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Books



2025 Reading List


Polis: A New History of the Ancient Greek City-State from the Early Iron Age to the End of Antiquity —John Ma

A definitive new history of the origins, evolution, and scope of the ancient Greek city-state




1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed: Revised and Updated —Eric H Cline

A bold reassessment of what caused the Late Bronze Age collapse




Pox Romana: The Plague That Shook the Roman World —Colin Elliott

A wide-ranging and dramatic account of the Antonine plague, the mysterious disease that struck the Roman Empire at its pinnacle




Pliny’s Roman Economy: Natural History, Innovation, and Growth —Ricard Saller

The first comprehensive study of Pliny the Elder’s economic thought—and its implications for understanding the Roman Empire’s constrained innovation and economic growth




Rome’s Patron: The Lives and Afterlives of Maecenas —Emily Gowers

The story of Maecenas and his role in the evolution and continuing legacy of ancient Roman poetry and culture




Gods and Mortals: Ancient Greek Myths for Modern Readers —Sarah Iles Johnston

An entrancing new telling of ancient Greek myths




The Scythian Empire: Central Eurasia and the Birth of the Classical Age from Persia to China —Christopher I Beckwith

A rich, discovery-filled history that tells how a forgotten empire transformed the ancient world




Plato Goes to China: The Greek Classics and Chinese Nationalism —Shadi Bartsch

The surprising story of how Greek classics are being pressed into use in contemporary China to support the regime’s political agenda




Out of One, Many: Ancient Greek Ways of Thought and Culture —Jennifer T. Roberts

A sweeping new account of ancient Greek culture and its remarkable diversity




Twelve Caesars: Images of Power from the Ancient World to the Modern —Mary Beard

The fascinating story of how images of Roman autocrats have influenced art, culture, and the representation of power for more than 2,000 years




Of Rule and Office: Plato’s Ideas of the Political —Melissa Lane

A constitutionalist reading of Plato’s political thought




The Roman Republic of Letters: Scholarship, Philosophy, and Politics in the Age of Cicero and Caesar —Katharina Volk

An intellectual history of the late Roman Republic—and the senators who fought both scholarly debates and a civil war




Reading the Odyssey: A Guide to Homer’s Narrative —Jonas Grethlein

A fresh and original introduction to the Odyssey—and how it continues to shape literature, film, art and even the ways we make sense of our lives




Encounters with Euclid: How an Ancient Greek Geometry Text Shaped the World —Benjamin Wardhaugh

A sweeping cultural history of one of the most influential mathematical books ever written




The Folds of Olympus: Mountains in Ancient Greek and Roman Culture —Jason König

A cultural and literary history of mountains in classical antiquity




Rehearsals of Manhood: Athenian Drama as Social Practice —John J. Winkler

A bold re-conception of ancient Greek drama by one of the most brilliant and original classical scholars of his generation