Drawing on thirty years of writing about Greek & Roman history Mary Beard takes us on an exhilarating journey through the extraordinary riches of the classical heritage & why it still matters. Mary Beard is one of the world's best-known classicists
- a brilliant academic with a rare gift for communicating with a wide audience both though her TV presenting & her books. In a series of sparkling essays she explores our rich classical heritage
- from Greek drama to Roman jokes introducing some larger-than-life characters of classical history such as Alexander the Great Nero & Boudicca. She also invites you into the places where Greeks & Romans lived & died from the palace at Knossos to Cleopatra's Alexandria
- & reveals the often hidden world of slaves. She brings back to life some of the greatest writers of antiquity
- including Thucydides Cicero & Tacitus
- & takes a fresh look at both scholarly controversies & popular interpretations of the ancient world from The Golden Bough" to " Asterix". The fruit of over thirty years in the world of classical scholarship " Classical Traditions" captures the world of antiquity & its modern significance with wit verve & scholarly expertise."