The Ancient Near East
A Very Short Introduction
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The Ancient Near East
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Narrated by:
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Fajer Al-Kaisi
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By:
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Amanda H. Podany
About this listen
The ancient Near East is known as the "cradle of civilization" - and for good reason. Mesopotamia, Syria, and Anatolia were home to an extraordinarily rich and successful culture. Indeed, it was a time and place of earth-shaking changes for humankind: the beginnings of writing and law, kingship and bureaucracy, diplomacy and state-sponsored warfare, mathematics and literature.
This Very Short Introduction audiobook offers a fascinating account of this momentous time in human history. The 3,000 years covered here - from around 3500 BCE, with the founding of the first Mesopotamian cities, to the conquest of the Near East by the Persian King Cyrus the Great in 539 BCE - represent a period of incredible innovation. As historian Amanda Podany explores this era, she overturns the popular image of the ancient world as a primitive, violent place. We discover that women had many freedoms: They could own property, run businesses, and represent themselves in court. Diplomats traveled between the capital cities of major powers ensuring peace between the kings. Scribes and scholars studied the stars and could predict eclipses and the movements of the planets.
Every chapter introduces the listener to a particular moment in ancient Near Eastern history, illuminating such aspects as trade, religion, diplomacy, law, warfare, kingship, and agriculture.
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- By: Simon Price, Peter Thonemann
- Narrated by: Don Hagen
- Length: 14 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 145
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 119
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 118
To an extraordinary extent we continue to live in the shadow of the classical world. At every level, from languages to calendars to political systems, we are the descendants of a “classical Europe,” using frames of reference created by ancient Mediterranean cultures. As this consistently fresh and surprising new audio book makes clear, however, this was no less true for the inhabitants of those classical civilizations themselves, whose myths, history, and buildings were an elaborate engagement with an already old and revered past - one filled with great leaders and writers....
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5 out of 5 stars
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Excellent overview of the Classical World
- By David I. Williams on 01-12-14
By: Simon Price, and others
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A Brief History of the Celts
- Brief Histories
- By: Peter Berresford Ellis
- Narrated by: Christopher Oxford
- Length: 8 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 190
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 172
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 172
For centuries the Celts held sway in Europe. Even after their conquest by the Romans, their culture remained vigorous, ensuring that much of it endured to feed an endless fascination with Celtic history and myths, artwork and treasures. A foremost authority on the Celtic peoples and their culture, Peter Berresford Ellis presents an invigoration overview of their world. With his gift for making the scholarly accessible, he discusses the Celts' mysterious origins and early history and investigates their rich and complex society.
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4 out of 5 stars
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A bit dry, but overall interesting
- By Lokkish on 04-13-15
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The Assyrians: The History of the Most Prominent Empire of the Ancient Near East
- By: Charles River Editors
- Narrated by: Tom McElroy
- Length: 1 hr and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 67
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 58
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 58
When scholars study the history of the ancient Near East, several wars that had extremely brutal consequences (at least by modern standards) often stand out. Forced removal of entire populations, sieges that decimated entire cities, and wanton destruction of property were all tactics used by the various peoples of the ancient Near East against each other, but the Assyrians were the first people to make war a science.
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3 out of 5 stars
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A nice but brief summary.
- By Lance E. Edens on 12-23-15
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Babylon
- Mesopotamia and the Birth of Civilization
- By: Paul Kriwaczek
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 12 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 730
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 624
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 620
Civilization was born 8,000 years ago, between the floodplains of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, when migrants from the surrounding mountains and deserts began to create increasingly sophisticated urban societies. In the cities that they built, half of human history took place. In Babylon, Paul Kriwaczek tells the story of Mesopotamia from the earliest settlements seven thousand years ago to the eclipse of Babylon in the sixth century BCE. Bringing the people of this land to life in vibrant detail, the author chronicles the rise and fall of power during this period.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Solid overview 3000 years of history
- By Alsor2000 on 07-19-20
By: Paul Kriwaczek
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The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt
- By: Toby Wilkinson
- Narrated by: Michael Page
- Length: 18 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,090
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 949
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 944
In this landmark work, one of the world's most renowned Egyptologists tells the epic story of this great civilization, from its birth as the first nation-state to its final absorption into the Roman Empire - 3,000 years of wild drama, bold spectacle, and unforgettable characters. Award-winning scholar Toby Wilkinson captures not only the lavish pomp and artistic grandeur of this land of pyramids and pharaohs but for the first time reveals the constant propaganda and repression that were its foundations.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Well Written and Detailed
- By Matthew G. on 01-26-18
By: Toby Wilkinson
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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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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 78
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 68
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 67
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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2 out of 5 stars
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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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In Search of the Dark Ages
- By: Michael Wood
- Narrated by: Marston York
- Length: 14 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 62
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 59
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 59
In Search of the Dark Ages is an unrivalled exploration of the origins of English identity, and the best-selling book that established Michael Wood as one of Britain's leading historians. Now, on the book's 40th anniversary, this fully revised and expanded edition illuminates further the fascinating and mysterious centuries between the Romans and the Norman Conquest.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Brilliant!
