Rome and the Mediterranean Vol. 1
The Histories
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Narrated by:
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Charlton Griffin
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By:
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Polybius
About this listen
Tragically, much of The Histories has been lost. But what remains is singularly dramatic and crucially important. It was Polybius who first made Rome's struggle with Hannibal comprehensible to scholars and later generations of historians. He is still our primary source for information about Hannibal and the events of the first half of the second century B.C. Livy used him as a source, as did Plutarch. And although much is missing, much remains: a review of the First Punic War, a detailed description of the Second Punic War, comparisons of the characters of Scipio and Hannibal, comparisons of the Greek phalanx to the Roman legion, a study of the Roman constitution, the dazzling intrigues of the Hellenistic monarchies, and much more.
Volume 1 begins with a review of events leading up to Hannibal's invasion of Italy. The amazing account of Hannibal's crossing of the Alps is one of the highlights of this volume. Volume 1 ends with Hannibal...
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Ibn Khaldun (1332-1406) is generally regarded as the greatest intellectual ever to have appeared in the Arab world - a genius who ranks as one of the world's great minds. Yet the author of the Muqaddima, the most important study of history ever produced in the Islamic world, is not as well known as he should be, and his ideas are widely misunderstood. In this groundbreaking intellectual biography, Robert Irwin provides an engaging and authoritative account of Ibn Khaldun's extraordinary life, times, writings, and ideas.
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Issues with accuracy, pronounciation
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The Peloponnesian War
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- By: Captivating Captivating History
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- Length: 3 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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If you want to discover the captivating history of the Peloponnesian War, then pay attention. The Peloponnesian War enveloped the entire Greek world, from Syracuse on the island of Sicily to the shores of western Turkey. It ravaged the Greek population and produced great hardships, and it led to the eventual downfall of the Athenian Empire and the rise of the Spartan Empire.
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factually incorrect
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Empires of Trust
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In Empires of Trust, Professor Thomas F. Madden explores surprising parallels between the Roman and American republics. By making friends of enemies and demonstrating a commitment to fairness, the two republics - both "reluctant" yet unquestioned super-powers - built empires based on trust. Madden also includes vital lessons from the Roman Republic's 100-year struggle with "terrorism."
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Bork, Reagan, and Honest of Rome
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Bernard Lewis is recognized around the globe as one of the leading authorities on Islam. Hailed as "the world's foremost Islamic scholar" (Wall Street Journal), as "a towering figure among experts on the culture and religion of the Muslim world" (Baltimore Sun), and as "the doyen of Middle Eastern studies" (New York Times), Lewis is nothing less than a national treasure, a trusted voice that politicians, journalists, historians, and the general public have all turned to for insight into the Middle East.
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Fifty Years Of Good Stuff
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In SPQR, world-renowned classicist Mary Beard narrates the unprecedented rise of a civilization that even 2,000 years later still shapes many of our most fundamental assumptions about power, citizenship, responsibility, political violence, empire, luxury, and beauty.
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Shallow and unsatisfying
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If you want to discover the captivating history of Sparta, then pay attention...Sparta is one of the first names that comes to mind when we think about the ancient world. And this is for good reason. After its founding sometime in the 10th century BCE, Sparta soon rose to be one of the most powerful city-states in not only the Greek but the entire ancient world.
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This is Sparta!!!!!!!! and everything else too.
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The Fall of the Roman Empire
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The death of the Roman Empire is one of the perennial mysteries of world history. Now, in this groundbreaking book, Peter Heather proposes a stunning new solution: Centuries of imperialism turned the neighbors Rome called barbarians into an enemy capable of dismantling an Empire that had dominated their lives for so long. A leading authority on the late Roman Empire and on the barbarians, Heather relates the extraordinary story of how Europe's barbarians, transformed by centuries of contact with Rome on every possible level, eventually pulled the empire apart.
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A New HIstory but not a better history
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Founded by Augustus around 27 BC, the elite Praetorian Guard was tasked with the protection of the emperor and his family. As the centuries unfolded, however, Praetorian soldiers served not only as protectors and enforcers but also as powerful political players. Fiercely loyal to some emperors, they vied with others and ruthlessly toppled those who displeased them, including Caligula, Nero, Pertinax, and many more. Guy de la Bédoyère provides a compelling first full narrative history of the Praetorians.
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Buy it
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Socrates
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Acclaimed historian and best-selling author Paul Johnson’s books have been translated into dozens of languages. In Socrates: A Man for Our Times, Johnson draws from little-known resources to construct a fascinating account of one of history’s greatest thinkers. Socrates transcended class limitations in Athens during the fifth century B.C. to develop ideas that still shape the way we think about the human body and soul, including the workings of the human mind.
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Plat-Soc-Paul
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Infinitesimal
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On August 10, 1632, five men in flowing black robes convened in a somber Roman palazzo to pass judgment on a deceptively simple proposition: that a continuous line is composed of distinct and infinitely tiny parts. With the stroke of a pen the Jesuit fathers banned the doctrine of infinitesimals, announcing that it could never be taught or even mentioned. The concept was deemed dangerous and subversive, a threat to the belief that the world was an orderly place, governed by a strict and unchanging set of rules.
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An intriguing and underappreciated bit of history
- By Marino on 09-22-14
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Not that translation mentioned in Amazon reviews
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In the pantheon of ancient men of letters, none hold a more venerated position than the Roman historian, Tacitus, venerated alike for the accuracy of his chronicles as well as for the superiority of his style. He was a writer of unexcelled genius and consummate skill. But his work fell into oblivion not long after his death, and has come down to us based on the text of a single tattered manuscript from the Middle Ages.
