Dimensions
144 x 222 x 29mm
The Ancient Guide to Modern Life reveals the endless parallels between the ancient and modern worlds. Whether it's the ostentatious riches of David Beckham or those of Trimalchio, the nouveau riche freedman in Petronius's comic novel, The Satyricon; the popular support for the Emperor Titus in 79CE or President Obama in 2009; the conflict between Greece and Persia in the 5th century BCE, or the conflicts that still colour Western relations with the Middle East in the 21st century, our lives are reflected and illuminated by the ancient world. The Greeks and Romans lived in unimaginably harsh conditions. Yet they thrived - they created successful political models, built empires, created poetry and art, and questioned the very nature of man's place in the world. It's time for us to re-examine the ancient world. It doesn't belong in dusty classrooms and dog-eared textbooks - it belongs in our lives, teaching us how to live here, now. The inhabitants of the ancient world produced work which still has a huge impact on almost every part of our lives today - politics, art, philosophy - our world would be nothing without their contribution, and our lives are infinitely richer if we take the time to look at what they have given us. History, for the ancients, had a didactic purpose - by reading it, one didn't simply learn facts, one learned about humanity. The Ancient Guide to Modern Life reminds us of our past, and so throws light on our future.
