Belles Lettres Classics Catalog 2011 by marie ciric

LES BELLES LETTRES

CLASSICS

Foreign Rights

LES BELLES LETTRES www.lesbelleslettres.com Foreign rights 95 boulevard Raspail - F 75006 Paris - France Droits étrangers - Foreign Rights Marie-Pierre Ciric Téléphone 33 (0)1 43 54 47 57 E-mail : mpciric@lesbelleslettres.com Translated by Carol Macomber

Table des Matières Contents

- Jacques ANDRÉ, Roman Food and Culinary Arts - Jacques ANDRÉ, Plant Names in Ancient Rome - Dominique ARNOULD, Laughter and Tears in Greek Literature, from Homer to Plato - Polymnia ATHANASSIADI, Towards conformity of thought : The rise of intolerance in Late Antiquity - Yasmina BENFERHAT, On the Proper Use of Kindness in the Work of Tacitus - Sandra BOEHRINGER, Female homosexuality in Greek and Roman Antiquity - Félix BUFFIÈRE, Homeric myths and Greek thought - Claude CALAME, Myth and History in Greek Antiquity : The Symbolic Creation of a Colony - Robert CLAVAUD, Plato’s Menexenus and the Rhetoric of his Era - Catherine COLLOBERT, Wagering on time : The heroic quest for immortality in the Homerian epic - Paul DEMONT, Ancient and Classical Greek city-states and the Ideal of Tranquillity - Juliette DROSS, Seeing Philosophy - The Use of Representation in Roman philosophical Discourse: Rhetoric and Philosophy from Cicero to Marcus Aurelius - Guy FAU, The Emancipation of Women in Ancient Rome - Jean GAGÉ, Basileia: Caesars, Eastern Kings and Soothsayers - Pierre HADOT, Ancient philosophy studies - Pierre HADOT, Studies on patristics and the history of concepts - Pierre HADOT, Plotinus, Porphyrius: Neoplatonic Studies - Typhaine HAZIZA, The Herodotean Kaleidoscope: Images, the Imaginary and Representations of Egypt as seen in the Second Book of Herodotus - André LE BOEUFFLE, Latin Names of Stars and Constellations - André MAGDELAIN, Law in Rome: History of a Concept - Paul PÉDECH, Alexander’s Historian Companions: Callisthenes, Onesicritus, Nearchus, Ptolemy and Aristobulus - Michel RAMBAUD, The Art of Historic Deformation in Caesar’s Commentaries - Jean-Noël ROBERT, Romans and fashion - Jacqueline de ROMILLY, Fear and Anguish in Aeschylu’s Plays - Jacqueline de ROMILLY, The Gentle Side of Greek Thought - Jacqueline de ROMILLY, History and Reason in Thucydides’ Works - Jacqueline de ROMILLY, Greek Tragedies Through the Years - Suzanne TEILLET, From Goths to a gothic nation: Origins of the concept of nation in the 5th to 7th centuries of the Western World - Anne-Marie TUPET, Magic in Latin Poetry: From its Origins to the End of Augusta’s Reign - Hélène VIAL, Metamorphosis in Ovid’s Metamorphoses: Study of the Art of Variation - Gods and people of antiquity (from the 8th to the 5th century B.C.)

L’Alimentation et la cuisine à Rome Roman Food and Culinary Arts Much is known about Roman civilisation, yet it is often the most concrete aspects of it that we know the least. A question as trivial as “What did the Romans eat?” was not one which preoccupied most authors and even a perusal of Roman literature would likely give us an erroneous idea of Roman eating habits. Trimalchio’s banquet, described in Petronius’ Satyricon, is an orgy that has nothing to do with the Romans’ customary meals, and the only recipe book that has survived – the one written by Apicius – favours rare and sophisticated dishes. That is why Jacques André, a very meticulous philologist, gleaned from the gamut of ancient literature all available information about what the average Roman was most likely to eat. Only a scholar of his class –who, until his death in 1994, through his classes at École Pratique des Hautes Études, trained generations of Latinists in the reading and editing of ancient texts – was capable of producing such a comprehensive survey.

Jacques André, a very meticulous philologist, gleaned from the gamut of ancient literature all available information about what the average Roman was most likely to eat

Already sold in Germany

2009 256 pages

Jacques André, a Latinist with an agrégation in grammar and a Doctorate in Philosophy, was the Director of Graduate Studies at École pratique des Hautes études (1954–1978), and editor of the Revue de philologie (1966–1980).

Les Noms des plantes dans la Rome Antique Plant Names in Ancient Rome This essential lexicon lists over 1,100 plant names in a geographical area stretching from Lusitania (Portugal) and Northern Africa to the Ganges (India). Relying on quotations from ancient texts about plants which could be used in the diets of humans and domestic animals, in industry (dyes, perfumes) and most importantly in medicine, this lexicon at long last endows Latin botanical references with genuine content, while discarding the vague equivalents found in contemporary dictionaries. Three indexes supplement this lexicon: the first and second provide Latin equivalents of the French and scholarly Latin terms used by botanists, while the third focuses on geography.

