Exploring the various roles that Druids played in British and Gallic society during the first centuries B.C. and A.D.—not just as priests but as judges, healers, scientists, and power brokers—Aldhouse-Green argues that they were a highly complex, intellectual, and sophisticated group whose influence transcended religion and reached into the realms of secular power and politics.

A concise history of ancient Rome from the early Republic to the last Western Roman emperor, this accessible book covers politics and emperors, warfare and the army, culture, the rise of Christianity, and much more.

What was going on in Europe (a relatively minor peninsula in world terms) that enabled it by 1000 A.D. to become a driving global force? This sensational interdisciplinary work by a leading archaeologist reorients our understanding of Old Europe’s success, uncovering a set of complex factors that have gone unrecognized until now.

In this original book, an eminent historian explores how early Christian doctrine was determined by majority vote in church councils during the third to sixth centuries. Ramsey MacMullen brings the reader directly into council chambers, where rank and file bishops engage in debate, then vote to establish a single Christian orthodoxy.

In this book, MacMullen investigates the transition from paganism to Christianity between the fourth and eighth centuries. He reassesses the triumph of Christianity, contending that it was neither tidy nor quick, and he shows that the two religious systems were both vital during an interactive period that lasted far longer than historians have previously believed.

How did the early Christian church manage to win its dominant place in the Roman world? In his newest book, an eminent historian of ancient Rome examines this question from a secular—rather than an ecclesiastical—viewpoint.

Prominent historian Ramsay MacMullen here offers a new perspective on the decline and fall of Rome. MacMullen argues that a key factor in Rome’s fall was the steady loss of focus and control over government as its aims were thwarted for private gain by high-ranking bureaucrats and military leaders. Written in an informal and lively style, his book—the culmination of years of research and thoughtfu...

This is the first book to focus on the beliefs and practices common to all non-Christian religions of the Empire. After examining the successes of the more dynamic cults and the effects on paganism of the conversion of the Constantine, MacMullen concludes that the conversion of the Empire to Christianity was not as inevitable and complete as it has seemed up until now.

Were the ancient Olympic games anything like the competitions we know today? This unique guide transports us to the games of 388 B.C., bringing to life the sights and sounds, the athletes and attendees, the sporting and religious events, and much, much more.

In this remarkable dual biography of the two great lovers of antiquity, acclaimed classical historian Adrian Goldsworthy goes beyond myth and romance to create a nuanced and historically acute portrayal of his subjects, set against the political backdrop of their time. A history of lives lived intensely at a time when the world was changing profoundly, the book takes readers on a journey that cros...

Crushed by the Romans in the first century A.D., the ancient Druids of Britain left almost no reliable evidence behind. This captivating book by a world expert examines what is known of the Druids, then explores how and why they have been repeatedly reinvented to play varying roles in English, Scottish, and Welsh history.

In this compact yet comprehensive history of ancient Greece, Thomas R. Martin brings alive Greek civilization from its Stone Age roots to the fourth century B.C.  Focusing on the development of the Greek city-state and the society, culture, and architecture of Athens in its Golden Age, Martin integrates political, military, social, and cultural history in a book that will appeal to students a...

With illustrations of more than 170 fascinating objects, this groundbreaking exploration of the origins of Egyptian art and motifs includes rare and ancient images of people, animals, and landscapes.

This colorful book traces the entire thousand-year history of Greek oracles and examines why they continued to be consulted by Greek men and women at every level of society until the Christian abolition of paganism in A.D. 395.

This engaging book is the first to gather together the hundreds of colorful legends told in cultures across the globe about Alexander the Great, conqueror of the ancient world. Richard Stoneman shows how the mythical exploits of Alexander have resonated for Christians, Jews, and Muslims, and in eastern and western cultures, for more than 2000 years.

Alexander the Great is remembered as an unparalleled conqueror, but this provocative biography contends that the achievements of his colorful father, Philip II of Macedonia, were just as great. A brilliant military and political strategist, a canny diplomat, and a king par excellence, Philip entirely changed the course of Greek history.

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