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Rome and her empire
Folio, 322 pages. Photo pictorial DJ; brown linen with gold stamped titles on face and spine. DJ present. A very exciting assortment of essays and illustrations after all manner of sources. Will make either an Archaeologist or Classicist out of just about anyone.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published June 1, 1978
45 people want to read
About the author
Barry Cunliffe
174 books173 followersSir Barrington Windsor Cunliffe taught archaeology in the Universities of Bristol and Southampton and was Professor of European Archaeology at the University of Oxford from 1972 to 2008, thereafter becoming Emeritus Professor. He has excavated widely in Britain (Fishbourne, Bath, Danebury, Hengistbury Head, Brading) and in the Channel Islands, Brittany, and Spain, and has been President of the Council for British Archaeology and of the Society of Antiquaries, Governor of the Museum of London, and a Trustee of the British Museum. He is currently a Commissioner of English Heritage.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
September 27, 2022
I could not be more disappointed in this book.
As I started reading it, it was a wonderful book. The thing I really enjoyed about it was that the author had all the surrounding countries broken up into different sections so readers could learn about them. Most of the time when I read books about Roman history, the authors automatically assume that you know where "Carthage," "Gaul," and other countries are. Furthermore they assume you know who the Franks, Normans, Saxons, Goths etc are as well. Well, how can I if no book ever tells me? This book does, and it gives descriptions of where every tribe came from and where they lived back in the day. Super helpful!
There was also a huge section on everything and everyday Roman life. Each were broken up into small sections to make it easy to read and find if you're in a researching frenzy like I tend to be.
But.
I do not recommend this book at all.
I'll start with the big stuff first. The book is VERY anti-Christian. In fact, the author doesn't come right out and say it, but it's almost like he believes in the Roman gods! He sure hailed them as a good thing. He made it sound like they actually existed. (The myths were real, in other words.)
He made sure to include an anti Christian statement every time Christianity was mentioned. But the worst of it is a direct quote here:
"Christians were unpopular partly because their rites were widely misunderstood - they ate the flesh and blood of a son of God - but mainly because they were atheists."
The way that he just plainly states that irritates me. The very reason Christians were persecuted is because they believed in the One God over all the Roman gods. Yes, I know the definition of "atheist" is anyone who doesn't believe in "God or gods." But we were not atheists. How can we be if we believed in God?
He also failed to mention that transubstantiation didn't actually become a thing until later. He was discussing the rise of Christianity during the years of AD 64 and roughly around AD 300 or so. The "eating of the flesh and drinking of the blood" was not literal...it was a custom that was meant to REMIND us of Jesus sacrifice, not actually eating it.
I'll get off of that topic and onto a new one.
Other than being anti Christian, some historical inaccuracies also popped up. Whether they can be labeled inaccurate or lacking in sufficient information, it could sure lead someone down the wrong path. For example, the author states that Constantine named 'Constantinople' when he took it over, but in reality, he named it "Byzantine." It wasn't named "Constantinople" until after his death, which is what they did to honor him. He just declared it the capitol.
He also made it sound like the Visigoths were around before Alaric came to power, but Alaric himself was the creator of the Visigoth tribe.
These are just a few things I have noticed. The only reason I state them as fact is because I have cross-referenced them with other more reliable books.
Another thing I HATED, yes, HATED was that EVERYTHING was in the Metric system. Nothing was even translated into English miles. I hate that they're trying to force everyone into the Metric system. We should be given a choice.
There are plenty of other things I could name but I'm going to stop now. If you're a homeschooling mom or student and are looking to use this book, watch out. It's not entirely accurate and there are a lot of pictures of the statues of nude men. Yes, I know they were very popular in that culture, but to young, innocent eyes, it would be too much.
Thank you all for listening to me rant. Enjoy your day!
As I started reading it, it was a wonderful book. The thing I really enjoyed about it was that the author had all the surrounding countries broken up into different sections so readers could learn about them. Most of the time when I read books about Roman history, the authors automatically assume that you know where "Carthage," "Gaul," and other countries are. Furthermore they assume you know who the Franks, Normans, Saxons, Goths etc are as well. Well, how can I if no book ever tells me? This book does, and it gives descriptions of where every tribe came from and where they lived back in the day. Super helpful!
There was also a huge section on everything and everyday Roman life. Each were broken up into small sections to make it easy to read and find if you're in a researching frenzy like I tend to be.
But.
I do not recommend this book at all.
I'll start with the big stuff first. The book is VERY anti-Christian. In fact, the author doesn't come right out and say it, but it's almost like he believes in the Roman gods! He sure hailed them as a good thing. He made it sound like they actually existed. (The myths were real, in other words.)
He made sure to include an anti Christian statement every time Christianity was mentioned. But the worst of it is a direct quote here:
"Christians were unpopular partly because their rites were widely misunderstood - they ate the flesh and blood of a son of God - but mainly because they were atheists."
The way that he just plainly states that irritates me. The very reason Christians were persecuted is because they believed in the One God over all the Roman gods. Yes, I know the definition of "atheist" is anyone who doesn't believe in "God or gods." But we were not atheists. How can we be if we believed in God?
He also failed to mention that transubstantiation didn't actually become a thing until later. He was discussing the rise of Christianity during the years of AD 64 and roughly around AD 300 or so. The "eating of the flesh and drinking of the blood" was not literal...it was a custom that was meant to REMIND us of Jesus sacrifice, not actually eating it.
I'll get off of that topic and onto a new one.
Other than being anti Christian, some historical inaccuracies also popped up. Whether they can be labeled inaccurate or lacking in sufficient information, it could sure lead someone down the wrong path. For example, the author states that Constantine named 'Constantinople' when he took it over, but in reality, he named it "Byzantine." It wasn't named "Constantinople" until after his death, which is what they did to honor him. He just declared it the capitol.
He also made it sound like the Visigoths were around before Alaric came to power, but Alaric himself was the creator of the Visigoth tribe.
These are just a few things I have noticed. The only reason I state them as fact is because I have cross-referenced them with other more reliable books.
Another thing I HATED, yes, HATED was that EVERYTHING was in the Metric system. Nothing was even translated into English miles. I hate that they're trying to force everyone into the Metric system. We should be given a choice.
There are plenty of other things I could name but I'm going to stop now. If you're a homeschooling mom or student and are looking to use this book, watch out. It's not entirely accurate and there are a lot of pictures of the statues of nude men. Yes, I know they were very popular in that culture, but to young, innocent eyes, it would be too much.
Thank you all for listening to me rant. Enjoy your day!
March 24, 2014
This is an older book raided from my dad's old collection but since I love history, I really enjoyed it. It's a bit dry as most history/research type books are but I learned a great deal about the Roman Empire!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews