Mary Beard

"Superbly acute and unashamedly complex."—The Telegraph "Rich and provocative."—Times Literary Supplement "An engaging exploration."—The New Yorker "The phenomenal Ms. Beard has written another cracking book, one of her best."—The Independent What made the Romans laugh? Was ancient Rome a carnival, filled with practical jokes and hearty chuckles? Or was it a carefully regulated culture in which the uncontrollable excess of...

What does the face of power look like? Who gets commemorated in art and why? And how do we react to statues of politicians we deplore? In this book, against a background of today's 'sculpture wars', Mary Beard tells the story of how for more than two millennia, portraits of the rich, powerful, and famous in the western world have...

What does the face of power look like? Who gets commemorated in art and why? And how do we react to statues of politicians we deplore? In this book—against a background of today's 'sculpture wars'—Mary Beard tells the story of how for more than two millennia portraits of the rich, powerful, and famous in the western world have been shaped...

'The reigning Queen of Classics' - Spectator 'Mary Beard is the best in the business' - Dan Snow 'Excellent' - Guardian 'Enthralling' - Sunday Times Britain's most famous classicist asks: what are civilisations? Central to this huge question are the ways in which we have depicted the human and the divine from prehistory to the present day. Across such iconic...

Divine women in many guises have featured in every world faith from deep history until the present day, inspiring people and cultures across the world. In a cross-cultural and global approach, this book discusses Eve alongside Inanna, Radha, and Aphrodite in the context of sex and desire. In the chapter on evil, witches and Hecate are compared with other deities,...

It followed every major military victory in ancient Rome: the successful general drove through the streets to the temple of Jupiter on the Capitoline Hill; behind him streamed his raucous soldiers; in front were his most glamorous prisoners, as well as the booty he'd captured, from enemy ships and precious statues to plants and animals from the conquered territory. Occasionally...

This well-established textbook outlines the key factors that every student must assess for a proper understanding of the period of the Late Roman Republic— from the attitudes of the aristocracy and the role of state religion to the function of political institutions. Rome in the Late Republic is an essential book for the beginner, and it also has much to...