2010 336 pages

Le rire et les larmes dans la littérature grecque d’Homère à Platon Laughter and Tears in Greek Literature, from Homer to Plato Although laughter is pervasive in Greek literature, so are tears, and apart from notations similar to those used in modern psychology, it is striking to observe the extent to which such emotional manifestations also serve a social function. First, they serve as symbols, in a literary consensus which relies less on concepts than on evoking picturesque images to underscore joy, pain, the fear of losing one’s honour, or the desire to degrade others. From Homer to Plato, this work explores both the occasions which inspire the heroes’ laughter or tears, as well as what such emotions mean in the texts, the way in which they are described and how others judge them. The author also strives to define the relations between emotion and words. In fact, laughter and tears, which in Greek literature are a language unto themselves, also have their own inherent language: transition to a direct style, the lyrical chant, and the speech surpassing all others: that of myth.

2009 296 pages

Dominique Arnould is a professor at Université Paris-Sorbonne (Paris IV)

Vers la pensée unique. La montée de l’intolérance dans l’Antiquité tardive Towards Conformity of Thought : The Rise of Intolerance in Late Antiquity The rise of intolerance in the Roman Empire of the 3rd to 6th centuries is not a surprising phenomenon. It was the consequence of a series of long-term and interdependent developments. This work incorporates and examines, within a narrative framework, the various aspects of proselytism and persecution, the centralization of secular power and its increasingly intimate ties with religion, doctrinal orthodoxy and heresy, the internal and external polemic of scriptuary communities, subtle or brutal censorship, and, lastly, ‟the new history” – namely the rewriting of universal history in religious terms. As a result of being interlinked, these developments had a dialectic, if not causal, relationship with what was at first an incidental, and later an endemic, spread of intolerance (accompanied by its more concrete manifestation, violence) in the Roman Empire. All of these phenomena, triggered in a pluralist society by the advent of an ever-growing number of men and women claiming to have a monopoly on theological truth and determined to spread this truth through a missionary approach, are closely correlated and formed the basis of a new societal model – that of the religious community. Within the isolated era recently dubbed ‟Late Antiquity,” a society which had been orchestrated to revolve around Man was replaced by one dedicated to the greatest glory of God.

Already sold in Greece

Transitioning from an anthropocentric, to a theocentric, world (AD 249–531)

2010 192 pages

Polymnia Athanassiadi, Professor of Ancient History at the University of Athens, is a member of the Scientific Committee of the French School of Athens (EfA). An expert in the intellectual and religious history of the Mediterranean world in the Hellenistic and Roman Era, she has taught courses in several universities and institutions of higher learning (including those in Oxford, Moscow, Berkeley, Columbia, Harvard, Princeton, Collège de France and EPHE - 5th Section).

Du bon usage de la douceur en politique dans l’œuvre de Tacite On the Proper Use of Kindness in the Work of Tacitus This book by Yasmina Benferhat takes the form of an in-depth survey of the notion of kindness in the corpus of Tacitus’ writings, including both his opuscules and his major historical works. This exploration of kindness in the works of Tacitus (AD 55–120) is presented in four successive components. The first concerns what might be called ‟false kindness”, an issue which somehow needs to be confronted. These are examples of excessive indulgence, whether towards oneself or towards others. Such kindness is nothing but permissiveness and weakness. The second component deals with a form of kindness which already demands a certain amount of resolve, if not an effort of self-control made on one’s own behalf or that of others. This part covers the aspects of kindness associated with the desire to make human relations more agreeable, from polite small-talk to benevolence and compassion. At this stage, however, the role of individual will remains limited. It is less restricted in the third part of the book, which considers how one might react when confronting a fault or an offence: clemency – this virtue to which, several centuries earlier, Seneca had devoted his treatise – may be defined as the capacity to forgive. Such clementia still falls within the realm of behaviour. It is only in the fourth and last part of this book that the highest and most internal form of kindness is explored – that of the individual who strives to control and calm anger – his own, or that of others.

The author reveals the subtleties of the term clementia and its political use in Tacitus’ writings

2011 352 pages

Yasmina Benferhat is a senior lecturer at Université de Nancy

L’homosexualité féminine dans l’Antiquité grecque et romaine Female homosexuality in Greek and Roman Antiquity In the ancient world, opposition between men and women was not always evident because, at that time, ‟homosexual” and ‟heterosexual” categorizations were anachronic. One type of practice was, however, specifically characterized as such: sexual relations between women. Far from today’s projective images of the ‟Amazon”, the debauched woman or ethereal sapphic loves, this essay raises issues relating to norms, eroticism, desire and constraints. Based on the analysis of both iconographic and literary documents, the author paints a portrait of an ancient society in which female homosexuality seems other-worldly.

