#adrian goldsworthy
Text
[Grabbing Octavian] show us Julius Caesar's terrible Oedipus fanfiction you coward
For Caesar, like many other young aristocrats, it was not enough simply to read great literature - he was also inspired to compose his own works. Suetonius mentions a poem praising Hercules as well as a tragedy entitled Oedipus. The quality of these immature works may not have been especially high - though probably no better or no worse than those written by other aristocrats who later went on to greater things - and they were suppressed by Caesar's adopted son, Emperor Augustus.
Adrian Goldsworthy, Caesar: Life of a Colossus, trans. Teresa Martín Lorenzo
173 notes
·
View notes
Note
Hi Dr. Reames! I wondered if you’d read ‘Philip and Alexander: Kings and Conquerers’ by Adrian Goldsworthy, or if you had any opinion on it? I’m thinking about buying it but I wasn’t too sure about it and thought I’d ask you! :)
I have not read it, no, so I can't tell you much about it.
Goldsworthy is a respected military historian, but really a Romanist. That's part of why I've not hurried to read the book. Every year a BOATload of articles by specialists comes out, so my reading time tends to go to that, to keep up with what my colleagues are theorizing. I just reviewed the Pownall/Asirvatham/Muller collection The Courts of Philip & Alexander the Great (from DeGruyter). I recommend it. There are a couple oddball papers in it, but that's true of most conference proceedings. Quite a few important articles in that collection, if the court is your thing. :-)
But it is, of course, ridiculously expensive. So get it from a library, via ILL (interlibrary loan).
If you want a more introductory book, and more reasonably priced, I'd recommend Ed Anson's recent one Philip II: Father of Alexander the Great. Themes and Issues. It's really meant as a textbook, but it's one of the better recent books on ol' Phil. And (unlike Goldsworthy) Anson is a Macedonian specialist, especially on Philip.
So I'd put my money into Anson's book, not Goldsworthy's. the latter may be perfectly fine--probably is--but also probably won't reflect the most recent work in the field, which Ed's will. (I still think he's wrong about when the Pezhetairoi came to be applied to the whole phalanx, but that's a specialists' quarrel, ha. Ed's scholarship is dead solid.)
#Adrian Goldsworthy#Edward Anson#recent publications on Alexander the Great and Philip#Frances Pownall#Alexander the Great#Philip II
5 notes
·
View notes
Text
2023: THE YEAR THAT WASN'T
#2023. Favorite Books, Favorite Movies I read this year. Come one and come all. Also, where exactly have I been all this time?
View On WordPress
#2023#Abraham Josephine Riesman#Adrian Goldsworthy#Alan Moore#Ari Aster#Asteroid City (2023)#Barbie (2023)#Batman Arkham City#Beau is Afraid#Cillian Murphy#David Fincher#DEEP-DIVES#End of Year#Francis Ford Coppola#Futurama (Hulu)#Greta Gerwig#Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)#Harry Thornton#Jedi Fallen Order#John Romita Sr.#Killers of the Flower Moon#Lightnin&039; Hopkins#Lily Gladstone#Lucas LoBuglio (Subatomic Viewer)#Margot Robbie#Martin Scorsese#Mary Beard#Michael Fassbender#Oppenheimer (2023)#PlayStation 4
0 notes
Text
The Antonian Reading List
Mark Antony: A Life by Patricia Southern (Highly recommended!)
Mark Antony: A Biography by Eleanor Goltz Huzar (Highly recommended!)
The Life and Times of Marc Antony by Arthur Weigall (Recommended)
Marc Antony: His Life and Times by Allan Roberts (Recommended)
Marc Antony by Mary Kittredge
Antony & Cleopatra by Patricia Southern
Antony & Cleopatra by Adrian Goldsworthy (By far the most negative book on Antony by a modern historian, the Cleopatra portion is better)
Mark Antony: A Plain Blunt Man by Paolo de Ruggiero (Recommended)
Mark Antony and Popular Culture: Masculinity and the Construction of an Icon by Rachael Kelly
Mark Antony's Heroes: How the Third Gallica Legion Saved an Apostle and Created an Emperor by Stephen Dando-Collins
A Noble Ruin: Mark Antony, Civil War and the Collapse of the Roman Republic by W. Jeffrey Tatum (Highly recommend!)
