100 Best Ancient Books of All Time (Updated for 2026)

1

The Odyssey

Homer

5.0

After enduring the Trojan War, Odysseus begins the treacherous journey home to Ithaca. On the way, he faces ravenous monsters and vengeful gods. But the real battle awaits, as his kingdom is under siege by unruly suitors vying for his wife’s hand—and his son’s head. To reclaim his throne and save his family, Odysseus must rely on his wits…and help from the unpredictable gods.

Homer’s The Odyssey wa

Recommended by Caterina Fake, Ted Turner, Charlotte Higgins, and 3 others.

Ted Turner

Founder/CNN

When I got to college, I was a classics major, and that was mainly the study of Greek - and to a lesser extent Roman - history and culture, and that fascinated me: the Iliad, the Odyssey, the Aeneid by Virgil. [source]

Charlotte Higgins

It’s a very easy read, and a completely different world from The Iliad. Whereas The Iliad depicts a militaristic and war-wrecked world, The Odyssey is like a fairytale and it’s fascinatingly complex. It’s told in flashbacks, it has time that’s extended and time that’s compressed, and it’s told from different viewpoints. [source]

Janine di Giovanni

The thing I loved about Ulysses was that he’s so in love with adventure and with love. [source]

2

Meditations

Marcus Aurelius

4.9

Preview Summary

One measure, perhaps, of a book's worth, is its intergenerational pliancy: do new readers acquire it and interpret it afresh down through the ages? The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius, translated and introduced by Gregory Hays, by that standard, is very worthwhile, indeed. Hays suggests that its most recent incarnation--as a self-help book--is not only valid, but may be close to the author's intent

Recommended by Arianna Huffington, Naval Ravikant, Chip Conley, and 12 others.

Arianna Huffington

Founder/The Huffington Post

I find this book so inspirational and instructive, it lives on my nightstand. [source]

Chip Conley

I have given this book away to a number of people. [source]

Marvin Liao

Partner/500 Startups

My list would be (besides the ones I mentioned in answer to the previous question) both business & Fiction/Sci-Fi and ones I personally found helpful to myself. The business books explain just exactly how business, work & investing are in reality & how to think properly & differentiate yourself. On the non-business side, a mix of History & classic fiction to understand people, philosophy to make sense of life and Science fiction to picture what the future could be like (not always utopian). [source]

3

The Iliad

Homer, Robert Fagles, Bernard Knox

4.8

Dating to the ninth century B.C., Homer’s timeless poem still vividly conveys the horror and heroism of men and gods wrestling with towering emotions and battling amidst devastation and destruction, as it moves inexorably to the wrenching, tragic conclusion of the Trojan War. Renowned classicist Bernard Knox observes in his superb introduction that although the violence of the Iliad is grim and re

Recommended by Ted Turner, Charlotte Higgins, Daniel Mendelsohn, and 2 others.

Ted Turner

Founder/CNN

When I got to college, I was a classics major, and that was mainly the study of Greek - and to a lesser extent Roman - history and culture, and that fascinated me: the Iliad, the Odyssey, the Aeneid by Virgil. [source]

Charlotte Higgins

I think The Iliad has much to say to politicians now – it’s completely clear-eyed about collateral damage, about problems of post-conflict and about the ghastly things that happen to women and children in war. [source]

Daniel Mendelsohn

There are always new translations of The Iliad coming out, but this one has a very specific approach, both in terms of its philosophy of translation and its approach to the text. [source]

4

The Art of War

Sun Tzu

4.8

Preview Summary

For more than two thousand years, The Art of War has stood as a cornerstone of Chinese culture-a lucid epigrammatic text that reveals as much about human psychology, politics, and economics as it does about battlefield strategy. The influence of Sun-tzu's text has grown tremendously in the West in recent years, with military leaders, politicians, and corporate executives alike finding valuable ins

Recommended by Reid Hoffman, Evan Spiegel, Neil deGrasse Tyson, and 14 others.