Far from Lesbos : The first work on female homosexuality in ancient Greece and Rome

2007 400 pages

Sandra Boehringer, is a professor of Classical Literature at Université Marc-Bloch in Strasbourg. She and Nadine Picard, co-translated John J. Winkler’s work, The Constraints of Desire: The Anthropology of Sex and Gender in Ancient Greece under the French title, Désir et contrainte en Grèce ancienne.

Les mythes d’Homère et la pensée grecque Homeric Myths and Greek Thought Homer’s writings have always fascinated readers, and his influence has not waned from ancient times to our own day (Paul Claudel, Gabriel Audisio, Joyce, Cavafy, Kazantsakis). Yet some philosophers (Xenophanes, Plato, Epicurus) have been harsh critics of Homeric poetry. Xenophanes (6th century BC) reproached Homer for giving the gods an unflattering and immoral reputation. Plato, on the other hand, believed that the study of philosophy should sublimate the study of Homeric poetry, which, in the latter’s day, was the foundation of learning for Greek youths. However, ancient Greeks never ceased to analyse Homeric myths in an attempt to identify their origins. They believed that Homeric poetry and philosophy had to be reconciled in order to discover the myths’ hidden meaning, a process called ‟allegorical exegesis”. The latter began in the early 6th century BC with Theagenes of Rhegium and lasted until Proclus (5th century AD). For Greeks, myths are a deceptive envelope whose secret needs to be penetrated in order to grasp the idea behind the image. Homeric exegesis developed on three major levels : Physics : According to allegorists, Homer’s myths delved into scientific notions about the very structures of the universe. For example, gods were nothing other than primordial elements (air, ether, water, fire and earth) which indulged in cosmic conflicts. Morality : Myths were a reflection of virtue (Plutarch, Cassius Maximus Tyrius) and taught individuals how to conduct themselves heroically, sensibly and wisely. Theology : Neoplatonicians (Porphyry of Tyre, Proclus) believed that Homer’s gods had their respective counterparts in Neoplatonism’s gods and demons, as well as in their belief in the transmigration of souls (the adventures of Ulysses, Calypso, Circe and the Sirens). Homer’s myths revealed the real world’s structure because they were no longer deemed to be fictional, but rather pure, truths. The allegorical exegesis tradition thrived until the Byzantine era and even on up to the Renaissance.

Throughout history, Greeks have never stopped reading and rereading the work of Homer, and interpreting it as though it were their Bible. This remarkably wellwritten book provides a comprehensive overview of such interpretations, from the pre-Socratic philosophers to the Church Fathers

Already sold in Romania

2010 680 pages

Félix Buffière was a writer and a Greek language professor at the Institut catholique de Toulouse. Father Félix Buffière was a Hellenist and a world-renowned expert on Homer.

Mythe et Histoire dans l’Antiquité grecque La création symbolique d’une colonie Myth and History in Greek Antiquity : The Symbolic Creation of a Colony The dual aim of this essay is to strive to provide a critique of the modern concept of myth while rendering – in all their semantic depth and with their poetic and social functions – the fictional creations brought into being by the Greeks’ memorial relations with the past of the most ‟mythical” of their colonies.

Deciphering of the myth about the founding of Cyrene, placed in a historical perspective by an outstanding specialist

2011 288 pages

A former professor of Greek language and literature at the University of Lausanne, Claude Calame is currently the Director of Graduate Studies at the École des Hautes Études (EHESS) in Paris.

Le Ménéxène de Platon et la rhétorique de son temps Plato’s Menexenus and the Rhetoric of his Era Most likely written around 386 or 385 BC, Menexenus concerns the political eloquence displayed during eulogies spoken at funerals in honour of dead war heroes. In this dialogue, Socrates informs young Menexenus, who is about to enter politics, how to ridicule orators by reciting to him a funeral oration written by his mistress Aspasia, Pericles’ wife . This work dissects one of Plato’s first dialogues.

2010 338 pages

Robert Clavaud teaches at Université d’Amiens

Parier sur le temps. La quête héroïque d’immortalité dans l’épopée homérique Wagering on time : The heroic quest for immortality in the Homerian epic In elucidating the heroic concepts and mindset of that era, the author outlines a key relationship between time, the heroic ethic and epic poetry. In the cyclical interval of tireless repetition, there is room for a moment in which humans have the opportunity to distinguish themselves by becoming exceptional beings; in other words, have a chance to become immortal. The desire for immortality driving the hero actually comes from awareness of his finiteness. The quest for recognition which is the heroic ethic’s foundation is thus meant to be a response to time’s destructive action. This response nonetheless requires the song of the poet, who alone is capable of endowing heroic exceptionality with its everlasting nature. Poetization and aestheticization are thus the key to heroic immortality. No hero can exist without a poet, any more than a poet can without a hero. This book reveals how the combination of heroic gesture and poetic gesture constitute a wager on time, whose stake is to leave a trace that is preserved in, and lasts through, time.

