Charles Freeman

Covering more than four thousand years of ancient history, from the early Egyptians to the dawn of Byzantium, an illustrated introduction to the Mediterranean's three major civilizations examines their links and traces their influence up to the present day. UP.

Civilizations of the Ancient Mediterranean

Egypt, Greece, and Rome

Describes the first alliance of church and state in the fourth century, marked by the Roman emperor Constantine's conversion to Christianity, and how this decision irrevocably compromised the Roman empire's intellectual tradition of rationalism, paved the way toward a narrow religious orthodoxy, and aided the development of Christian anti-Semitism. Reprint. 17,500 first printing.

The Rise of Faith and the Fall of Reason

The Closing of the Western Mind

Relics were everywhere in medieval society. Saintly morsels such as bones, hair, teeth, blood, milk, and clothes, and items like the Crown of Thorns were thought to bring the believer closer to the saint, who might intercede with God on his or her behalf. This book presents an illustrated exploration of 1000 years of holy relics across Europe.

how relics shaped the history of Medieval Europe

Holy bones, holy dust

Heretics, Pagans, and the Dawn of the Monotheistic State

A.D. 381

The Horses of St. Marks

John Haywood

Paul Garwood

Judith Toms

The Historical Atlas of the Ancient World, planned with both the expert and amateur historian in mind, offers a fascinating and detailed guide to the history of humanity -- from the time of our earliest ancestors to the thriving civilizations of the fifth century B.C. Combining detailed maps of the shifting patterns of human settlement with a wealth of supporting narrative and insightful depictions of the past, the atlas presents an overview of the sprawling themes of history, from agricultural innovations to biblical kingdoms to the rise and fall of empires and states. With snapshot surveys and regional maps looking closely at the great events of each era, illuminating insights into less familiar and often overlooked cultures, and hard facts and expert interpretation of the past, the Historical Atlas of the Ancient World is an invaluable guide to anyone searching for the remains of the past. -- Thirty full-color maps trace the history of all parts of the world between 4,000,000 and 500 B.C., including civilizations and nomadic routes -- Contains detailed coverage of major political, military, social, and cultural developments, all fully cross-referenced and indexed -- Combines the functions of an historical atlas with those of an historical encyclopedia, allowing for quick and easy reference and sustained reading

Historical Atlas of the Ancient World, 4,000,000-500 BC

Tracing some two thousand years of history and culture, a historian provides a fresh, thought-provoking study of an ancient civilization that transformed the Western world, celebrating the Greeks and their legacy--poetry, drama, philosophy, mathematics, medicine, art, and more. Reprint.

The Foundation of the Western World

The Greek Achievement

A brilliant, fascinating portrait of the intellectual tradition of Greek writers and thinkers during the Age of Rome. In 146 BC, Greece yielded to the military might of the Roman Republic; sixty years later, when Athens and other Greek city-states rebelled against Rome, the Roman general Lucius Cornelius Sulla destroyed the city of Socrates and Plato, laying waste to the famous Academy where Aristotle had studied. However, the traditions of Greek cultural life continued to flourish during the centuries of Roman rule that followed—in the lives and work of a distinguished array of philosophers, doctors, scientists, geographers, and theologians. Charles Freeman's accounts of such luminaries as the physician Galen, the geographer Ptolemy, and the philosopher Plotinus are interwoven with contextual "interludes" that showcase a sequence of unjustly neglected and richly influential lives. A cultural history on an epic scale, The Children of Athena presents the story of a rich and vibrant tradition of Greek intellectual inquiry across a period of more than five hundred years, from the second century BC to the start of the fifth century AD.

Greek Intellectuals in the Age of Rome: 150 BC-400 AD

The Children of Athena

"An extraordinary book. Buy it, read it, treasure it" Sunday Times "Porridge meets Escape to Victory. A witty, moving and wholly original read" Daily Mirror Zebedee, Teddy, Bunny, Nigel, Scouse, Raph, Bumpy, Wayne, Carl, Paddy and Rizler. Eleven men - a football team. This team has the usual sprinkling of talent, but is otherwise unique. Nine of these players have been convicted of murder and are serving life-sentences in HMP Kingston, the other two, their warders. Chris Hulme spent the 1997-98 season with the Kingston Arrows - watching every game, talking to them about their lives on the inside and out and supporting them in their attempt to win the league for the first time in ten years of trying. His resulting account of an ordinary game played by extraordinary men whose lives have been transformed by one horrific act of violence is both moving and remarkable. "One of the books of the summer" Evening Standard"Electrifying a riveting account of what football can mean when you, quite literally have nothing else to live for" Pete Davies"A moving, enthralling and extraordinary book" Maxim

