Ancient Philosophy

Explore la cautivadora historia y mitología de tres civilizaciones antiguas.

How to Have Willpower brings together two profound ancient meditations on how to overcome pressures that encourage us to act against our own best interests—Plutarch's essay On Dysopia or How to Resist Pressure and Prudentius's poetic allegory Psychomachia or How to Slay Your Demons. Challenging the idea that humans are helpless victims of vice, these works—introduced and presented in vivid, accessible new prose translations by Michael Fontaine—emphasize the power of personal choice and the possibility of personal growth, as they offer insights and practical advice about resisting temptation.

Meditations is a series of personal writings by Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor from AD 161 to 180, recording his private notes to himself and ideas on Stoic philosophy. Marcus Aurelius wrote the 12 books of the Meditations in Koine, Greece as a source for his own guidance and self-improvement.

In The Life of Cicero, Plutarch details the priceless contributions Cicero made to Roman society. He translated the works of Greek philosophers into Latin, gained acclaim as an orator and lawyer, and was elected to office. Politics ultimately got the better of him, however, and his life ended in assassination while in exile. Cicero’s ideas live on through his body of work, but to learn about the man himself, Plutarch’s biography is an excellent starting point.

The world hasn’t met with destruction on any of the long list of predicted doomsday dates, but the possibility may have got you thinking: has science created more problems than it has solved? What is the point of science at all? Geoffrey Gorham considers these questions and explores the social and ethical implications of science by linking them to issues facing scientists today: human extinction, extraterrestrial intelligence, space colonisation, and more.

In the tradition of Daniel Boorstin, the co-founder of Omni delivers an original work of history that demonstrates why modern science rests on a foundation built by ancient and medieval non-European societies. "If you think that modern science is rooted in the golden age of Greece, you owe it to yourself to [hear this] book," says Library Journal.

In Lessons in Stoicism, philosopher John Sellars weaves together the key ideas of the three great Roman Stoics - Seneca, Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius - with snapshots of their fascinating lives, to show us how their ideas can help us today. In vivid prose, Sellars shows how the works of these three Stoics have inspired people ever since, speaking as they do to some of the perennial issues that face anyone trying to navigate their way through life.

The acrid stench of asphalt and sulfur singes the hairs of people’s nostrils, and when the blustering winds subside, the potent miasma lingers in the air. To the untrained eye, the La Brea Tar Pits seem to be nothing more than simply pools of thick, viscous black sludge...The pit’s contents have spelled the doom for a countless number of creatures both large and small, from legions of insects to mighty mastodons, mammoths, and snarling saber-toothed cats from the Pleistocene Era. La Brea Tar Pits are considered by many scientists to be among the greatest finds in modern history.

If you want to discover the captivating history of Spartacus, then pay attention.... Almost 2,100 years ago, a gladiator walked out of the arena. And he never walked back into it. Spartacus, a Thracian whose early life is hidden in the mists of history, is one of the most infamous figures of antiquity. Perhaps the most famous gladiator of all, parts of Spartacus’ story inspired elements of the award-winning film Gladiator (2000).

The Roman Republic, and later the Roman Empire, was an unusual conqueror because it would absorb and assimilate elements of the cultures it dominated. A standing practice was to allow the defeated to continue practicing their culture and religion so long as they paid their taxes on time. Such a procedure was part of why Christianity would seep into the Roman Empire around the 1st century CE, for example. For the Etruscans, this meant they influenced aspects of Roman civilization, one of the most powerful cultures in the history of the Western world.

If you want to discover the captivating history of Mercia, then pay attention...The Kingdom of Mercia lasted for more than 500 years. Such a long period of time brought change to all aspects of Mercian life, and it is the role of history and this audiobook to follow that change through the centuries. But it wasn’t just the kings and queens that changed. The events of the period resonated within social and cultural life, religious beliefs, artistic expression, and trade. Everything evolved under the patronage of Mercia.

The Babylonian influence upon its successors and even modern society knows no bounds. One of the leading civilizations of Mesopotamia, the Babylonians provided the fundamentals of mathematics, agriculture, architecture, metallurgy, and other influential and necessary fields required to develop other great civilizations such as the Greeks, Romans, and even contemporary nations like China and the US. Without them, no neoteric world could exist.

While medicine and science have obviously changed enormously since the classical world, and some Greco-Roman beliefs about diet now appear hilariously off the mark, How to Eat reveals that much of their advice still resonates—and all of it is fascinating.

Could the wisdom of ancient Stoics be your key to mastering modern challenges? Discover the power of Stoicism in "A Stoic Guidebook for Recovery", an innovative addition to addiction and recovery books. This guide marries the core principles of Stoic philosophy - being the best version of oneself under all circumstances - with the journey to recovery from addiction. With each enlightening chapter derived from Epictetus's Enchiridion, you'll delve into Stoicism's transformational teachings and their practical applications in overcoming addiction.

Marcus Aurelius's timeless insights into human behaviour show that 2000 years on, not much has changed in the workplace and we could all do well if we focus on what we can control and worry less about things we can't. As head of the Roman empire, he encountered his fair share of difficult people, frustrating situations and political infighting. In Meditations, Marcus Aurelius encouraged us to accept other people's inevitable shortcomings, make the most of our short life, resist the temptations of fame and flattery and, when things get too much, take a cosmic perspective of our existence.

In exploring how the Christian religion became such a defining feature of the European landscape, and how a small sect of isolated congregations was transformed into a mass movement centrally directed from Rome, Heather shows how Christendom constantly battled against both so-called 'heresies' and other forms of belief. From the crisis that followed the collapse of the Roman Empire, which left the religion teetering on the edge of extinction, to the astonishing revolution in which the Papacy emerged as the head of a vast international corporation.

We all overthink. Some nights, you lay wide awake in bed and just can’t seem to switch your brain off. Don’t despair and think there is nothing you can do from here. This audiobook was written specifically to solve your overthinking problem. To begin with, we will explore the causes. Then we will show exactly how you can upgrade your thinking. Now, you could stay in bed all day watching TV, and that's just fine. But that's a below-average life, and it's not going to make you happy; you have to dare to be great! Begin now with this three-book collection!

The wisdom of Sun Tzu, narrated by Peter Berkrot, Marlon Braccia, and Mike Vendetti. Thought to have been written over 3m000 years ago, this missive has been included as a course of study by the US Marine Corps and military academies. These precepts have destroyed nations and built business empires. An executive, a general, a congressman, a businessperson - or anybody just wanting to get ahead - should listen to this at least once a month. This is a three-audiobook set, with each version the complete audiobook but with a separate narrator.

Aristotle was an extraordinary thinker, perhaps the greatest in history. Yet he was preoccupied by an ordinary question: how to be happy. His deepest belief was that we can all be happy in a meaningful, sustained way - and he led by example. In this handbook to his timeless teachings, Professor Edith Hall shows how ancient thinking is precisely what we need today, even if you don’t know your Odyssey from your Iliad.

The culture and events of Greece were so influential they have a significant effect on modern-day people all over the world. The ancient Greeks gave birth to democracy, a political system frequently used and considered by some as the best form of government. Great minds from Greece also made incredible and vital discoveries such as the water mill, the basics of geometry and using medicine to cure illness. The ancient Greek philosophers laid the groundwork for a whole new field of thought and study.