This work is a philosophical interpretation of the Homerian epic

2011 304 pages

Catherine Collobert, is a professor of philosophy and classical studies at the University of Ottawa (Canada).

La cité grecque archaïque et classique et l’idéal de tranquillité Ancient and Classical Greek City-States and the Ideal of Tranquillity While ancient Greek city-states recognised work as an ethical requirement, their cohesion was also predicated on an ideal of individual and collective tranquillity (hèsychia) whose development this book traces up to Pindar’s eighth Pythian [ode] (the text of which is included, along with a translation, a historic commentary and an interpretation). In Athenian democracy, this hesychian ideal subsisted, but in the new form of apragmosynè or (‟refusal to engage in business”), it began to conflict with the need to directly participate in the city-state. Numerous 5th- and 6th-century BC texts (notably in the works of Euripides, Aristophanes, Thucydides and Plato) can only be fully understood in this context. Fourth-century Greek thinkers and philosophers (mainly Plato, Xenophon, Isocrates and Aristotle) recomposed this past in order to construct both an active and tranquil ‟leisure” (scholè) ideology whose genesis is examined in the third part of this book, as well as its theoretical and historic implications, even as Demosthenes struggled to maintain his status within the heart of Athenian democracy.

In Athenian democracy, participation in politics vacillated between an ardent – even activist – involvement, and a ‟tranquillity” ideal (hesychia, apragmosyne): the core of the book is devoted to this conflict

2009 438 pages

Paul Demont is a Professor of Greek Language and Literature at Université de Paris-Sorbonne (Paris-IV), where he has been serving as Director of the Institut d’Études grecques since 2002.

Voir la philosophie. Les représentations de la philosophie à Rome. Rhétorique et philosophie, de Cicéron à Marc Aurèle Seeing Philosophy - The Use of Representation in Roman Philosophical Discourse: Rhetoric and Philosophy from Cicero to Marcus Aurelius ‟Seeing philosophy” may seem to be a paradoxical expression. How can anyone see a concept which by nature cannot be seen? Moreover, how can it be presented in such a way that others can see it? This question profoundly influenced Roman philosophical discourse at the end of the Republic and the Early Empire. Concerned about how to best communicate their doctrine, Roman thinkers very often chose to accompany the theoretical demonstrations of their philosophies with images. They used a variety of rhetorical means to make philosophy visually perceptible to their audiences, striving to make it accessible and familiar, thus enabling it to be accepted in the city of Rome. The aim of this study is thus to show how philosophy was represented in Rome, and why it needed to be. This book was written for students of, and specialists in, ancient rhetoric and philosophy and, more broadly, to those interested in the relationship between rhetoric and ethics.

This book examines the ways in which philosophy was represented in Roman thought from Cicero to Marcus Aurelius. More broadly, it examines the relationship between rhetoric and philosophy in Rome at the end of the Republic and in the Early Empire

2010 416 pages

Juliette Dross, a graduate of École Normale Supérieure de Fontenay/Saint Cloud, is a senior lecturer at Université Paris-Sorbonne (Paris IV). She is a member of the ‟Rome et ses Renaissances” research centre. The focus of her research is Roman rhetoric and philosophy, with particular emphasis on stoicism.

L’émancipation féminine dans la Rome antique The Emancipation of Women in Ancient Rome ‟We command all men, and the women command us”, affirmed Cato. Roman history according to what we have been told, however, remains that of Roman men, and women are often overlooked. However, as of the end of the Republic, as shown by the example of Clodia who was so defamed by Cicero, and during the first two centuries of our era, Roman women acquired a great deal of independence, apart from political rights. The Roman Empire’s ‟Golden Century” is also the one in which women enjoyed the greatest freedom and the broadest rights, and even played a key role in public affairs due to their undeniable influence. Guy Fau relates the history of Rome by reversing the roles and discussing Livia and Julia rather than Augustus, Poppaea rather than Neron, and Lesbia rather than Catullus.

‟We command all men, and the women command us”, affirmed Cato

2009 224 pages

Guy Fau

Basiléia. Les Césars, les rois d’Orient et les mages Basiléia : Caesars, Eastern Kings and Soothsayers From Augustus (63 BC) to Constantine (AD 272–337) Roman emperors constantly strove to legitimise their ambiguous power through a form of supernatural consecration. Remarkable continuity can be observed from Apollo – the patron saint of Octavius and of the neopythagoreans – to Aurelian’s Invincible Sun, and even to Constantine’s radiating Horns . A power endowed with something monstrous and illegal (at least when compared to traditional institutions and human rights) always needs to be justified on the grounds of divine right. The Imperial religion, with its political allegories and apotheosis-based rites, is not solely to blame with regard to this issue, which has turned out to be the most critical one to consider in attempting to fathom the reason behind the conduct of the Caesars – whether good or bad, mad or wise. In these seven chapters abounding with theories and fruitful hypotheses (regardless of whether or not all readers will instantly agree with them), Jean Gagé shows that the princes – whether heirs or rulers – called upon the realms of magic and astrology to garner the prestigious crowns of a true basileia.

