Ancient Philosophy

In the winelands of 16th-century Germany, Obsopoeus witnessed the birth of a poisonous new culture of bingeing, hazing, peer pressure, and competitive drinking. Alarmed, and inspired by the Roman poet Ovid's Art of Love, he wrote The Art of Drinking (1536), a how-to manual for drinking with pleasure and discrimination. In How to Drink, Michael Fontaine offers the first proper English translation of Obsopoeus' text, rendering his poetry into spirited, contemporary prose and uncorking a forgotten classic that will appeal to drinkers of all kinds and (legal) ages.

In The Birth of Politics, Melissa Lane introduces the listener to the foundations of Western political thought, from the Greeks, who invented democracy, to the Romans, who created a republic and then transformed it into an empire. Tracing the origins of our political concepts from Socrates to Plutarch to Cicero, Lane reminds us that the birth of politics was a story as much of individuals as ideas.

This captivating history bundle includes The Roman Republic, The Roman Empire, and The Byzantine Empire.

Opium tells the extraordinary and at times harrowing tale of how we arrived at today's crisis, "mak[ing] timely and startling connections among painkillers, politics, finance, and society" (Laurence Bergreen). The story begins with the discovery of poppy artifacts in ancient Mesopotamia, and goes on to explore how Greek physicians and obscure chemists discovered opium's effects and refined its power, how colonial empires marketed it around the world, and eventually how international drug companies developed a range of powerful synthetic opioids that led to an addiction epidemic.

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 world's great philosophers have always wrestled with the crucial questions about human nature and the world we live in. A Short History of Philosophy takes you on an entertaining and informative journey through the landscape of western philosophy from Plato to Jean-Paul Sartre. Whether discussing the origins of metaphysics, the merits of idealism, or the questions raised by existentialism, Peter Gibson brings to life the ideas of these great thinkers and carefully explains their reasoning in straightforward, easy-to-understand language.

The Byzantine Empire was founded during the chaotic third century. It was the time when revolts and civil wars were common, and Roman emperors merely lasted for a year. Despite being one of the most captivating historical periods of all time, the Byzantine Empire is a lesser known one.

If you want to discover the captivating history of Sparta, then pay attention...Sparta is one of the first names that comes to mind when we think about the ancient world. And this is for good reason. After its founding sometime in the 10th century BCE, Sparta soon rose to be one of the most powerful city-states in not only the Greek but the entire ancient world.

Take a journey through the ancient history of the Jewish people, a proud and stubborn people who desired to retain their freedom and uniqueness. They fought for this ideal for centuries with various success, but then came the mighty Roman Empire. At first, the Romans were their allies, but they eventually conquered the Jewish state into their vast realm.

To imagine - to see that which is not there - is the startling ability that has fuelled human development and innovation through the centuries. As a species we stand alone in our remarkable capacity to refashion the world after the pictures in our minds. Traversing the realms of science, politics, religion, culture, philosophy and history, Felipe Fernández-Armesto reveals the thrilling and disquieting tales of our imaginative leaps - from the first Homo sapiens to the present day.

The idea that our homes can communicate professional as well as personal identities may seem as new as the work-from-home revolution. But it was second nature to the ancient Romans, for whom the home was in many ways the center of public and private life. Roman authors saw infinite practical and symbolic value in houses, and they have much to say about them. How to Make a Home presents some of the best Roman writings on houses—from buying and selling to designing and decorating.

Plato, Aristotle, Marcus Aurelius, and Cicero are some of the famous names whose wit and wisdom are included in this audiobook, "700 Quotations from Ancient Philosophy". This group of Greek philosophers, Roman Statesmen and Emperors is responsible for some of the world's best-known quotes, including "It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it." and "Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a harder battle.

This comprehensive collection introduces you to Greek mythology and will also captivate your attention and imagination, so you can relive the tales of the most fabulous Greek gods, goddesses, heroes, and monsters.

If you want to discover the captivating history of the Vandals, then keep reading...the Vandals didn't leave us any histories written by themselves. Thus, most of the ancient sources on their past were written by their enemies and adversaries, who didn't look too kindly on them. This is especially true for later historians who idealized ancient Rome and blamed the Vandals for its fall. But the question is, how much of it is true? This guide will try to give some voice to the voiceless Vandals.

Explore the captivating history of the Roman Empire. The Roman Empire was one of the most powerful forces the world has ever seen. But this isn’t just the story of conquest or the incredible system of institutions that made it possible. This is the story of the fascinating men and women who gave the empire its characteristic charm. This is also the story of the most important people and events between two crucial events: the rise of Augustus in the first century BC and the final sack of Rome in the late fifth century AD.

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.

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.

Are the Mayans still around? What is the importance of Chichen Itza’s discovery? How did this mighty civilization fall? If you want answers to these intriguing questions, then pay attention....

We live in a fast-paced world that has come to characterize the 21st century. We are bombarded with constant distractions, and silence has all but vanished from our daily schedule and practice. We are collectively exhausted, but we don’t really realize it. The exhaustion manifests in sicknesses we can’t identify, and if we can, it’s something we can’t pronounce. We batter ourselves against the daily onslaught that has become our lives.

The Kybalion is a book originally published in 1908 by "Three Initiates" that purports to convey the teachings of Hermes Trismegistus. A modern Hermetic tract, it has been widely influential in New Age circles since the 20th century. A central concept in the book is that there are "seven Hermetic principles, upon which the entire Hermetic philosophy is based".