Interweaving social, political, religious, and cultural history, Martin interprets the successes and failures of the Romans in war, political organization, quest for personal status, and in the integration of religious beliefs and practices with government. He focuses on the central role of social and moral values in determining individual conduct as well as decisions of state, from monarchy to republic to empire. Striving to reconstruct ancient history from the ground up, he includes frequent references to ancient texts and authors, encouraging readers to return to the primary sources. Comprehensive, concise, and accessible, this masterful account provides a unique window into Rome and its changing fortune.
Thomas R. Martin is professor of Classics at the College of the Holy Cross. His publications include Ancient Greece: From Prehistoric to Hellenistic Times, Herodotus and Sima Qian: The First Great Historians of Greece and China, and, as co-author, The Making of the West: Peoples and Cultures. He lives in Sutton, MA.