Mark Antony & Cleopatra: Cleopatra's Proxy War to Conquer Rome & Restore the Empire of the Greeks by Martin Armstrong
Actium and Augustus: The Politics and Emotions of Civil War by Robert Alan Gurval
The Roman Revolution by Ronald Syme (Recommended)
Octavian, Antony and Cleopatra by W. W. Tarn
Fulvia: Playing for Power at the End of the Roman Republic by Celia E. Schultz
Cleopatra: Last Queen of Egypt by Joyce Tyldesley (Highly Recommended!)
Cleopatra by Michael Grant (Highly Recommanded!)
Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Schiff (Highly Recommended!)
Cleopatra - A Biography by D. Roller
Cleopatra and Antony by Diana Preston
Cleopatra by Alberto Angela (Recommended)
Cleopatra by Jacob Abbott
Cleopatra the Great by Joann Fletcher
Cleopatra and Egypt by Sally-Ann Ashton
Cleopatra and Rome by Diana E. E. Kleiner
Cleopatra Her History Her Myth by Francine Prose
Cleopatra Histories, Dreams, and Distortions by Lucy Hughes Hallett (Recommended)
Cleopatra’s Daughter Egyptian Princess by Jane Draycott
The Storm Before the Storm by Mike Duncan
SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome by Mary Beard (Good for beginners)
The Last Assassin: The Hunt for the Killers of Julius Caesar by Peter Stothard
Robicon by Tom Holland
Alesia 52 BC: The final struggle for Gaul (Campaign) by Nic Fields
Actium 31 BC: Downfall of Antony and Cleopatra (Campaign) by Si Sheppard
Pharsalus 48 BC: Caesar and Pompey – Clash of the Titans (Campaign) by Si Sheppard
Philippi 42 BC: The death of the Roman Republic (Campaign) by Si Sheppard
Mutina 43 BC: Mark Antony's struggle for survival (Campaign) by Nic Fields
The War That Made the Roman Empire: Antony, Cleopatra, and Octavian at Actium by Barry Strauss
The Battle of Actium 31 BC: War for the World by Lee Fratantuono
Rome and Parthia: Empires at War: Ventidius, Antony and the Second Romano-Parthian War, 40–20 BC by Gareth C Sampson
Rivalling Rome: Parthian Coins and Culture by Vesta Curtis
Classical sources:
Plutarch’s Lives
Cicero: Philippics, Ad Brutum, Ad Familiares
Appian, The Civil Wars
Dio Cassius, The Roman History
Suetonius, The Twelve Caesars
Flavius Josephus, The Jewish War
Livy, The Early History of Rome
Tacitus, Annals and Histories
Friction:
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare
The Tragedy of Antony and Cleopatra by Willian Shakespeare
All For Love or The World Well Lost by John Dryden
The Siren and the Roman – A Tragedy by Lucyl
Caesar and Cleopatra by George Berbard Shaw
Cleopatra (play) by Sardou
Antony by Allan Massie
I, Claudius by Robert Graves
I, Cleopatra by William Bostock
Cleopatra by H. Rider Haggard
Cleopatra by Georg Ebers
Kleopatra (Vol I & II) by Karen Essex
Last Days with Cleopatra by Jack Lindsay
The Memoirs of Cleopatra by Margaret George
When We Were Gods by Colin Falconer
The Masters of Rome series by Colleen McCullough
Caesar's Soldier: Mark Antony Book I by Alex Gough (Ongoing series)
The Antonius Trilogy by Brook Allen
The Last Pharaoh series by Jay Penner
Throne of Isis by Juith Tarr
Hand of Isis by Jo Graham
Woman of Egypt by Kevin Methews
The Ides of Blood 01-06 (Comics)
Terror - Antonius En Cleopatra (Erotic yet pure love, Dutch comics)
Cleopatra - Geschiedenisstrip (Dutch comics)
Les Grands Personnages de l Histoire en Bandes Dessinees – Marc Antonie (French comics)
Les Grands Personnages de l Histoire en Bandes Dessinees – Cleopatre (French comics)
Les Grands Personnages de l Histoire en Bandes Dessinees – Julius Caesar (French comics)
Cléopâtre (French Manga)
Ils Ont Fait L'histoire - Cléopâtre (French Graphic Novel)
#mark antony#marc antony#marcus antonius#cleopatra#cleopatra vii#antony and cleopatra#rome#ancient rome#roman history#roman republic#roman empire#books#book recommendations#reading list#to read list#history
54 notes
·
View notes
Note
i'm sorry, this is a silly question, but are there one or two books about caesar that you would recommend to someone who knows nothing about him? like, as a starting point. your blog made me so curious. (please just ignore the question if it's dumb)
not a silly question at all !!!! i am always very happy to talk about The Smelly Guy with anyone who will listen. the one book that i always recommend to anyone first is caesar: life of a colossus by adrian goldsworthy. he's my go-to author for all things caesar and he's generally very easy to read, though this particular biography is slightly lengthier than others. another that i really enjoy is julius caesar: a life by patrician southern. this one is far shorter and maybe the best place to start if you're going in with no prior knowledge. i hope these are the kind of thing you're looking for but do feel free to shoot me another ask if you want any other recommendations :)
#i also really recommend suetonius and plutarch on caesar but obviously if you're looking for like. facts. then not the best place to start#i have a lifetime's worth of caesar shit on my bookshelf so. very nice to have people ask stuff like this#julius caesar
14 notes
·
View notes
Text
(From Caesar: Life of a Colossus by Adrian Goldsworthy)
Honestly insane how Crassus and Pompey were allies with Caesar despite him sleeping with both of their wives.