Reid Hoffman

CEO/LinkedIn

Reid read Carl von Clausewitz and Sun Tzu as a boy, which informed his strategic thinking. [source]

Evan Spiegel

After meeting Mark Zuckerberg, Evan Spiegel immediately bought every Snapchat employee a copy of 'The Art Of War'. [source]

Neil deGrasse Tyson

Astrophysicist, Author & Science Communicator

Which books should be read by every single intelligent person on planet? … The Art of War (Sun Tsu) to learn that the act of killing fellow humans can be raised to an art. If you read all of the above works you will glean profound insight into most of what has driven the history of the western world. [source]

5

The Republic: The Influential Classic

Plato

4.7

The newest deluxe edition in the bestselling Capstone Classics Series This ancient classic has had a make-over. In recent years these Capstone Classic deluxe editions have caught the book buying public's imagination. The volumes of international bestsellers such as Think and Grow Rich and The Art of War have quickly become the market leaders. Now Plato's best known work, one of the most intellectu

Recommended by Bryan Van Norden, David Heinemeier Hansson, Jonathan Glover, and 6 others.

Bryan Van Norden

It’s very readable even if you aren’t a professional philosopher. Take the story of ‘The Ring of Gyges,’ which raises the question of whether you would continue to act like a good person if you had a ring of invisibility that let you get away with doing whatever you wanted to do. That’s a fascinating thought experiment that anybody can appreciate. [source]

David Heinemeier Hansson

I’m about a third through this and still can’t tell whether Plato is making a mockery of Socrates ideas for the idyllic society or not. So many of the arguments presented as Socrates’ are so tortured and with so disconnected leaps of logic that it’s hard to take it at face value. Yet still, it’s good fun to follow the dialogue. It reads more like a play than a book, and again, immensely accessible. It’s fun to see the lines that continue from a book like this to the considerations of the Stoics all the way to Adam Smith and the Wealth of Nations and then onto a modern critique and history in that Debt: First 5,000 Years. A conversation spanning millennia. [source]

Jonathan Glover

It contains a tremendous amount of nonsense about what the ideal society would be like. But it is an unmissable book because of Socrates. He invented the method of doing and teaching philosophy that has never been improved on. [source]

6

The Aeneid

Virgil, Robert Fitzgerald

4.6

The Aeneid is an epic poem written by Virgil in the 1st century BC. It's hero is Aeneas, a Trojan who travels from Troy to Italy to eventually found Rome. Some argue that The Aeneid is Virgil's answer to Homer's Odyssey and Iliad, combining two genres of the day - travel and war - into one poem. Take that, Homer!

No civilization is without a bit of revisionist history: so it was that Virgil picked

Recommended by Mark Zuckerberg, Ryan Holiday, Ted Turner, and 2 others.

Mark Zuckerberg

Founder/Facebook

Oh, it’s not a favorite book or anything like that, I just added it because I liked it. I don’t think there’s any real significance to the fact that it’s listed there and other books aren’t. But there are definitely books—like the Aeneid—that I enjoyed reading a lot more. [source]

Ryan Holiday

Author

I made an effort to read some classical poets and playwrights this year. The Aneiad was far and away the most quotable, readable and memorable of all of them. There’s no other way to put: the story is AMAZING. Better than the Odyssey, better than Juvenal’s Satires. Inspiring, beautiful, exciting, and eminently readable, I loved this. I took more notes on it that I have on anything I’ve read in a long time. [source]

Ted Turner

Founder/CNN

When I got to college, I was a classics major, and that was mainly the study of Greek - and to a lesser extent Roman - history and culture, and that fascinated me: the Iliad, the Odyssey, the Aeneid by Virgil. [source]

7

Letters from a Stoic

Seneca

4.6

I feel, my dear Lucilius, that I am being not only reformed, but transformed. I do not yet, however, assure myself, or indulge the hope, that there are no elements left in me which need to be changed. Of course there are many that should be made more compact, or made thinner, or be brought into greater prominence. And indeed this very fact is proof that my spirit is altered into something better,

Recommended by Timothy Ferriss, Ryan Holiday, David Kadavy, and 5 others.