The influence of mystics and astrologers, most of them from the East, on the Imperial court and Princes

2011 416 pages

Jean Gagé taught at Collège de France

Études de philosophie ancienne Ancient philosophy studies Along with an in-depth review of major philosophical terms, this volume features several justifiably well-known general contributions devoted to philosophy’s various divisions, the organisation of education in philosophical schools, the breakdown of disciplines and the figure of the ‟sage.”

Seventeen studies on the good or evil genie of error in the analysis of ancient philosophy

Already sold in China & Italy

2010 400 pages

Pierre Hadot (1922–2010) worked successively as a CNRS researcher, a Director of Graduate Studies at École pratique des Hautes Études, and a Professor at Collège de France. Among his impressive body of works, he penned an annotated edition of Marius Victorinus (in Sources chrétiennes no. 69), Porphyre et Victorinus (Paris, Études augustiniennes, 1968), in which he reconstituted all neo-platonic metaphysical concepts, a series of annotated translations of the Treaties of Plotinus (Paris, Le Cerf since 1988), and a group of works devoted to Hellenistic and Roman philosophy.

Études de patristique et d’histoire des concepts Studies on patristics and the history of concepts This book presents sixteen articles and contributions, almost all of which were written during the author’s early career. Several articles also deal with the relationships between the two halves of the ancient world: the Greek world and the Latin world, particularly Origen’s influence on the Latin Fathers (Ambrose and Augustine). In all of these short or extensive works, readers will immediately recognise the qualities which have made Pierre Hadot one of the greatest contemporary scholars in our fields of study.

Pierre Hadot, a renowned expert on Plotinus and Marcus Aurelius, explains this philosophy of wisdom in these previously unpublished articles

2010 416 pages

Plotin, Porphyre. Études néoplatoniciennes Plotinus, Porphyrius: Neoplatonic Studies The articles compiled in this collection are the product of forty years of research devoted to Plotinus and his famous disciple, Porphyrius. These studies appear in a variety of styles. Some consist of summary or general presentations of these authors’ thoughts, while others focus on specific doctrinal matters—notably, Plotinus’ or Porphyrius’ Theory of Being. Still others explore psychological themes such as autoeroticism in the works of Plotinus or, lastly, deal with textual criticism-related issues. The two thinkers’ spiritual environment has not been overlooked – particularly the strange phenomenon of the Chaldean Oracles.

2010 428 pages

Le Kaléidoscope hérodotéen. Images, imaginaire et représentations de l’Égypte à travers le livre II d’Hérodote The Herodotean Kaleidoscope: Images, the Imaginary and Representations of Egypt as seen in the Second Book of Herodotus Considered by some to be the earliest work of history, and by others as a jumble of fables, Herodotus’ The Histories [also known as The Inquiries ] is first and foremost a vast space dedicated to freedom of speech: the author’s speech as well as that of his informants, whose nature constitutes an essential part of the enigma. Was this traveller from Halicarnassus wellinformed? Did he, or his informants, willingly or not, alter reality? And even if they did, does that mean that his testimony would no longer be of any interest to contemporary historians? In addressing these diverse questions and many others, this study seeks to help readers to no longer view the stories in the Second Book of Herodotus’ Histories – the one devoted to Egypt – as so many potential testimonia of realia, but as keys to unlock the mindsets, representations and the imaginary of the various creative communities (Egyptian as well as Greek, scholarly or popular) of these logoi which, like a kaleidoscope, can produce an infinite combination of images.

A captivating and innovative study of Herodotus (480–420 BC), the ‟Father of History”

2009 400 pages

Typhaine Haziza, who holds an agrégation in history and a doctorate from Université ParisSorbonne (Paris IV), is a senior lecturer in Ancient History at Université de Caen, BasseNormandie. She is a member of the Archaeology, Ancient and Medieval History Research Centre (CRAHAM) research team. Her current research deals with the imaginary and representations, the motifs of ancient tales and of Graeco-Roman Egypt.

Les Noms latins d’astres et de constellations Latin Names of Stars and Constellations This imposing major compendium tackles, through the prism of vocabulary, all of the fundamental problems (definitions, terminology of sidus, stella etc.). There was no Roman work on astronomy per se, and there is no basis in claiming that the only known astronomer in Rome (C. Sulpicius Galus, c. 170 BC) was a scientist. The Romans were indebted to Greek science for both theory and practical inventions (quadrants, clocks, etc.). It is more accurate to speak of a ‟literary” (Hyginus, certain passages by Virgil, commentaries on Aratus’ Phaenomena by Germanicus Caesar) and ‟philosophical” (Lucretius, Martianus Capella) astronomy. The enthusiasm of the elites and the Roman people for this discipline never dimmed throughout history, because astronomy has had many practical applications : establishment of a civil calendar, pinpointing of the rising and setting of stars for farming purposes and for building sundials.

