Books in the Ancients in Action series

A lively short biography of one of the best known Roman emperors.

Martial (Marcus Valerius Martialis) was a Spanish writer who lived in Rome in the second half of the first century AD. This book tells what we know about the man's commonsense attitude to life, and his hatred of hypocrisy and malice. It also assesses his debt to literary tradition and the astonishing influence he had on later writers.

The most prolific of Roman poets, Ovid was born in 43 BC and died in exile on the Black Sea in 17 AD, banished by the Emperor Augustus.

Catullus, who lived from about 84 to 54 BC, was one of ancient Rome's most gifted, versatile and passionate poets.

Spartacus has for centuries been revered as an iconic figure, his name a byword for revolution, resistance and freedom. However, there is little known about the man himself. Theresa Urbainczyk sifts the evidence and offers an assessment of the inspiration that remains the legacy of Spartacus to this day.

An account of what remains of the life and works of the Greek poet, Sappho. This book covers Sappho's ancient biography in addition to the post-classical accounts of her life. It discusses Sappho's poetry in a series of thematic chapters that include her religious writings; personal interpretations of mythological themes; and marriage hymns.

Horace is a poet of surprising contradictions who lived through the most dramatic period of social and political revolution in Rome. From fighting on the losing side in the civil war, he became a confidant of his recent enemies. From humble beginnings as the son of a freedman, he rocketed to the very centre of the Roman establishment.

In this text, the authors look at the historical Cleopatra, at images of Cleopatra as a Greek queen and as ruler of Egypt, at contemporary perceptions of her and at how we see her today.