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The Rise of Rome

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About this listen

The Roman Republic is one of the most breathtaking civilizations in world history. Between roughly 500 BCE to the turn of the millennium, a modest city-state developed an innovative system of government and expanded into far-flung territories across Europe, Northern Africa, and the Middle East. This powerful civilization inspired America's founding fathers, gifted us a blueprint for amazing engineering innovations, left a vital trove of myths, and has inspired the human imagination for 2,000 years.

How did Rome become so powerful? This mystery has vexed historians from the ancient Greek writer Polybius to 21st century scholars. Today, removed as we are from the Roman Republic, historians also wonder what it was like to be a Roman citizen in that amazing era. Beyond the familiar names of Romulus, Caesar, Octavian, Brutus, and Mark Antony, what was life like for the ordinary people? And what did the conquered peoples think of this world power?

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

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As usual Mr Aldrete is unbeatable. Fantastic work. Width, depth, cross analyses, not forgetting a delightful wit.
So well done.

Another spectacular analysis

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A comprehensive history of the Roman Republic which is both narratively captivating and compelling, without doing what certain other history books do, which is drawing contemporary parallels.

It also touches on those segments of society which have little in the way of first hand accounts, such as those of the lives of women and slaves, drawing conclusions from third hand accounts and cross-referencing them with roman ideals, societal pressures, societal prominence, scandals etc, in order to draw a nuanced distinction between what women were expected to do by the predominantly male aristocratic senators, male historians and male monarchs, and what they might have done in reality.

Comprehensive but not convoluted

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An excellent lecture series. I wished it did not have to end. I hope there is a continuation of the series by the same lecturer.

Excellent

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the course speed is great and enslavery and dailylife chapters were very valuable for me. Nice course.

nice course for filling the gaps

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I find the Great Courses a very mixed offering but this is a superb series of lectures I would recommend these to anyone even if they think they aren't interested in the Romans, and much better than the turgid SPQR (much as I respect its author). On the strength of this I have purchased two more series of Adrete's lectures.

Masterful and interesting

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