- By Dee Goulet on 08-31-22
By: Michael Wood
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Ancient Egypt: History in an Hour
- By: Anthony Holmes
- Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
- Length: 1 hr and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 102
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 88
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Story4 out of 5 stars 87
Love history? Know your stuff with History in an Hour. Learn about the Egyptian gods, mummification and how the Egyptians built the only wonder of the ancient world still standing - the Pyramids of Giza. Exploring the historic rise of Egyptian civilization and its continued influence on the world today, Ancient Egypt in an Hour is an excellent companion to a mysterious and enthralling period of history.
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5 out of 5 stars
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very interesting topic worth a listen
- By Doug W on 01-21-20
By: Anthony Holmes
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The History of the Ancient World
- From the Earliest Accounts to the Fall of Rome
- By: Susan Wise Bauer
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 26 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 5,589
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 4,887
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 4,860
This is the first volume in a bold new series that tells the stories of all peoples, connecting historical events from Europe to the Middle East to the far coast of China, while still giving weight to the characteristics of each country. Susan Wise Bauer provides both sweeping scope and vivid attention to the individual lives that give flesh to abstract assertions about human history. This narrative history employs the methods of "history from beneath" - literature, epic traditions, private letters, and accounts - to connect kings and leaders with the lives of those they ruled.
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5 out of 5 stars
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An Historic Achievement
- By Ellen S. Wilds on 04-25-14
By: Susan Wise Bauer
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The Sumerians
- The History and Legacy of the Ancient Mesopotamian Empire That Established Civilization
- By: Charles River Editors
- Narrated by: Neil Holmes
- Length: 1 hr and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 140
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 117
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Story4 out of 5 stars 118
When American archaeologists discovered a collection of cuneiform tablets in Iraq in the late 19th century, they were confronted with a language and a people who were at the time only scarcely known to even the most knowledgeable scholars of ancient Mesopotamia: the Sumerians.
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5 out of 5 stars
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love these
- By amy on 12-14-16
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Introducing the Ancient Greeks
- From Bronze Age Seafarers to Navigators of the Western Mind
- By: Edith Hall
- Narrated by: Sian Thomas
- Length: 12 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 77
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 65
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 66
Acclaimed classics scholar Edith Hall's Introducing the Ancient Greeks is the first book to offer a synthesis of the entire ancient Greek experience, from the rise of the Mycenaean kingdoms of the sixteenth century BC to the final victory of Christianity over paganism in AD 391. Each of the ten chapters visits a different Greek community at a different moment during the twenty centuries of ancient Greek history.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Surveying the Greeks
- By Jolene on 05-31-18
By: Edith Hall
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Persians
- The Age of the Great Kings
- By: Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones
- Narrated by: Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones
- Length: 18 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 163
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 146
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 148
The Achaemenid Persian kings ruled over the largest empire of antiquity, stretching from Libya to the steppes of Asia and from Ethiopia to Pakistan. In Persians, historian Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones tells the epic story of this dynasty and the world it ruled. Drawing on Iranian inscriptions, cuneiform tablets, art, and archaeology, he shows how the Achaemenid Persian Empire was the world’s first superpower—one built, despite its imperial ambition, on cooperation and tolerance. This is the definitive history of the Achaemenid dynasty and its legacies in modern-day Iran.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Good History and Historiography
- By David A on 04-19-22
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Istanbul: A Tale of Three Cities
- By: Bettany Hughes
- Narrated by: Bettany Hughes
- Length: 24 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 184
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 158
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 156
From the Koran to Shakespeare, this city with three names - Byzantium, Constantinople, Istanbul - resonates as an idea and a place, real and imagined. Standing as the gateway between East and West, North and South, it has been the capital city of the Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman Empires. For much of its history it was the very center of the world, known simply as "The City", but, as Bettany Hughes reveals, Istanbul is not just a city but a global story.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A daunting undertaking pulled off superlatively
- By SGS on 12-24-17
By: Bettany Hughes
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Lost Civilizations
- 10 Societies That Vanished without a Trace
- By: Michael Rank
- Narrated by: Kevin Pierce
- Length: 3 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 50
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 48
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 48
Whether it is Plato's lost city of Atlantis, a technological advanced utopia that sank into the ocean "in a single day and night of misfortune"; the colony of Roanoke, whose early American settlers were swallowed up in the wild forest lands of the unexplored continent, or the Ancient American Explorers, who managed to arrive to the New World 2,000 years before Columbus, the disappearance of these societies is as cryptic as it is implausible. This book will look at cultures of the 10 greatest lost civilizations in history.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Another Great Book from Michael Rank
- By MICHAEL H on 07-17-14
By: Michael Rank
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Ragnar Lothbrok and a History of the Vikings
- Viking Warriors Including Rollo, Norsemen, Norse Mythology, Quests in America, England, France, Scotland, Ireland and Russia
- By: Noah Brown
- Narrated by: Dalan E. Decker
- Length: 8 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 242
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 224
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 221
Ragnar Lothbrok was a legendary warrior who left a legacy among the Vikings like none other. Today's popular TV show may have popularized Ragnar's story, but the real facts are not very well known. Discover the truth behind this Viking warrior and the rich history of the Vikings.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Happy with this purchase!