Timothy Ferriss

Author & Entrepreneur

This is a letter from Stoic heavyweight Seneca the Younger — who lived a mere 2,000 years or so ago — to his friend Lucilius. It’s from a collection of letters that comprise, effectively, my favorite book of all time. I’ve read it dozens of times, and I loved it so much that I turned it into The Tao of Seneca, a three-volume set of audiobooks. [source]

Ryan Holiday

Author

After Marcus Aurelius, this is one of my favorite books. While Marcus wrote mainly for himself, Seneca had no trouble advising and aiding others. In fact, that was his job—he was Nero’s tutor, tasked with reducing the terrible impulses of a terrible man. His advice on grief, on wealth, on power, on religion, and on life are always there when you need them. [source]

Jerzy Gregorek

From this book, I learned self-mastery: to constantly improve myself so I would be ready for any possible disaster. I also learned that when disaster happens, it means that something is being asked of me. I need to improve. [source]

8

The Epic of Gilgamesh

Anonymous

4.5

Andrew George's "masterly new translation" (The Times) of the world's first truly great work of literature

Miraculously preserved on clay tablets dating back as much as four thousand years, the poem of Gilgamesh, king of Uruk, is the world’s oldest epic, predating Homer by many centuries. The story tells of Gilgamesh’s adventures with the wild man Enkidu, and of his arduous journey to the ends of t

Recommended by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Cave.

Ryan Holiday

Author

I read this on my honeymoon (probably the only person on the beach reading it, if I had to guess). Especially when I learned after that a new introduction paragraph had been discovered only recently. His tomb may have been found recently too. Imagine if Homer’s works had only been discovered in the mid 1800’s after being lost to history for thousands of years. How crazy would that be? Reading the classic epics can feel like work but there is value in it. These works are timeless and universal. Such a great line [source]

Stephen Cave

Gilgamesh is a hero in the ancient mould. He’s half-god, enormously strong, a bit randy, a bit dim, and he goes through adventures which embody the human experience writ large. He starts off as the king of a small kingdom, making a nuisance of himself – enforcing droit du seigneur, sleeping with women on their marriage night, pushing other men around, being a bit of an arse. So the gods make a rival to him in strength, a wild man. They fight, realise neither can win, then become best friends and go off on all sorts of adventures. They kill all sorts of ogres and beasts, until the gods think this is getting a bit much and decide Gilgamesh’s friend has to die. [source]

9

Tao Te Ching: By Lao Tzu - Illustrated

Lao Tse

4.5

A lucid translation of the well-known Taoist classic by a leading scholar-now in a Shambhala Pocket Library edition.
Written more than two thousand years ago, the Tao Teh Ching, or -The Classic of the Way and Its Virtue, - is one of the true classics of the world of spiritual literature. Traditionally attributed to the legendary -Old Master, - Lao Tzu, the Tao Teh Ching teaches that the qualities o

Recommended by Jack Dorsey, Jack Ma, Naval Ravikant, and 11 others.

Jack Dorsey

Co-Founder/Twitter

Q: What are the books that had a major influence on you? Or simply the ones you like the most. : Tao te Ching, score takes care of itself, between the world and me, the four agreements, the old man and the sea...I love reading! [source]

Jack Ma

Founder/Alibaba

According to a Yibada interview with Chen Wei, who wrote Ma’s 2014 authorized biography, the Alibaba founder and executive chairman always carries the Tao Te Ching, the foundational text of Taoist philosophy, religion and ethics composed by Lao Tzu in the sixth century B.C. [source]

Naval Ravikant

CEO & Co-Founder/AngelList

In the philosophy side, I’ve been rereading the Tao Te Ching. [source]

10

Metamorphoses

Ovid, David Raeburn, Denis Feeney

4.5

Prized through the ages for its splendor and its savage, sophisticated wit, The Metamorphoses is a masterpiece of Western culture--the first attempt to link all the Greek myths, before and after Homer, in a cohesive whole, to the Roman myths of Ovid's day. Horace Gregory, in this modern translation, turns his poetic gifts toward a deft reconstruction of Ovid's ancient themes, using contemporary id

11

Holy Bible: KJV Standard Size Thumb Index Edition: Burgundy (King James Bible)

Thomas Nelson

4.5

My Creative Bible is an exciting new concept in ways to experience the word of God in Scripture. This King James Version Journaling Bible is single-column printed, with two-inch-wide ruled margins for note-taking, scribing your reflections or creative expression. Nearly 400 hand-drawn, Scripture accompanying line-art illustrations are placed throughout the Bible to enhance embracement of The Word.

