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The Classical World

An Epic History of Greece and Rome

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The Classical World

By: Robin Lane Fox
Narrated by: Roger May
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

Robin Lane Fox's The Classical World: An Epic History of Greece and Rome is a comprehensive and enthralling introduction to Ancient civilisation.

The classical civilisations of Greece and Rome dominated the world for centuries and continue to intrigue and enlighten us with their inventions, whether philosophy, politics, theatre, athletics, celebrity, science or the pleasures of horse racing. Robin Lane Fox's spellbinding history spans almost a thousand years of change from the foundation of the world's first democracy in Athens to the Roman Republic and the Empire under Hadrian.

Bringing great figures such as Homer, Socrates, Cicero, Alexander, Antony and Cleopatra, Julius Caesar, Augustus and the first Christian martyrs to life, exploring freedom, justice and luxury, this wonderfully exciting tour brings the turbulent histories of Greece and Rome together in a masterly study.

©2005 Robin Lane Fox (P)2021 Penguin Audio Ancient Civilization Europe Greece Rome World Funny Ancient Greece Ancient History Greek Mythology Mythology

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Critic reviews

"Epic in the true sense." (The Times Books of the Year)

"He writes supremely well [...] a keen eye for the telling detail and powerful example [...] the humanity of the exercise shines through [...] compulsory, and compulsive, reading." (Peter Jones, Sunday Telegraph)
All stars
Most relevant  
Worthy of 5 stars on every count. The narration was as excellent as the content.

Classical life - described & explained

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Not great. Whilst the performance was good, the writing by contrast was very biased (this from a classical scholar) and haphazard in its structure, not for me. There are better books out there that cover the period.

Swing and a miss

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Seems bias and very selective with which sources used. The author makes a point, normally about how awful the morals of this time were, then picks a historical source who backs it up. It is like this continuously. Not contrasting or showing opposing views.
The narration is tedious, with constant iteration on certain points which they clearly don't agree with.
If you are interested in the history, give it a miss, however, if you are interested in moral complaints about how bad people were in this time frame, then this is your book.

Very long and quiet dull

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