
Egypt, Greece, and Rome
Civilizations of the Ancient Mediterranean
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Narrated by:
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Jim Meskimen
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By:
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Charles Freeman
About this listen
Long sources of mystery, imagination, and inspiration, the myths and history of the ancient Mediterranean have given rise to artistic, religious, cultural, and intellectual traditions that span the centuries. In this unique and comprehensive introduction to the region's three major civilizations, Egypt, Greece, and Rome draws a fascinating picture of the deep links between the cultures across the Mediterranean and explores the ways in which these civilizations continue to be influential to this day.
Beginning with the emergence of the earliest Egyptian civilization around 3500 BC, Charles Freeman follows the history of the Mediterranean over a span of four millennia to AD 600, beyond the fall of the Roman empire in the west to the emergence of the Byzantine empire in the east. In addition to the three great civilizations, the peoples of the Ancient Near East and other lesser-known cultures such as the Etruscans, Celts, Persians, and Phoenicians are explored. The author examines the art, architecture, philosophy, literature, and religious practices of each culture, set against its social, political, and economic background. More than an overview of the primary political or military events, Egypt, Greece, and Rome pays particular attention to the actual lives of both the everyday person and the aristocracy: Here is history brought to life. Especially striking are the readable and stimulating profiles of key individuals throughout the ancient world, covering persons from Homer to Horace, the Pharaoh Akhenaten to the emperor Augustus, Alexander the Great to Julius Caesar, Jesus to Justinian, and Aristotle to Augustine.
Generously illustrated in both color and black-and-white, and drawing on the most up-to-date scholarship, Egypt, Greece, and Rome is a superb introduction for anyone seeking a better understanding of the civilizations of the ancient Mediterranean and their legacy to the West.
©2004 Charles Freeman (P)2013 Audible, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
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Story
For many, the medieval world seems dark and foreign - a miraculous, brutal, and irrational time of superstition and strange relics. The pursuit of heretics, the Inquisition, the Crusades, and the domination of the "Holy Land" come to mind.
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New Standard Text for This Period
- By Bill Martin on 10-22-16
By: Kevin Madigan
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The Scythians
- Nomad Warriors of the Steppe
- By: Barry Cunliffe
- Narrated by: Matthew Waterson
- Length: 8 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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The Scythians were nomadic horsemen who ranged wide across the grasslands of the Asian steppe from the Altai mountains in the east to the Great Hungarian Plain in the first millennium BC. Their steppe homeland bordered on a number of sedentary states to the south and there were, inevitably, numerous interactions between the nomads and their neighbours. The Scythians fought the Persians on a number of occasions, in one battle killing their king and on another occasion driving the invading army of Darius the Great from the steppe.
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Well researched but narrator is terrible
- By John M. on 01-17-21
By: Barry Cunliffe
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Red Land, Black Land
- Daily Life in Ancient Egypt
- By: Barbara Mertz
- Narrated by: Lorna Raver
- Length: 14 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Esteemed Egyptologist Barbara Mertz updates her widely praised social history of the people of ancient Egypt, which was originally published in 1968. Combining impeccable scholarship with a delightfully personal style, the author reconstructs the life of the Egyptians from birth to death, and beyond death, too.
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Brilliant
- By Elizabeth on 04-03-10
By: Barbara Mertz
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Sparta
- Rise of a Warrior Nation
- By: Philip Matyszak
- Narrated by: Mike Cooper
- Length: 6 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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The Spartans of ancient Greece are typically portrayed as macho heroes: noble, laconic, totally fearless, and impervious to pain. And indeed, they often lived up to this image. But life was not as simple as this image suggests. In truth, ancient Sparta was a city of contrasts.
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If
- By Anonymous User on 05-07-25
By: Philip Matyszak
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Athens
- A History
- By: Bruce Clark
- Narrated by: Mark Elstob
- Length: 19 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Even on the most smog-bound of days, the rocky outcrop on which the Acropolis stands is visible above the sprawling roofscape of the Greek capital. Athens presents one of the most recognizable and symbolically freighted panoramas of any of the world's cities: the pillars and pediments of the Parthenon – the temple dedicated to Athena, goddess of wisdom, that crowns the Acropolis – dominate a city whose name is synonymous for many with civilization itself.
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Audible Version should be re-recorded
- By RAMNY on 09-04-22
By: Bruce Clark
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The Story of Egypt
- The Civilization That Shaped the World
- By: Joann Fletcher
- Narrated by: Kate Reading
- Length: 17 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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The story of the world's greatest civilization - spanning thousands of years - is full of epic stories, spectacular places, and an evolving society rich in inventors, heroes, villains, and pioneers. The story of the world's greatest civilization spans 4,000 years of history that has shaped the world. It is full of spectacular cities and epic stories of a constantly evolving society peopled with inventors, heroes and heroines, villains, artisans, and pioneers.
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Egyptian history is fascinating, this book is not.
- By Mary Elizabeth Reynolds on 08-24-16
By: Joann Fletcher
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The Clockwork Universe
- Isaac Newton, The Royal Society, and the Birth of the Modern World
- By: Edward Dolnick
- Narrated by: Alan Sklar
- Length: 10 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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The Clockwork Universe is the story of a band of men who lived in a world of dirt and disease but pictured a universe that ran like a perfect machine. A meld of history and science, this book is a group portrait of some of the greatest minds who ever lived as they wrestled with natures most sweeping mysteries. The answers they uncovered still hold the key to how we understand the world.