- By Michelle Watson on 09-08-19
By: Noah Brown
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The ancient Egyptians are an enduring source of fascination - mummies and pyramids, curses, and rituals have captured the imagination of generations. We all have a mental picture of ancient Egypt, but is it the right one? How much do we really know about this great civilization? This second edition of Ancient Egypt: A Very Short Introduction explores the history and culture of pharaonic Egypt, including ideas about Egyptian kingship, ancient Egyptian writing systems, and the history of Egyptology.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Not worth the time
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The Roman Empire was a remarkable achievement. It had a population of 60 million people spread across lands encircling the Mediterranean and stretching from northern England to the sun-baked banks of the Euphrates, and from the Rhine to the North African coast. It was, above all else, an empire of force - employing a mixture of violence, suppression, order, and tactical use of power to develop an astonishingly uniform culture.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Crusading fervor gripped Europe for over 200 years, creating one of the most extraordinary, vivid episodes in world history. Whether the Crusades are regarded as the most romantic of Christian expeditions, or the last of the barbarian invasions, they have fascinated generations ever since, and their legacy of ideas and imagery has resonated through the centuries, inspiring Hollywood movies and great works of literature. Even today, to invoke the Crusades is to stir deep cultural myths, assumptions and prejudices.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A perfect way to quickly familiarise oneself with an influential anthology of ancient Jewish literature.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Outstanding introduction
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3 out of 5 stars
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Not worth the time
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The Roman Empire
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I love it
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Overall3.5 out of 5 stars 5
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Paul
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 13
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Missionary, theologian, and religious genius, Paul is one of the most powerful human personalities in the history of the Church. E. P. Sanders, an influential Pauline scholar, analyzes the fundamental beliefs and vigorous contradictions in Paul's thought, discovering a philosophy that is less of a monolithic system than the apostle's convictions would seem to suggest.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Why aren’t any more of EP Sanders books on audible?
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Islamic History
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 23
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Does history matter? This book argues not that history matters, but that Islamic history does. This very short introduction introduces the story of Islamic history; the controversies surrounding its study; and the significance that it holds - for Muslims and for non-Muslims alike. Opening with a lucid overview of the rise and spread of Islam, from the seventh to 21st century, the book charts the evolution of what was originally a small, localized community of believers into an international religion with over a billion adherents.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Classical Mythology
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Overall3 out of 5 stars 7
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Performance3.5 out of 5 stars 7
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This imaginative and stimulating Very Short Introduction audiobook goes beyond a simple retelling of the stories to explore the rich history and diverse interpretations of classical mythology. It is a wide-ranging account, examining how classical myths are used and understood in both high art and popular culture, taking the listener from the temples of Crete to skyscrapers in New York, and finding classical myths in a variety of unexpected places: from Arabic poetry and Hollywood films, to psychoanalysis, the Bible, and New Age spiritualism.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Woeful: poorly titled, written, and structured
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Jesus
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 54
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 46
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Story5 out of 5 stars 46
Two billion people today identify as Christians, with the implication that Jesus is the focus of their relationship with God and their way of living in the world. Such followers of Jesus are now more numerous and make up a greater proportion of the world's population than ever before. Richard Bauckham explores the historical figure of Jesus, evaluating the sources and concluding that they provide us with good historical evidence for his life and teaching.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Probably the best summary of Jesus of Nazareth I have encountered.
