Welcome to Litsy!

This was my book club‘s May pick (though we did discuss it 6/1!). Over the years, not too many #nonfiction books have won the vote, but this delve into Mithradates‘ life was certainly an interesting one! After seeing the physical copy, I wish I had read it instead— while an interesting listen, the audio version doesn‘t include the images or the extensive endnotes. Also, the author‘s obvious admiration for her subject was a bit eye-roll inducing!

Definitely enjoyed this book. The author did a good job with examining the history, politics, and culture of ancient Athens. The book also examines Sparta to a lesser degree, as well as the relation between Athens and other city-states. Overall, it can serve as a good starting point for anyone interested in learning about Athens.

Apparently reading for four hours in total on Thursday wasn't enough for me, despite being 4x as much as I usually manage, so I read for another hour before bed to finish this. I liked it a lot, though as ever I'd have liked it more with numbered citations and I wish the nature of evidence for his assertions had been discussed, e.g. *why* does he assert that "Chickpea" and Cleopatra IV were a love match? On what evidence?!

"Another innovation of Cleisthenes was ostracism. The ecclesia voted once a year, if there was demand, on the exile for ten years of a leading politician. Citizens could propose anyone they wished. There was no question of punishment for criminality, rather a desire, in Plutarch's phrase, to 'humble and cut back oppressive prestige and power.'"
-Anthony Everitt, "The Rise of Athens"

This was very interesting. I‘ve read much about the Roman Empire and watched a lot of documentaries about the emperors themselves, but never did I come across a study of the life of „normal“ Roman people. This book shows the ordinary life with the help of 24 different persons. Especially the the person last chapter „The parasite returns from dinner“ was new to me. I never knew that there have been spongers who attended dinners to entertain. 🧽🧽🧽

You can recreate the recipes of Ancient Roman bread, as long as you‘re not interrupted by pyroclastic flows from a nearby volcano. 🤣🌋🤣🌋

… cheerful knowledge that the copyright expired centuries ago… 🤣🤣🤣

Next up for reading.