2010 292 pages

André Le Boeuffle is an Emeritus Professor at Université d’Amiens.

La Loi à Rome. Histoire d’un concept Law in Rome: History of a Concept It is common knowledge that law is a key component of the legacy bequeathed to our world by Ancient Rome. However, perhaps this evidence prevents us from grasping the fact that Roman law did not necessarily rely on the same foundations as our law of today and that, even in Rome, the formulation of a ‟modern” concept of law took quite a long time. A. Magdelain, who left us in 1993 and who was one of the most renowned experts on Roman law, proves it in this book on the concept of Roman law. In early Roman history, it was holder of power, the king and later the magistrate, who dictated the law which the people could only ratify – the Latin for this was accipere legem (‟to receive the law”) – and even then it entered into effect only when the Senate had vested it with its ‟authority,” the one thing that could render it operative. It was only gradually that the principle of popular sovereignty came into being and that the law appeared as being derived from the will of Rome’s citizens. This work remains one of the best examples of a historical approach to Roman law and shows how important legal frameworks are in order to understand the ancient Roman world.

Roman law did not necessarily rely on the same foundations as our law of today and, even in Rome, the formulation of a ‟modern” concept of law took quite a long time

2009 96 pages

André Magdelain is one of the most outstanding specialists in the field of Roman law.

Historiens compagnons d’Alexandre. Callisthène, Onésicrite, Néarque, Ptolémée, Aristobule Alexander’s Historian Companions: Callisthenes, Onesicritus, Nearchus, Ptolemy and Aristobulus Who were Alexander the Great’s companions ? Five talented and highly renowned historians who took part in Alexander’s vast Asian campaign. Although fragmentary, these sources are essential in order to understand who this young Macedonian king really was. Onesicritus of Astypalaia, one of Alexander’s companions, was a philosopher disciple of Diogenes the Cynic’s school. An excellent sailor, he piloted the royal ship and was the chief pilot of the nautical expedition commanded by Nearchus. Ptolemy was one of Alexander’s childhood friends. He was the same age as the latter and, as a member of the royal household, he was raised with him. His role became increasingly important throughout the expedition. Callisthenes hailed from Olynthus, which was destroyed in 347 BC by Philip, Aristotle’s nephew and Alexander’s official historiographer. Aristobulus followed Alexander and is cited in Arrian’s work. All of these authors’ writings have disappeared and were passed on to us by other historians many centuries later. A comparative survey between the various interpretations of Alexander the Great’s conquest and his rise to power/ reign according to five historians of the Hellenistic Era

2011 416 pages

Paul Pédech, a Hellenist, taught at Faculté de Rennes.

L’Art de la déformation historique dans les Commentaires de César The Art of Historic Deformation in Caesar’s Commentaries The author of the Commentaries on the Gallic War (consisting of 8 books) is traditionally known by the name of Julius Caesar. We know, for example, that the author of Book VIII of the Bellum gallicum is Aulus Hirtius, one of Caesar’s closest collaborators. As the Caesarian corpus as a whole (The Gallic War, The Civil War, The Spanish War, The African War and The Alexandrian War), doubts and diverse opinions about it have been expressed since antiquity, notably by Asinius Pollio, who accused the politician of omissions and inaccuracies. The Commentarii, likely written between late October and late December in 51 BC, are accounts of Caesar’s military campaigns. They discuss in great detail Gaul’s independent era. Were the flagrant contradictions found in Caesar’s work made intentionally or by mistake? Michel Rambaud’s research shows that the conqueror’s testimony could not always be trusted. The Gallic War is a work of propaganda, written in what we would consider today a military and political journalistic style.

How Julius Caesar falsified historical facts about the Gallic war to enhance his own reputation

2011 448 pages

Michel Rambaud taught at the Faculté des Lettres of Lyon.

Les Romains et la mode Romans and fashion Like all Romans, Scipio the Elder sported a beard. One day in Sicily, in deference to Greek customs, he decided to shave it off. Almost immediately, every young and modern-minded man in Rome followed his example, thus launching the new ‟smooth-faced” fad. Babylonian carpets were highly popular in Cato’s time –they would sell for 800,000 sesterces apiece when a chicken would only cost 2 sesterces at the market. Roscius was a charming and talented slave, so his master decided to make him a star in the theatre. In a few years, he became the darling of Rome, and he is still remembered as one of the star System’s greatest names. As shown by these few examples, in Rome, fashion influenced daily living habits – clothing, food, the home environment – as much as it did Roman art and literature, in which the notion of imitation played a key role. Since then, Rome has remained the arbiter of elegance by becoming a benchmark model of European culture and taste.