8 notes
·
View notes
Text
Tagged by my beloved @mewtwoenthusiast to do a little questions game ehehe
Last song I listened to: Creep by Radiohead because i’m listening to my Nico playlist while i slowly meld to the confocal microscope
Currently reading: Rome and Persia: the Seven Hundred Year Rivalry by Adrian Goldsworthy, The Dawn of Everything by David Wengrow and David Graeber, The Lord of the Flies by William Golding, Unmasking Autism by Devon Price, and The Invention of Medicine: from Homer to Hippocrates by Robin Lane Fox
Currently watching: Dragula season 5
Currently obsessed with: percy jackson now and forever
9 notes
·
View notes
Note
Where would you recommend someone start if they wanted to learn more about rome?
I think Mike Duncan's The History of Rome podcast is the best place to start if you're REALLY interested in learning the nitty gritty of Rome from start to finish, but it is long, like 70+ hours I think. The beginning is a little questionable in terms of audio quality, but it improves vastly a few episodes in.
If you're looking for something comparatively less intense, SPQR by Mary Beard is widely considered the most authoritative but readable survey of the Romans. It's still 800 pages/18 hours of audio though. The shortest true intro I can recommend is probably Pax Romana by Adrian Goldsworthy about the golden age of Rome, 500 pages/15 hours. Unfortunately once you get past basic Netflix documentaries, it's just a long and complicated history that can't be told adequately in a couple hundred pages.
If you want more in-depth looks about common topics within Roman history later, Dr. Adrian Goldsworthy also has wonderful books on Caesar, Augustus, various aspects of Roman military history, international politics, and more! I also suggest the audiobooks of his work read by Derek Perkins, they're fantastic!
11 notes
·
View notes
Note
Hi!! Do you have any good non fiction book recs on Augustus?
Hey, yes I do!
Anthony Everitt's Augustus is one I highly recommend, all of his biographies are really good and this one is the one I revisit most often. I'm also partial to Augustus: First Emperor of Rome by Adrian Goldsworthy, and also a good chunk of his other works on Ancient Rome (Caesar, Life of a Colossus and Antony and Cleopatra are works of his that I also enjoy as supplementary reading). If you can find an English translation, which I think is available, then The Age of Augustus by Werner Eck is also pretty good. And while I personally haven't read it yet, Augustus by Patricia Southern is on my list and I've heard good things about it.
One thing I highly, highly encourage is to read the ancient sources. A lot of them are available for free online, since they're translations of very old works, and they're the basis for a lot of the information in modern biographies anyway. From those I'd really recommend Life of Augustus by Nicolaus of Damascus and The Life of Augustus from Suetonius's The Lives of the Twelve Caesars (ideally read all the sections of those because they're all interesting, but also be warned that Suetonius has a habit of sometimes just making shit up so if something sounds blatantly out of character he was probably just lying). The Reign of Augustus is a book that's an amalgamation of all of Cassius Dio's writings regarding Augustus, though unlike Nicolaus, who was a contemporary of Augustus (he and Augustus were both good friends with Herod the Great, and Nicolaus was apparently a tutor for Antony and Cleopatra's children, who were educated alongside and living with Augustus's daughter Julia) or Suetonius who was born at the tail end of the Julio Claudian dynasty's reign, Cassius Dio was writing 200 years after the fact and thus isn't as reliable as those primary sources. Also, if you wanna read anything that the man had to say about himself, this is a collection of all we've been able to translate of the Res Gestae Divi Augusti.