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Ancient Mesopotamia
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,561
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Mesopotamia is the ancient name for the region that is now Iraq, a remarkably advanced civilization that flourished for two-thirds of the time that civilization has existed on Earth. Mesopotamians mastered irrigation agriculture; built the first complex urban societies; developed writing, literature, and law; and united vast regions through warfare and diplomacy. While civilizations like Greece and Rome have an unbroken tradition of written histories, the rich history of Mesopotamia has only been recently rediscovered, thanks to the decipherment of Mesopotamia's cuneiform writing less than 200 years ago.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Time with a great scholar & fantastic lecturer
- By jgmegill on 07-14-18
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Ancient Philosophy
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- By: Julia Annas
- Narrated by: Pamela Gold
- Length: 3 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 10
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 10
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Story4 out of 5 stars 10
The tradition of ancient philosophy is a long, rich, and varied one, in which a constant note is that of discussion and argument. This book introduces listeners to some ancient debates to engage with the ancient developments of some themes. Getting away from the presentation of ancient philosophy as a succession of Great Thinkers, the book gives listeners a sense of the freshness and liveliness of ancient philosophy and of its wide variety of themes and styles.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Good Information but a little too broad
- By Brad on 08-09-24
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Classics
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- By: Mary Beard, John Henderson
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- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 16
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 16
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Story4 out of 5 stars 16
We are all classicists - we come into touch with the classics on a daily basis: in our culture, politics, medicine, architecture, language, and literature. What are the true roots of these influences, however, and how do our interpretations of these aspects of the classics differ from their original reality?
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4 out of 5 stars
-
Beard guides the reader through the Classics
- By Darwin8u on 10-29-24
By: Mary Beard, and others
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The Abrahamic Religions
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- By: Charles L. Cohen
- Narrated by: Jim Denison
- Length: 4 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 5
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 5
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Story5 out of 5 stars 5
In the book of Genesis, God bestows a new name upon Abram - Abraham, a father of many nations. With this name and his covenant, Abraham would become the patriarch of three of the world's major religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Connected by their mutual - if differentiated - veneration of the one God proclaimed by Abraham, these traditions share much beyond their origins in the ancient Israel of the Old Testament. This Very Short Introduction audiobook explores the intertwined histories of these monotheistic religions.
By: Charles L. Cohen
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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
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 140
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 125
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 125
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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3 out of 5 stars
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word of advice
- By Jim Davis on 08-04-23
By: Amanda H. Podany
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Philosophy of Physics
- A Very Short Introduction
- By: David Wallace
- Narrated by: Walter Dixon
- Length: 4 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 29
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 24
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 24
Philosophy of Physics is concerned with the deepest theories of modern physics - notably quantum theory, our theories of space, time and symmetry, and thermal physics - and their strange, even bizarre conceptual implications. A deeper understanding of these theories helps both physics, through pointing the way to new theories and new applications, and philosophy, through seeing how our worldview has to change in the light of what we learn from physics.
By: David Wallace
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Hinduism
- A Very Short Introduction, 2nd Edition
- By: Kim Knott
- Narrated by: Sunny Patel
- Length: 3 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 11
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 9
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Story4 out of 5 stars 9
Hinduism is practiced by nearly 80 percent of India's population, and by some 70 million people outside India. In this Very Short Introduction, Kim Knott offers a succinct and authoritative overview of this major religion, and analyzes the challenges facing it in the 21st century. She discusses key preoccupations of Hinduism such as the centrality of the Veda as religious texts, the role of Brahmins, gurus, and storytellers in the transmission of divine truths, and the cultural and moral importance of epics such as the Ramayana.
By: Kim Knott
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The New Testament
- A Very Short Introduction
- By: Luke Timothy Johnson
- Narrated by: Robert Feifar
- Length: 5 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 5
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 5
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Story4 out of 5 stars 5
In this concise, engaging book, noted New Testament scholar Luke Timothy Johnson takes listeners on a journey back to the time of the early Roman Empire, when the New Testament was written in ordinary Greek (koine) by the first Christians. The author explains how the Gospels, Acts of the Apostles, and Revelation evolved into the canon of sacred writings for the Christian religion, and how they reflect a reinterpretation of the symbolic world and societal forces of first-century Greco-Roman and Jewish life.
What listeners say about The Ancient Near East
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amadeu Macedo
- 10-24-24
This Great Work Reveals Amanda Podany at her Best
Since I discovered Amanda H. Podany as an Ancient Mesopotamian scholar among various works published by "The Great Courses Plus" (a.k.a. Wondrium), I became enamored with the great civilizations of deep antiquity that flourished between the land of the "two rivers" - The Tigres and the Euphrates - namely, Sumer, Akkad, Babylon, and Assyria. Most importantly, Professor Podany introduced me to the Hurrian kingdom of Mitanny, and the amazing Neo-Assyrian Empire (934/911 - 612/609 BCE). Consequently, thanks to this brilliant British scholar - currently Professor Emeritus of History at California State Polytechnic University - I intellectually enhanced my historical repertoire becoming an avid lover of the Ancient Mesopotamian kingdoms and empires. BRAVA!
I wish this audiobook could be retained in my growing Audible library if it were not turned unavailable as of October 30, 2024.
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