Thebes

Author: Paul Cartledge
Publisher: Abrams
ISBN: 1468316079
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 288

Book Description
The riveting, definitive account of the ancient Greek city of Thebes, by the acclaimed author of The Spartans—now in paperback Among the extensive writing available about the history of ancient Greece, there is precious little about the city-state of Thebes. At one point the most powerful city in ancient Greece, Thebes has been long overshadowed by its better-known rivals, Athens and Sparta. In Thebes: The Forgotten City of Ancient Greece, acclaimed classicist and historian Paul Cartledge brings the city vividly to life and argues that it is central to our understanding of the ancient Greeks’ achievements—whether politically or culturally—and thus to the wider politico-cultural traditions of western Europe, the Americas, and indeed the world. From its role as an ancient political power, to its destruction at the hands of Alexander the Great as punishment for a failed revolt, to its eventual restoration by Alexander’s successor, Cartledge deftly chronicles the rise and fall of the ancient city. He recounts the history with deep clarity and mastery for the subject and makes clear both the di?erences and the interconnections between the Thebes of myth and the Thebes of history. Written in clear prose and illustrated with images in two color inserts, Thebes is a gripping read for students of ancient history and those looking to experience the real city behind the myths of Cadmus, Hercules, and Oedipus.

Thebes

Author: Nicholas Rockwell
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317218280
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 194

Book Description
Thebes offers a scholarly survey of the history and archaeology of the city, from 1600 BCE – 476 CE. Discussions of major developments in politics, war, society and culture form the basis of a chronological examination of one of Greece’s most powerful and dynamic cities. By taking a broad view, the book’s account speaks to larger trends in the ancient Mediterranean world while also demonstrating how Thebes was unique in its ancient context. It provides an up-to-date examination of all available information: topographic, demographic, numismatic, epigraphic, archaeological and textual discussions provide the most complete, current picture of ancient Thebes and illustrate the value of an interdisciplinary approach.

The Medieval Tradition of Thebes

Author: Dominique Battles
Publisher: Psychology Press
ISBN: 041596993X
Category : Eteocles (Greek mythology)
Languages : en
Pages : 256

Book Description
The first comprehensive study of the classical legend of Thebes in the Middle Ages.

Thebes at War

Author: Naguib Mahfouz
Publisher: Anchor
ISBN: 0307429679
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 258

Book Description
Known and loved throughout Egypt as a work that celebrates the national character, Nobel laureate Naguib Mahfouz’s Thebes at War tells of a high point in Egyptian history–ancient Egypt’s defeat of Asiatic foreigners who had dominated northern Egypt for two hundred years. With a visit from a court official and a provocative insult, the southern pharaoh’s long simmering resentment boils over, leading him to commit himself and his heirs to an epic struggle for the throne. Filled with the grand clash of armies, staggering defeats, daring escapes, and glorious victories, and written at a time when Egypt was again under the sway of foreign powers, Thebes at War is a resounding call to remember Egypt’s long and noble history.

Hundred-Gated Thebes

Author: P.W. Pestman
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004427813
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 299

Book Description
The choachytes (or morticians) of the ancient Egyptian city of Thebes provided a rich documentation linking the city of the living on one side of the Nile with the city of the dead on the other. The family archives of these choachytes deal to a large part with their professional role in serving the dead entrusted to their care, but they are also virtually our only source of information about the city of Thebes, whose physical remains were ruthlessly obliterated in the nineteenth century. This material constitute one end of a chain which links the temple statues of Amun's servants and descriptions of their houses on the one hand with their tombs and their tomb inventories on the other, allowing us to identify individual choachytes from their papers. The papyrological finds can thus provide an exact dating for objects that might otherwise be only dated to within several centuries, while the objects themselves and the tomb architecture provide a factual dimension to historical and legal documents which might otherwise remain flat and arid. It was in order to draw attention to the richness of all the constituent parts of this documentation that a number of scholars were invited to present their views on Graeco-Roman Thebes at a colloqium held from 9 to 11 September 1992 in Leiden, the Netherlands. The survey papers and communications presented at this colloqium are published here.

The Sacred Band

Author: James Romm
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1501198017
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 320

Book Description
The thrilling look into the last decades of ancient Greek freedom leading up to Alexander the Great's destruction of Thebes--and the saga of the greatest military corps of the age, the Theban Sacred Band.

Return to Thebes

Author: Allen Drury
Publisher: WordFire +ORM
ISBN: 161475280X
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 438

Book Description
From a Pulitzer Prize–winning author, a political thriller set during the religious revolts surrounding Tutankhamun’srise to power in Egypt. The spectacular conclusion to the Egyptian epic begun in A God Against the Gods. After his brother’s assassination, a new pharaoh must take the throne and battle the corrupt and violent priesthood. His name is TUTANKHAMUN. Pulitzer Prize–winning author Allen Drury paints a vivid, dramatic picture of the most tumultuous times in one of the greatest empires in human history. Following the murder of Akhenaten and the beautiful Nefertiti and the religious uproar that threatens to tear Egypt apart, the pharaoh has to defy the gods in order to rule his people. A masterly recreation of ancient Egypt with all its pomp, glory, politics, and treachery, Return to Thebes brings legendary titans of history to life, with all their tragic—and all too human—flaws.

Myth, Literature, and the Creation of the Topography of Thebes

Author: Daniel W. Berman
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107077362
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 201

Book Description
This book shows how the legendary past of Greek Thebes influenced the development of the city's landscape from the time of the oral epics to the Roman period. It will appeal to readers with interests in the relationships between Greek myth, ancient topography and archaeology, and the development of urban space.

The Burial at Thebes

Author: Sophocles
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
ISBN: 1466855487
Category : Drama
Languages : en
Pages : 92

Book Description
Sophocles' play, first staged in the fifth century B.C., stands as a timely exploration of the conflict between those who affirm the individual's human rights and those who must protect the state's security. During the War of the Seven Against Thebes, Antigone, the daughter of Oedipus, learns that her brothers have killed each other, having been forced onto opposing sides of the battle. When Creon, king of Thebes, grants burial of one but not the "treacherous" other, Antigone defies his order, believing it her duty to bury all of her close kin. Enraged, Creon condemns her to death, and his soldiers wall her up in a tomb. While Creon eventually agrees to Antigone's release, it is too late: She takes her own life, initiating a tragic repetition of events in her family's history. In this outstanding new translation, commissioned by Ireland's renowned Abbey Theatre to commemorate its centenary, Seamus Heaney exposes the darkness and the humanity in Sophocles' masterpiece, and inks it with his own modern and masterly touch.

Sacred Space and Sacred Function in Ancient Thebes

Author: Peter Dorman
Publisher: Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 220

Book Description
This volume presents a series of papers delivered at a two-day session of the Theban Workshop held at the British Museum in September 2003. Due to its political and religious prominence throughout much of pharaonic history, the region of ancient Thebes offers scholars a wealth of monuments whose physical remains and extant iconography may be combined with textual sources and archaeological finds in ways that elucidate the function of sacred space as initially conceived, and which also reveal adaptations to human need or shifts in cultural perception. The contributions herein address issues such as the architectural framing of religious ceremony, the implicit performative responses of officiants, the diachronic study of specific rites, the adaptation of sacred space to different uses through physical, representational, or textual alteration, and the development of ritual landscapes in ancient Thebes.