Books in the Ancients in Action series

Part of a series of books, which introduces major figures of the ancient world to the modern general reader, this book sets Tacitus in context, surveying all his works and clarifying the traditions of ancient writing that informed and shaped his narratives. It also traces how his works have been used and abused in subsequent eras.

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

An insightful series of portraits of Boudicca as envisaged by both ancient and modern writers and artists.

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.

The impact of Ovid's Metamorphoses on our culture can hardly be overestimated. The poem is one of the most exciting and accessible classical texts, our key source for nearly all the famous myths of Greece and Rome.

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.