The End of the Past: Ancient Rome and the Modern West: v. 13 (Revealing Antiquity) - Hardcover

Schiavone, Aldo

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0674000625 ISBN 13: 9780674000629

Publisher: Harvard University Press, 2000

Synopsis

This searching interpretation of the past and present addresses fundamental questions about the fall of the Roman Empire. Why did ancient culture, once so strong and rich, come to an end? was it destroyed by weaknesses inherent in its nature? or were mistakes made that could have been avoided - was there a point at which Greco-Roman society took a wrong turn? and in what ways is modern society different Western history is split into tow discontinuous eras, Aldo Schiavone tells us: the ancient world was fundamentally different from the modern one. He locates the essential differences in a series of economic factors: a slave-based economy, relative lack of mechanisation and technology, the dominance of agriculture over urban industry. Also crucial aspects of the ancient mentality; disdain for manual work, a preference for transcending (rather than transforming) nature, a basic belief in the permanence of limits. The author's examination of the ancient world, "the eternal theatre of history and power", offers a stimulating opportunity to view modern society in light of the experience of antiquity.

About this title

Review:

In the middle of the second century A.D., the brilliance of Graeco-Roman civilization and the relative stability provided by the Pax Romana seemed to promise a benign, even glorious, future. With hindsight, we can see the ultimately fatal fissures that lay beneath the surface. In this difficult but often fascinating work, Schiavone examines the extent to which our own civilization is an heir to that glittering age. Did the long decline of the empire, which is generally assumed to have begun late in the second century, result in a permanent rupture in the thread of history? If so, does our cultural heritage own far more to the medieval world than to the classical? This is an important and complicated question, and to appreciate and comprehend Shiavone's thesis, knowledge of classical history is essential. Readers with the necessary background should find this a stimulating and provocative work.--Jay Freeman "Booklist "

About the Author:

Aldo Schiavone is Professor of Roman Law and Director of the Istituto Italiano di Scienze Umane.

About this edition

• Publisher: Harvard University Press
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0674000625
• ISBN 13: 9780674000629
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 288