Fashionistas and the ‟star system” in ancient Rome

2011 432 pages

Latinist and historian Jean-Noël Robert (has already published several works on the history of human behaviour with Les Belles Lettres (including Les Plaisirs à Rome, Les Modes à Rome, etc.) and contributed to several television documentaries. He is also the Director of Les Belles Lettres «Realia» and « Guide Belles Lettres des Civilisations » collections.

La crainte et l’angoisse dans le théâtre d’Eschyle Fear and Anguish in Aeschylus’ Plays ‟Why am I shivering” ? Orestes cries out as madness overtakes him. While Racine chose to put these words in the mouth of the Greek hero, they would have been perfectly suited for Aeschylus’ eponymous tragedy and, in broader terms, for all of his plays. In all its forms – metaphorical, sentimental, religious, physical or even medical – fear inhabits Aeschylus’ characters and invades the audience. In this groundbreaking study, Jacqueline de Romilly analyses the various faces of fear in Aeschylus’ poetry, as well as their meaning.

2011 128 pages

Jacqueline de Romilly (1913-2010) held the Chair of ‟Greece and the development of moral and political thought” at Collège de France and was the first woman to teach there (1973). She later became the first woman elected to the Académie des inscriptions et belles lettres (1975 ). As an expert in Greek civilisation and language, she authored numerous works, mainly on the historian Thucydides, the plays of Aeschylus and Euripides, and the Peloponnesian War.

La douceur dans la pensée grecque The Gentle Side of Greek Thought Why speak of ‟gentleness” in a world dominated by justice and heroism, in which cruel myths and tragedies abound, and in which the view of human life is harsh and violent ? The Iliad is a poem about battles and death. Thucydides’ historical works depict the violent physical and moral acts committed in a merciless war. The emergence of a gentleness ideal in Greek thought is an even more extraordinary phenomenon. How did it manage to occur in such an unfavourable context, gain so much momentum at the end of the fifth century that it is still evident in contemporary Greek philosophy? Gentleness is described on these pages as a humane attitude, one belonging to the realm of ethics and embodying the Greek ideal. In this book, Jacqueline de Romilly examines a practical behaviour whose nature varies according to circumstances : gentle ways, kindness towards others, generosity, goodness, tolerance, understanding, humanity, charity, mildness, and other values designated by the same word : praos.

Already sold in Greece

2011 352 pages

Jacqueline de Romilly (1913-2010) held the Chair of “Greece and the development of moral and political thought” at Collège de France and was the first woman to teach there (1973). She later became the first woman elected to the Académie des inscriptions et belles lettres (1975 ). As an expert in Greek civilisation and language, she authored numerous works, mainly on the historian Thucydides, the plays of Aeschylus and Euripides, and the Peloponnesian War.

Histoire et raison chez Thucydide History and Reason in Thucydides’ Works ‟A reading of Thucydides’ works instantly reveals some rather remarkable and distinctive form characteristics. Not only do the speeches, with their interlaced phrasing and concise density, but the story itself, with its sombre power and lustrous theorem, convey an outstanding artistry. It is on these distinctive form characteristics and this art on which the author strives to shed some light.”

‟A reading of Thucydides’ work instantly reveals some rather remarkable and distinctive form characteristics” Already sold in Greece & U.S.A.

2005 314 pages

Tragédies grecques au fil des ans Greek Tragedis Through the Years Through the years, Jacqueline de Romilly repeatedly made Greek tragedy and its relationship with the major intellectual movements of the Pericles century the focus of her research. This book combines various studies previously unpublished or difficult to access, all dealing more or less directly with this subject. Thanks to the author’s comparisons of the tragedies, or between the latter and other texts of the same era, readers can glimpse the intellectual activities of that time as they occurred through the years – and learn how the literary genre evolved through the years. These developments revitalised the tragic themes, yet did not strip them of their initial powerful impact, untarnished by the passing of time.

Already sold in Greece

2007 240 pages

Des Goths à la nation gothique. Les origines de l’idée de Nation en Occident du Ve au VIIe siècle From Goths to a gothic nation : Origins of the concept of nation in the 5th to 7th centuries of the Western world What can we learn from the history of the Goths, as presented in the Latin texts of Late Antiquity ? First, that its history is inseparable from that of the Western world’s Roman Empire, even though it plays an essential role in this era’s literature. It is actually the Western history of the three centuries separating the barbarian horde’s flight before the Huns (376 A.D.) and the coronation of Wamba, the first Visigoth king (672 to 680) to be anointed in Toledo. Suzanne Teillet explores both the Romans’ political conception of the Barbarians and the role played by the Goths, whose territory was evolving from the status of a “confederation” to that of a ‟nation.” As a corollary, the author compares the notion of ‟empire” to that of ‟nation” in this expansive and fascinating work in which countless literary documents are examined. Readers witness the birth of the Europe of Nations, from the crossing of the Danube by the Goths to the Fall of the Roman Empire, from Constantinople to Toledo, and the Moor invasions through the writings of Orosio, Salvian, Sidonius Apollinaris, Hydatius, Marcellin, Corippus, Eugippius, Ennodius, Cassiodorus, Jordanes, Gregory the Great, Gregory of Tours, John of Biclaro, Aurelius Victor, Isidorus of Sevilla and Julian of Toledo.

