Telling, Turning Moments in the Classical Political World - by Jan H Blits (Hardcover)

About the Book

Turning, Telling Moments in the Classical Political World examines developments in the classical political world which are both turning and telling moments. All the moments-from Theseus's founding of Athens to Augustus's establishment of the Principate-possess the double chara...

Book Synopsis

Turning, Telling Moments in the Classical Political World examines developments in the classical political world which are both turning and telling moments. All the moments-from Theseus's founding of Athens to Augustus's establishment of the Principate-possess the double character of being turning points and revealing fundamental aspects of the ancient political world. By examining ancient histories as works of reflection rather than works of research, Blits reveals the way ancient historians understand-and intend us to understand-the ancient world.

Review Quotes

This engrossing book succeeds in its plan of presentation as well as in its interpretative vision. Selected events of Greek and Roman antiquity are presented in terms of 'turning moments, ' each flushed out with memorable detail and each resonating with crucial human and political significance. The thesis that Athens and Rome are mutually illuminating opposites, related as poetry to prose, adds a unifying tenor. This is a thoughtfulhistory.

About the Author

Jan H. Blits is professor of political science and international relations at the University of Delaware and author of New Heaven, New Earth: Shakespeare's Antony and CleopatraI, Spirit, Soul, and City: Shakespeare's Coriolanus, The Soul of Athens: Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, Deadly Thought: Hamlet and the Human Soul, The Insufficiency of Virtue: Macbeth and the Natural Order, The End of the Ancient Republic: Essays on Julius Caesar, and The American University: Problems, Prospects, and Trends.