Recommended by Walter Isaacson, Caterina Fake, A.J. Jacobs, and 7 others.

Walter Isaacson

Author

Everybody, of course, should be familiar with this book, which is a way of being taught through both parables and tales of people and their values. [source]

A.J. Jacobs

One thing that really has stuck with me is that this book talks about that you should be grateful all the time. [source]

Brett Wigdortz

I wanted to throw this in because I think a lot of leadership books believe the problems that leaders are dealing with are all new, and have never been dealt with before. But in an example that almost seems trite, because it is such a part of our cultural knowledge, if you read the book of Exodus from the point of view of leadership theory there were the same leadership lessons 3,000 years ago that people talk about today. For example, the leadership style of Moses in this book broadly has the combination of humility and will discussed by Jim Collins. He needed a great deal of convincing that he was the one who should be leading his people, but once he became that person he had the iron will to be the leader they needed. [source]

12

History of the Peloponnesian War

R. Warner Thucydides,M. I. Finley

4.5

Written four hundred years before the birth of Christ, this detailed contemporary account of the long life-and-death struggle between Athens and Sparta stands an excellent chance of fulfilling its author's ambitious claim. Thucydides himself (c.460-400 BC) was an Athenian and achieved the rank of general in the earlier stages of the war. He applied thereafter a passion for accuracy and a contempt

Recommended by Satya Nadella, Ryan Holiday, and Steven Pressfield.

Ryan Holiday

Author

This book – of a long forgotten war – really functions as a biography and strategic analysis of some of the greatest minds in the history of war. We have Pericles, Brasidas, Alcibiades and many others. The anecdotes and the stories in this book are timeless. If you make your way all the way through it, I promise you will not forget it. Because the war was so long, involved so many different countries and was so varied (sea, land, siege, politics), it basically covers every type of situation you can think of. Think of this book as a textbook. Read it. [source]

Steven Pressfield

It is loaded with hardcore, timeless truths and the story it tells ought to be required reading for every citizen in a democracy. [source]

13

The Symposium

Plato, Christopher Gill

4.5

A fascinating discussion on sex, gender, and human instincts, as relevant today as ever.

In the course of a lively drinking party, a group of Athenian intellectuals exchange views on eros, or desire. From their conversation emerges a series of subtle reflections on gender roles, sex in society and the sublimation of basic human instincts. The discussion culminates in a radical challenge to conventi

Recommended by Bryan Callen and Edward Skidelsky.

Bryan Callen

Bryan Callen recommended this book on the podcast "The Tim Ferriss Show". [source]

Edward Skidelsky

Plato is the founding figure in the Western philosophical tradition and the Symposium is one of his most charming books – you can read it like a novel. [source]

14

The Histories

Herodotus, John M. Marincola, et al.

4.5

One of the masterpieces of classical literature, the "Histories" describes how a small and quarrelsome band of Greek city states united to repel the might of the Persian empire. But while this epic struggle forms the core of his work, Herodotus' natural curiosity frequently gives rise to colorful digressions - a description of the natural wonders of Egypt; an account of European lake-dwellers; and

15

The Oresteia: Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers, The Eumenides

Aeschylus, W. B. Stanford, Robert Fagles

4.4

Alternate cover edition can be found here, here, here, here

In the Oresteia—the only trilogy in Greek drama which survives from antiquity—Aeschylus took as his subject the bloody chain of murder and revenge within the royal family of Argos.

Moving from darkness to light, from rage to self-governance, from primitive ritual to civilized institution, their spirit of struggle and regeneration becomes an

16

Oedipus Rex (The Theban Plays, #1)

Sophocles, Elizabeth Osborne, J.E. Thomas

4.4

"...what man wins more happiness than just its shape and the ruin when that shape collapses?"