The only work about the ancient origins of European nations

2011 700 pages

Suzanne Teillet was a professor at Université Sorbonne Paris IV.

La magie dans la poésie latine. Des origines à la fin du règne d’Auguste Magic in Latin Poetry: From its Origins to the End of Augusta’s Reign The Romans believed in magic : the author recalls that they believed one could lower the moon or move a neighbour’s crop to one’s own field. It is not surprising then that Roman poets should have kept remnants of this old stock of ancient mindsets which Anne-Marie Tupet analyses by showing that they can be found, even in the most minute detail, in the practices of many other civilisations. Yet that alone does not adequately explain the role of magic in Roman poetry. Following in the footsteps of the Greeks who, since the time of Homer and his tragic writings, had often included scenes of magic in their works, the Romans have shown themselves t be keenly aware of the power of such scenes to fascinate their public.

The author of this work excels in drawing us into a world of the irrational which had its own particular logic and whose very strangeness never fails to appeal to today’s reader

2009 452 pages

Anne-Marie Tupet, a renowned expert in Latin poetry who taught at Université de Lille III excels in drawing us into a world of the irrational which had its own particular logic and whose very strangeness never fails to appeal to today’s reader.

La métamorphose dans les Métamorphoses d’Ovide. Étude sur l’art de la variation Metamorphosis in Ovid’s Metamorphoses : Study of the Art of Variation As in the Nereides’ facies non omnibus una, non diuersa tamen (Mét., II, 13-14) – poetic writing in the passages which Ovid dedicated to metamorphosis in his Metamorphoses is characterised by a subtle balance between similarities and dissimilarities: that which seems to always have to be the same story – that of the miracle of corporal transformation, a unique and comprehensive theme announced in the very first verses and vertiginously depicted right up to the final uiuam – is, however, never the same, thanks to such resourceful deployment of the art of variation that each new evocation of the mutata forma is turned into an absolutely unique writing and reading experience. This study spotlights the dual poetic realities of metamorphosis and variatio – describing their respective mechanisms, defining the nature of the organic link forged between them with each new verse, and analysing the relationship between this alliance and the Ovidean concept of writing. A study of Ovid’s Metamorphoses, fifteen books devoted to the world’s origins, the great mythological legends, and the transformation of humans into animals, plants and minerals

2010 528 pages

A graduate of École Normale Supérieure de Fontenay-Saint-Cloud, Hélène Vial holds an agrégation in Classical Letters and a PhD in Latin Studies. Currently, she is a senior lecturer in Latin Studies at Université Blaise Pascal in Clermont-Ferrand. A specialist in Ovid’s works, to which she has devoted many reports and articles, she has now expanded her research into the study of the relationship between poetry and rhetoric, a theme exemplified by the title of her most recent symposium, ‟La variatio : l’aventure d’un principe d’écriture, de l’Antiquité au XXIe siècle”[‟Varatio : The adventure of a writing principle, from Antiquity to the 21st century”].

Dieux et Hommes de l’Antiquité (VIIIe siècle avant J.-C.- Ve siècle après J.-C.) Gods and people of antiquity (from the 8th to the 5th century B.C.) From Homer (8th century B.C.) to Augustine (5th century A.D .), the people of ancient Greece and Rome wondered nearly to the point of obsession about the mysterious proximity between the world of the gods and that of humans. Whether motivated by deference or boldness, they have left us portraits populated by a multitude of gods – some terrifying and others laughable – whose history helps us to understand the role which each of them played in the lives of individuals, with all of their hopes and fears, in their cities and in their world. Superstitions, spells, devotions, persecutions, secret cults from foreign lands which disrupted the public order – there were sects of every kind, the best-known of which is now called Christianity. Antiquity was a cult-filled cauldron from which we have drawn our present-day questions on the subject. In these pages, readers will find themselves confronted with questions about tolerance, fanaticism, the balance between temporal and spiritual powers and the answers contributed by ancient Greeks and Romans. Benefiting from the latest studies, this book is a compilation of some forty annotated Greek and Latin texts translated by Les Belles Lettres.

This clear and concise work presents a coauthored analysis of Greek and Roman religions and their role in the relations which human society had with their gods

2011 296 pages

Loïc Bertrand teaches Latin and Greek for literary preparatory classes at Lyçée Henri IV (Paris) Jean-Pierre di Giorgio is a senior lecturer on Latin language and literature at Université Clermont-Ferrand II. Sophie Malick-Prunier whose PhD is in Latin Literature, teaches classical literature for literary preparatory classes at Lyçée Faidherbe in Lille. Stéphane Wyler is a senior lecturer in Latin language and literature at Université de Provence.

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