The Historians of Greece and Rome

(Paperback, New edition)

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Description

Our understanding of Greek and Roman civilization is in considerable measure a product of the intelligence and literary skills of its historians. Writing at different times and from different vantage points, the surviving historians illustrate the influences to which the genre was subjected in the course of its development. After Herodotus had established history as an independent form of literature, Thucydides defined its purpose and set a high standard of scientific and literary skill. Xenophon introduced new and abiding characteristics and Polybius repudiated the influences of rhetoric and drama and introduced Hellenistic qualities and an new focus - Rome. Sallust, Caesar, Tacitus and Livy among others, commented on the affairs of the Roman Republic and Empire. This book provides a survey of the historians of the ancient Greek and Roman world, exporing their surviving work, style and influences.

Reviews

A clear and useful account which reports briefly the most important conclusions of modern scholarship. Highly recommended. -- Choice
Written with grace and erudition for the non-specialist. -- Library Journal
Usher's excellent and sensible treatment of his extremely worthwhile subject. -- Times Literary Supplement

Author Bio

Stephen Usher was Senior Lecturer in Classics at Royal Holloway College, University of London, UK.