Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero – these are the names history associates with the early Roman Empire. Yet, not a single one of these emperors was the blood son of his predecessor. In this captivating history, a prominent scholar of t...

This volume completes publication of the cuneiform documents of the Hellenistic period in the "Yale Babylonian Collection", begun by A. T. Clay in 1913. This long-awaited edition contains reproductions of 103 texts from the city of Uruk, dating to th...

As any reader of the "Symposium" knows, the ancient Greek philosopher Socrates conversed over lavish banquets, kept watch on who was eating too much fish, and imbibed liberally without ever getting drunk. In other words, James Davidson writes, he ref...

Mount Vesuvius, in what is now southern Italy, erupted in AD 79, spewing volcanic rock, clouds of fine ash, and deadly gases over surrounding towns and farms, burying every trace of their existence. In nearby Pompeii, nearly 2000 people died. Rain fa...

A vivid portrayal of life in Pompeii's sister city, this book includes a detailed description of the ancient Villa dei Papiri, on which the present Getty Museum in Malibu is modeled.