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What listeners say about Rome and the Mediterranean Vol. 1
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Aaron J. West
- 04-21-17
tedious but interesting
This works deserves it's reputation as a second rate work of history from antiquity. While the events described are interesting and important, the narrative style is rather tedious and boring. Not for the faint of heart.
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- Stephen Hawkins
- 02-22-20
Great book
The narrator and content are great. No chapter titles so minus a point for that.
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- Magdiel
- 11-25-24
Charlton Griffin is my favorite reader!
The only thing I have against this work is that they did not include the Mercenary War in Carthage narrated in the last part of Book 1. Other than that, it is all good!
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Overall
- Dylan
- 01-24-10
You have to know what your are getting into
I read some reviews that complained this was boring. I quite enjoyed it. Polybius is a bit stuffy at times, but the ancient writers often seem so to the modern ear. The people of the past seem to write in long complicated sentences compared to the way we write today. The names of places and people are foreign to us and it can be hard to follow especially if this is where you decided to start your study of the Punic wars or the ancient world. If you do have a little bit of a background in the subject, I think it is much more enjoyable, although listening to it is no substitute for serious study.
Obviously a Greek accent would probably be more correct, but I always imagine this sort of thing read with a haughty British accent, so I thought the narration was perfect.
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12 people found this helpful
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- Brinton
- 07-16-17
great read
have read multiple times. does a fantastic job of shedding light on the past. I would recommend this book to any history lover
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2 people found this helpful
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- Joe
- 05-11-12
History
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
Only serious history buffs need listen because too much has been lost.
Who was your favorite character and why?
N/A
Have you listened to any of Charlton Griffin’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
Charlton Griffin is excellent, and the audio quality is excellent. The story is a bit disjointed, but that's because most of the books have been lost.
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
The fact that so much knowledge has been lost.
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4 people found this helpful
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- Lowball
- 06-25-19
Makes Early Roman History Come Alive
I am a great fan of early Roman historians. Finding one I hadn't heard of is always a thrill. Polybius emphasizes more of the military aspects as the warring tribes that inhabited Italy coalesced into a unified crucible of the Roman Empire, I'm onto the second volume and enjoying this fresh perspective on an ancient empire,
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2 people found this helpful
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- Blacula
- 08-23-21
Brilliant Work Narrated Brilliantly
This was an absolutely wonderful rendition of Polybius' Histories. The text was the definitive resource on the Punic Wars, and in my opinion this version, narrated by Charlton Griffin, is the definitive audio book.
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- Jeff
- 10-24-14
A Tragedy So much is Missing!!
Boy was this a treat! As noted, the title is misleading, rather than being a general history of the Mediteranean, this book actually concerns the events that brought the Roman Republic to its zenith--the struggle and eventual triumph of Rome over Cartharge. This work is difficult to follow without more background information, I recommend the listener first try a general introduction to Roman history, such as The History of The Roman Empire, (one of The great Courses), which also happens draws heavlily upon Polybius. With a little more info this book becomes a fantastic listen!
Polybius recounts events from the aftermath of Alexander's conquests to the end of the Punic Wars in a style that is unmistakably modern. Polybius does tend to ramble and go off and tangents, but his analysis is based on well reasoned, logical analysis. He paints a believable picture of the Mediteranean world, free of warring Olympian gods,flying snakes, racial generalizations, tabloid gossip and so many other quirks present in the works of other ancient historians. Better yet,Polybius makes things fun by sprinkling the narrative with snarky comments about the work of other historians and poignant analysis of what history is and is not. According to Polybius, the true historian reports on the evidence he has, he doen't try to psycho-analyze historical figures, put words in their mouths or paint them as caricatures. Whats more, the true historian actually visits the historical sites in question to get a feel for the terrain and evaluate which of several accounts of events was actually feasible.If historians today followed his advice, I think us history buffs would be a lot better for it.
The work really shines in its descriptions of the campaigns and final defeat of Hannibal. One can almost feel the awesome fear his rag-tag international army must have inspired: naked Celts decked out in gold chains, swarthy Carthaginians, seasoned African Cavalrymen, Indian elephant riders and Spanish conscripts. Its amazing the man held them together as long as he did. One other treat was the account of Archamedies using mathematical and scientific know-how to fend off waves of Roman invaders.
Polybius succeeds in coming across as impartial, I finished the book feeling more admiration for Hannibal than for Scipio, which is an amazing feat as Polybius was basically an employee of the Scipio family.
Charlton Griffin is a master narrator, If i could nitpick though, sometimes he comes across as unecessarily evil-sounding when the text doesn't require it.
Sadly, while part one of this audiobook is more or less a seamless narrative, part two resembles the leftovers of a newspaper after it was used to light a beach bonfire. While many interesting tidbits do make part two worth listening to, its really quite furstrating to get involved in the narrative only to find the next four chapters are missing.
A real qualm I had with the book was the total lack of any notes to help modern readers get their bearings. I wish footnotes had been inserted into the text at critcal points, I had no idea where most of the places or barbarian tribes were located and a short (" note, modern day Slovenia") would have been great help . In addition, the essay at the begining was far too critical and made me want to not listen to the book, they should have put it at the end or read one that was more flattering of the work.
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7 people found this helpful
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- Jim Davis
- 06-13-21
Great reading of Polybius
Charlton Griffin gives another great reading of ancient history. Polybius is required reading for a degree in history but also this will help you to understand why the United States is a republic and not a radical democracy. Ancient historians tend to be biased but Polybius is less biased than others even though he was a captive forced into servitude. Avoid modern revisionists by reading the same sources they do and form your own opinions about history. Translations are interpretations. Feelings are not facts.
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1 person found this helpful