This also isn't a book about Augustus specifically, moreso about the Roman concept of the biography and literary works in general, but The Lost Memoirs of Augustus is not only a good read, but actually has translations of the sections of the man's memoirs that we've been able to recover (no I'm not still bitter about the fact that the majority of them are forever lost, why would that bother me, I definitely don't think about it at least once a month).
Hope this helps!
#personal#answered#anonymous#augustus#octavian#book recommendations#i'm someone who will read as much as i'm capable of getting my hands on#so yeah i've got a LOT of books about people that interest me
12 notes
·
View notes
Text
Some people idolize generals. I idolize Mark Antony's mom.
I'm picturing this petite 60-year-old woman storming up to a big burly triumvir and his 500 armed guards, shouting, "Marcus Antonius, WHAT do you think you are doing?" and the most dangerous man in Rome just winces.
(Adrian Goldsworthy, Antony and Cleopatra, chapter 17)
#i love her so much#julia mother of mark antony#mark antony#adrian goldsworthy#antony and cleopatra#ancient rome
244 notes
·
View notes
Text
I have some news that I've been sitting on a while, but I can now make public.
Coming on Sept. 4th (Labor Day in the US), The History Channel is releasing a 3-episode series, ANCIENT EMPIRES, the first of which is on Alexander the Great. Yours truly is one of the "talking heads" interviewed for the episode. I have no idea how much I'll be in it, but I am in it (confirmed by the director). I also have no idea whether it will be any good; I was not the historical consultant for this one (Adrian Goldsworthy was), so I never saw any of the scripts, etc.
But you will see me in it.
#Alexander the Great#The History Channel#“Ancient Empires” by The History Channel#Julius Caesar#Cleopatra#ancient history#Classics#ancient history in media
59 notes
·
View notes
Photo
The Fall of Carthage: The Punic Wars 265-146 BC
“No Roman or Carthaginian could have dreamed in 264 that their states were about to embark on a twenty-four-year struggle which would involve huge casualties, still less that it would be the first of three wars between the two peoples” (65). It is against this backdrop that the historian Adrian Goldsworthy sets his thoughtful, well-documented analysis of the Punic Wars, the multigenerational conflict between Rome and Carthage.
Continue reading...
16 notes
·
View notes
Text
What we know about Mark Antony is primarily because his enemies thought these can be used against him. His every action, his every noble act that we know of are the ones that they thought could be portrayed negatively. The fact that we know so little about him is ignored by almost everyone while passing harsh judgments on his character. We know almost nothing about his first 23 years and very little about the last 10 years of his life. Even that information is told completely through his mortal enemies, Cicero and Octavian's prospective.
It is astonishing how even the so-called experienced modern historians chose to ignore this fact. Adrian Goldsworthy, a celebrity historian, wrote a very biased pro-augustan piece called "Antony and Cleopatra" were he claims on the very first chapter that Antony only got that far because of his familial ties. He continues to repeat this claim many times throughout the course of the whole book. The point of this book was just to reach this forgone conclusion. There were many more politicians from very old, prestigious, patrician family in Rome than the plebian Antonii, yet none of them could reach the level of achievements and popularity as Antony. From his family only his grandfather the orator had the most successful career out of them all. They were Sulla supporters, Julius Caesar's adversary. He never mentions that Octavian's only value came from Caesar's name and money. If one has already read the philippics and Plutarch at a surface level, then there is no merit in reading Goldsworthy. It adds nothing to redeem Antony's tarnished reputation and even maligns him further.
Before claiming Antony did not have much military experience, they should accept that we just don't know about most of his career or life. Before saying Antony was an uneducated brute, coward, disloyal, unintelligence, untalented, greedy, power hungry, womanizer and all other bad traits, they should think hard as to where this information came from.
7 notes
·
View notes
Note
gently begging you for agrippa/octavian reading recs (fiction or non fiction… whatever!)
it's not a reading rec, but have you watched imperium: augustus
the only reading rec I have right now are the usual ancient sources and that recently I just finished reading Adrian Goldsworthy's Augustus biography, and also a bunch of dots I'm connecting in my mind between Cassius and Agrippa and Macro like
if anyone else has reading recs, feel free to drop them :)
55 notes
·
View notes
Text
Augustus: First Emperor of Rome, Adrian Goldsworthy
14 notes
·
View notes
Last Seen Blogs
eternaljourneyofhappiness
The Eternal Journey of Happiness
daisy-the-little-mermaid
Meow-wow!
mined-craft-trans-rights
Ender man is Babey
exemplarum
Vince in bono malum
tintazulrey
tintazulrey