The Cambridge Dictionary of Classical Civilization - Hardcover

Shipley, Graham; Vanderspoel, John; Mattingly, David; Foxhall, Lin

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0521483131 ISBN 13: 9780521483131

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2006

Synopsis

Few historical epochs have influenced the development of civilization to the extent that those of ancient Greece and Rome have. This Guide, with over 1700 entries and 500 illustrations, is a key reference work on both, covering all the main branches of ancient literature, art and institutions. In addition, it explores traditionally neglected areas such as dress, housing, minority groups and social relations. Ranging from post-Bronze Age Greece to the later Roman Empire, it surveys not only ancient Greece and Rome, but discusses those cultures with which Greeks and Romans exchanged information and culture (e.g., Phoenicians, Celts and Jews) as well as the remote peoples with whom they were in contact (e.g., Persia, China and India). Graham Shipley is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London, and chair of the Council of University Classical Departments as well as the Sparta and Laconia Committee of the British School of Athens. His publications include A History of Samos and The Greek World after Alexander. John Vanderspoel is Professor of Late Antiquity at the University of Calgary, where he was initially appointed in 1985. His publications include Themistius and the Imperial Court (1995) and numerous journal articles and chapters on Roman history, intellectual and religious developments in the Roman imperial period and Roman Britain. David Mattingly is a Fellow of the British Academy and Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London. His publications include monographs on Tripolitania (1995) and An Atlas of Roman Britain (2002); edited volumes including Economies beyond Agriculture in the Classical World (2001), Life, Death and Entertainment in the Roman World (1999), and Dialogues in Roman Imperialism (supplement to Journal of Roman Archaeology, 1997). Lin Foxhall is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London. Her publications include co-edited volumes on masculinity in the ancient world (Thinking Men and When Men were Men 1998), on ancient law (Greek Law in its Political Setting 1996), and the ancient economy (Money, Labour and Land 2002) as well as many journal articles and chapters on Greek social relations, gender, agriculture, field survey and economy.

About this title

About the Authors

Graham Shipley is Professor of Ancient History at the University of Leicester. His previous publications include A History of Samos, 800–188 BC (Clarendon, 1987) and The Greek World after Alexander, 323–30 BC (Routledge, 2000). He is the author of numerous articles on the ancient city and has made major contributions to the Laconia Survey volumes at the British School at Athens. He is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London.

John Vanderspoel is Professor of Late Antiquity at the University of Calgary. He is the author of Themistius and the Imperial Court (University of Michigan Press, 1995) and numerous articles on Roman history and intellectual and religious developments in the imperial Roman period. He was the founding editor of The Ancient History Bulletin.

David Mattingly is Professor of Roman Archaeology at the University of Leicester. He is author or editor of numerous books, including Tripoitania (Batsford, 1995), Life, Death and Entertainment in the Roman World (with David Potter, University of Michigan Press, 1999), Economies Beyond Agriculture in the Classical World (with John Salmon, Routledge, 2000) and An Atlas of Roman Britain (with Barri Jones, Oxbow, 2002). He is a Fellow of the British Academy and Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London.

Lin Foxhall is Professor of Greek Archaeology and History at the University of Leicester. She is the editor of Thinking Men (with John Salmon, Routledge, 1998) and Money, Labour and Land (Routledge, 2002). She is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London.

Reviews

*Starred Review* Cambridge and Oxford have been the two most prominent publishers in the English language of classical history works. Until now, only the latter has published one-volume reference works on the period, with the The Oxford Classical Dictionary (3d ed. rev.,2003) and its abridgement, The Oxford Dictionary of the Classical World (2005). That changes with the publication of this volume, and it has fortunately been worth the wait.

The editors of the Cambridge volume compare it directly to their competition in the preface, stating they "acknowledge our immense debt as editors and scholars" to the Oxford work. They assert, however, that although the new work "is somewhat smaller . . . we believe our volume breaks new ground in accessibility, and in the amount of space devoted to social, economic and cultural features of Greek and Roman society."

Covering the period from the mid-eighth century BCE to the end of the fifth century CE are more than 1,600 entries by 170 contributors. The entries are uniformly excellent. Many end with bibliographies that feature primary and recently published secondary material with cross-references. There are more than 500 illustrations (maps, illustrations, photos, and charts), with their original sources noted in an appendix. Most entries are a half page or so; the longest (Economy, Philosophy, Poetry) have about three pages of text. Many entries convey social aspects of the period, including Burial, Crime and criminals, Divorce, Gambling, Meals, Time-keeping, Toilets, and Warehouses. For entries that apply to both the Greek and Roman worlds, small pictures of an owl and an arch, respectively, alert the reader to the portion of the entry applicable to each region. Certain entries presume some knowledge. For example, a chart in Sparta listing its kings has separate columns labeled Agiads and Eurypontids, with no explanation within the entry itself. They are the names of the dynasties for each king in Sparta's dual kingship.

The volume includes a classified list of headwords, a listing of "technical terms"(such as consilium and imperium), abbreviations, and a listing of "Headwords not covered in the Oxford Classical Dictionary, 3rd edition." The latter makes one wish more reference works would be as upfront about their competition!

The price may cause some concern. Oxford charges $125 for its full dictionary and $40 for The Oxford Dictionary of the Classical World (though the latter only goes up to 180 CE in its coverage). There is no doubt that the number of illustrations had much to do with the cost (Oxford has none at all), and the general appearance and typography of Cambridge make it a bit more user-friendly for the general reader. Make no mistake about it: this work is highly recommended for all academic and larger public libraries, particularly those that cannot usually afford works covering the classical world. Ken Black
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 2006
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0521483131
• ISBN 13: 9780521483131
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 966