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Calculus Ergo Modernity
- By Nelson Alexander on 07-09-11
By: Edward Dolnick
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The Manuscripts Club
- The People Behind a Thousand Years of Medieval Manuscripts
- By: Christopher de Hamel
- Narrated by: John Lee, Christopher de Hamel
- Length: 17 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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The illuminated manuscripts of the Middle Ages are among the greatest works of European art and literature. We are dazzled by them and recognize their crucial role in the transmission of knowledge. However, we generally think much less about the countless men and women who made, collected and preserved them through the centuries, and to whom they owe their existence. This entrancing book describes some of the extraordinary people who have spent their lives among illuminated manuscripts over the last thousand years.
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Manuscripts Through the Centuries
- By Tbaley on 12-02-23
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Greek Mythology Explained
- A Deeper Look at Classical Greek Lore and Myth
- By: Marios Christou, David Ramenah
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 10 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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A fascinating take on classical Greek stories: Discover six classic Greek myths in this exciting retelling that paints both famous and lesser known characters in a whole new light. Follow the likes of Odysseus, Lamia, Bellerophon, Icarus, Medusa, and Artemis as their fates are revealed through bloody trials, gut-wrenching betrayals, sinister motives, and broken hearts.
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Adults only
- By Morgen La on 01-21-22
By: Marios Christou, and others
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Pax Romana
- War, Peace, and Conquest in the Roman World
- By: Adrian Goldsworthy
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 15 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Pax Romana examines how the Romans came to control so much of the world and asks whether traditionally favorable images of the Roman peace are true. Goldsworthy vividly recounts the rebellions of the conquered and examines why they broke out, why most failed, and how they became exceedingly rare. He reveals that hostility was just one reaction to the arrival of Rome and that from the outset, conquered peoples collaborated, formed alliances, and joined invaders, causing resistance movements to fade away.
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2 stars if youve read goldsworthy; 2.5 or 3 if not
- By fm2 on 10-21-16
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Weavers, Scribes, and Kings
- A New History of the Ancient Near East
- By: Amanda H. Podany
- Narrated by: Amanda H. Podany
- Length: 18 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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In this sweeping history of the ancient Near East, Amanda Podany takes listeners on a gripping journey from the creation of the world's first cities to the conquests of Alexander the Great. The book is built around the life stories of many ancient men and women, from kings, priestesses, and merchants to brickmakers, musicians, and weavers. Their habits of daily life, beliefs, triumphs, and crises, and the changes that people faced over time are explored through their own written words and the buildings, cities, and empires in which they lived.
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word of advice
- By Jim Davis on 08-04-23
By: Amanda H. Podany
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The Other Side of History: Daily Life in the Ancient World
- By: Robert Garland, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Robert Garland
- Length: 24 hrs and 28 mins
- Original Recording
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Look beyond the abstract dates and figures, kings and queens, and battles and wars that make up so many historical accounts. Over the course of 48 richly detailed lectures, Professor Garland covers the breadth and depth of human history from the perspective of the so-called ordinary people, from its earliest beginnings through the Middle Ages.
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Tantalizing time trip
- By Mark on 08-21-13
By: Robert Garland, and others
But, unfortunately, there aren't a ton of widely available academic audio books in the way of history, or that many academic texts in general in an audio format anyway.
So, when I find books like this that are available as an audiobook I'm always really excited!
This book was read and produced well and the author did a very, very good job covering and illustrating his subjects!
The scholarship was solid and open ended and approached the material from several angles. I also appreciated his bent towards leaning towards the populares.
Overall, I'm really glad I read this and that it was available!
A well done academic intro done in audio
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A Masterful Summary of the Western World
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Excellent update on an old subject
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Great great book
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All in all a good overview of Mediterranean history
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Interesting Facts
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An Engaging Historical Experience
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It was masterfully composed and narrated.
Outstanding!
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Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
The audiobook covers a large spectrum of topics from the beginning of modern civilization. The book is very thorough, but tangible enough to listen to for hours on end.What did you like best about this story?
I appreciated the author's approach during his chapters on Greece and early Rome.Have you listened to any of Jim Meskimen’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
I have not listened to this reader before, but he did quite well. His pronunciation of specific greek words was often amiss, but I was able to catch on through out the entire book.If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?
Thorough history of ancient world, slanted religious take.Any additional comments?
I felt the latter Roman history became too rushed and convoluted with author's religious take on history. The author's bias against movements of faith seems evident through the whole book, which is unfortunate. This begins with the first Ancient Near-East settlements and goes through the end of the Byzantine Empire. It is difficult to understand the ancient history approach to their own beliefs due to this overarching theme.Well rounded approach
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I dove headfirst into hardcover at The Rise and Fall of The Third Reich; which utterly destroyed any and notions I'd had about Hitler or the Nazis. And it took the reader of an audiobook I downloaded in 2014 to describe the delicate walk the author took as he'd spent his formative years in Germany during the rise and fall.
Though many men aren't studied, not many can say they are studied up, not students of any kind particular subjects.
Before anything, I would call myself a student, and a student of history.
I've spend countless thousands of hours delving into the bittersweet truths of history, and can say with firm appreciation and most absolute assurance that Egypt, Greece and Rome is read with steadfast eloquece. In the eight-thousand years of ultra conservative Egyptian doctrine describing every single aspect of life; from Shu, Hetek, Ra and the wild true stories their believers went through, to the Romans who loathed the idea of kingship, yet utilized their armies to rule a third of the planet, the story never gets boring, and Jim Meskimen does not fail to deliver. This audiobook is a triumph.
THREE VAST HISTORIES UNABRIDGED
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