conquest of the Byzantine Empire could somehow be envisioned as retribution for the Greeks' sack of
Troy two and a half millennia before.
Zetemata: Questions for Discussion
Why is it that Cleopatra, of pure Macedonian ancestry, is sometimes portrayed in ways that make her
appear exotic and even to be of African descent?
Why is it that the story of the Trojan War has been an object of fascination from the time of Homer
until today?
What was there about the period of the Roman Empire that encouraged individuals to adopt an outlook
like that embraced by Stoicism and Christianity, which focus on personal spiritual fulfillment?Recommended for Further Reading
Bowersock, G. W. Hellenism in Late Antiquity (Ann Arbor 1990): the publication of a wonderful series
of lectures concerned with the survival of pagan Greek culture in the eastern part of the Christian Roman
Empire.
Brown, P. The World of Late Antiquity from Marcus Aurelius to Muhammad (London 1971): still the
best general introduction to the late antique world, brilliantly written and well illustrated.
Cameron, A. The Mediterranean World in Late Antiquity AD 395–600 (London and New York 1993): a
reliable guide to the history, society, and culture of the Roman Empire during the confused and confusing
period from the division of the empire down to the time of Pope Gregory the Great.
Elsner, J. Imperial Rome and Christian Triumph: The Art of the Roman Empire AD 100–450 (Oxford
and New York 1998): a dazzlingly illustrated account of Greek, Roman, and Christian art and how it
functioned in the social and cultural life of the Roman Empire.
Jay, P. (ed.) The Greek Anthology and Other Ancient Greek Epigrams: A Selection in Modern Verse
Translations (New York 1973): a very full selection of representative epigrams from the seventh century
BC to the tenth century after Christ, in translations by poets like Stephen Spender, Kenneth Rexroth, Ezra
Pound, Christopher Logue, Tony Harrison, and Fleur Adcock.
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations (New York 2002): a meticulous and elegant translation, by Gregory Hays,
that was briefly a bestseller in Washington, DC (until, apparently, readers discovered that Marcus
advocated the practice of virtue).
Mathews, T. F. The Clash of Gods: A Reinterpretation of Early Christian Art (Princeton 1993): an
illuminating examination of the several ways in which the figure of Christ was depicted, between AD 250
and 550, under the influence of non-Christian iconography.
Netz, R. and Noel, W. The Archimedes Codex: Revealing the Secrets of the World's Greatest Palimpsest
(London 2007): the astonishing story of the recovery of Archimedes' text, told by the director of the