Oxford Classical Dictionary focuses on social, economic, and cultural issues of classical Greek city-states and the Roman Republic and Empire. Given the impressive number of printable illustrations, maps, and dynastic charts, this may even become the first choice for visually oriented students.' Library Journal