The Rise of the Nazis

A monumental and exhilarating history of European thought, from the fall of Rome in the fifth century AD to the Scientific Revolution thirteen centuries later. The Awakening traces the recovery and refashioning of Europe's classical heritage from the ruins of the Roman Empire. The process of preservation of surviving texts, fragile at first, was strengthened under the Christian empire founded by Charlemagne in the eighth century; later, during the High Middle Ages, universities were founded and the study of philosophy was revived. Renewed interest in ancient Greek and Roman thought provided the intellectual impetus for the Renaissance of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, whose ideas - aesthetic, political and scientific - were disseminated across Europe by the invention of the printing press. Equally momentous was Europe's encounter with the New World, and the resulting maritime supremacy which conferred global reach on Europe's merchants and colonists. Vivid in detail and informed by the latest scholarship, The Awakening is powered not by the fate of kings or the clash of arms but by deeper currents of thought, inquiry and discovery, which first recover and then surpass the achievements of classical antiquity, and lead the West to the threshold of the Age of Reason. Charles Freeman takes the reader on an enthralling journey, and provides us with a vital key to understanding the world we live in today. Praise for The Awakening: 'The subject of this stimulating and erudite book is nothing less than the development of the Western mind from the demise of classical civilisation in the fifth century AD, through the Middle Ages and Renaissance, to the Scientific Revolution of the seventeenth century. The Awakening is a work of serious scholarship by an author who has clearly been everywhere, seen everything and read voraciously. But it is also a work written with great elan and, given its scope, undertaken with considerable courage... An arrestingly clear design, combined with numerous judiciously chosen illustrations, completes an extraordinary achievement' Christopher Lloyd, Surveyor of the Queen's Pictures, 1988-2005 'The Awakening recounts the slow evolution of Western thought that restored legitimacy to independent examination and analysis, that eventually led to a celebration, albeit a cautious one, of reason over blind faith. In the process, Freeman reminds us that quality, engaging narrative history has not gone extinct, while demonstrating that it is possible to produce a work that is so well-written it is readable by a general audience while meeting the rigorous standards of scholarship demanded by academia' Stan Prager 'The Awakening is a very timely book and an excellently written and produced one. Freeman is a good host, a superb narrator and tells his story with aplomb... His elegant prose is a treat for the mind and the accompanying illuminations a treat for the eye' International Times

A History of the Western Mind AD 500 - AD 1700

The Awakening

Civilizations of Ancient Mediterranean

Egypt, Greece and Rome

A White Demon, Or, A Morphia Maniac

A popular telling of the story of the revival of European intellectual life after the collapse of civilisation that followed the fall of the Roman empire in the West.

A History of the Western Mind AD 500 - 1700

Charles Freeman's The Greek Achievement traces the entire course of ancient Greek history across thousands of years--from the Mycenaean and Minoan civilizations of the Bronze Age through the Archaic, Classical, Hellenistic, and Roman periods. This brilliant account celebrates the incredible range of Greek achievement: the architectural marvels of the Athenian Acropolis; the birth of drama and the timeless tragedies of Aeschylus, Euripides, and Sophocles; Homer's epics; the philosophical revolutions of Plato and Aristotle; and the conquests of Alexander the Great. Lavishly illustrated with photographs and maps, The Greek Achievement paints a sweeping panorama of the ancient Greeks' world and provides a rich, contemporary overview of their enduring contribution to world civilization.

Discusses the Nazi rise to power in Germany after World War I, and features subject-matter opinions.

Why Did the Rise of the Nazis Happen?

Egypt, Greece and Rome is regarded as one of the best general histories of the ancient world. It is written for the general reader and the student coming to the subject for the first time and provides a reliable and highly accessible point of entry to the period. The volume begins with the early civilizations of Sumer (modern Iraq) and continues through to the Islamic invasions and the birth of modern Europe after the collapse of the western Roman empire. The book ranges beyond political history to cover philosophy, art and literature. A wide range of maps, illustrations and photographs complements the text. The second edition incorporates new chapters on the ancient Mediterranean and the Ancient Near East, as well as extended coverage of Egypt.

Egypt, Greece and Rome: Civilizations of the Ancient Mediterranean

or a complete library of love

The lover's new guide

Relics were everywhere in medieval society. Saintly morsels such as bones, hair, teeth, blood, milk, and clothes, and items like the Crown of Thorns, coveted by Louis IX of France, were thought to bring the believer closer to the saint, who might intercede with God on his or her behalf. In the first comprehensive history in English of the rise of relic cults, Charles Freeman takes readers on a vivid, fast-paced journey from Constantinople to the northern Isles of Scotland over the course of a millennium.In "Holy Bones, Holy Dust," Freeman illustrates that the pervasiveness and variety of relics answered very specific needs of ordinary people across a darkened Europe under threat of political upheavals, disease, and hellfire. But relics were not only venerated--they were traded, collected, lost, stolen, duplicated, and destroyed. They were bargaining chips, good business and good propaganda, politically appropriated across Europe, and even used to wield military power. Freeman examines an expansive array of relics, showing how the mania for these objects deepens our understanding of the medieval world and why these relics continue to capture our imagination.

How Relics Shaped the History of Medieval Europe

Holy Bones, Holy Dust

"Tracing the astonishing transformation that the early Christian church underwent - from sporadic niches of Christian communities surviving in the wake of a horrific crucifixion to sanctioned alliance with the state - Charles Freeman shows how freedom of thought was curtailed by the development of the concept of faith. The imposition of 'correct belief' and an institutional framework that enforced orthodoxy were both consolidating and stifling. Uncovering the church's relationships with Judaism, Gnosticism, Greek philosophy and Greco-Roman society, Freeman offers dramatic new accounts of Paul, the resurrection, and the church fathers and emperors."--BOOK JACKET.

Charles Freeman

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