Sophocles' Oedipus Rex has never been surpassed for the raw and terrible power with which its hero struggles to answer the eternal question, "Who am I?" The play, a story of a king who acting entirely in ignorance kills his father and marries his mother, unfolds with shattering power; we are helplessly car

17

The Nicomachean Ethics

Aristotle

4.4

Preview Summary

‘One swallow does not make a summer; neither does one day. Similarly neither can one day, or a brief space of time, make a man blessed and happy’

In the Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle sets out to examine the nature of happiness. He argues that happiness consists in ‘activity of the soul in accordance with virtue’, for example with moral virtues, such as courage, generosity and justice, and intellect

Recommended by Ryan Holiday, A C Grayling, Christian B Miller, and 1 others.

Ryan Holiday

Author

Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics was something I reread and cannot recommend highly enough. [source]

A C Grayling

He said the great question is how we should live well, so that we live a good life, and he came up with a very positive response – what distinguishes us from the rest of the world is our possession of reason [source]

Christian B Miller

According to Aristotle, it is hard to become virtuous, and hard to become vicious too. The character of most people is somewhere in the middle. [source]

18

The Oedipus Cycle: Oedipus Rex, Oedipus at Colonus, Antigone

. Sophocles

4.4

English versions of Sophocles’ three great tragedies based on the myth of Oedipus, translated for a modern audience by two gifted poets.

19

Aesop's Fables

Aesop

4.4

Aesop, an ancient Greek poet who was sold into slavery in the early sixth century BC, relied on animal stories to convey his key points to his masters in court. Aesop's Fables are classic, memorable morality plays in which amusing animal characters drive home thought-provoking morals to generations of listeners and modern-day audiences. They illustrate what was fundamental to Greek culture, yet th

20

Antigone (The Theban Plays, #3)

Sophocles

4.4

The curse placed on Oedipus lingers and haunts a younger generation in this new and brilliant translation of Sophocles' classic drama. The daughter of Oedipus and Jocasta, Antigone is an unconventional heroine who pits her beliefs against the King of Thebes in a bloody test of wills that leaves few unharmed. Emotions fly as she challenges the king for the right to bury her own brother. Determined

21

The Bhagavad Gita

Eknath Easwaran

4.4

Preview Summary

Recommended by Ryan Holiday, Bernard Tan, Bill Liao, and 1 others.

Ryan Holiday

Author

I read The Bhagavad Gita, which is something I wasn’t ready for before, but glad to finally understand. [source]

Bernard Tan

The “Tao Te King” by Lao Tzu probably resonated with me the strongest, but others like the “Art of War” by Sun Tzu, “Bhagavad Gita” or Zen Buddhist scriptures were also real eye-openers, even for a non-religious person like myself. [source]

Bill Liao

The human world occurs in language so best get good at it! [source]

22

SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome

Mary Beard

4.4

In SPQR, an instant classic, Mary Beard narrates the history of Rome "with passion and without technical jargon" and demonstrates how "a slightly shabby Iron Age village" rose to become the "undisputed hegemon of the Mediterranean" (Wall Street Journal). Hailed by critics as animating "the grand sweep and the intimate details that bring the distant past vividly to life" (Economist) in a way that m

Recommended by Olly Murphy (Wycombe Abbey).

Olly Murphy (Wycombe Abbey)

I think SPQR is a wonderful book. Ancient Roman history is so very dense and intricate that it can be difficult to teach and learn about. Mary Beard makes it accessible—and she goes through it all, from the early days right up until the present day. [source]

23

Confessions

Augustine of Hippo

4.4

Augustine's Confessions is one of the most influential and most innovative works of Latin literature. Written in the author's early forties in the last years of the fourth century A.D. and during his first years as a bishop, they reflect on his life and on the activity of remembering and interpreting a life. Books I-IV are concerned with infancy and learning to talk, schooldays, sexual desire and

Recommended by A N Wilson, Carlos Eire, Paula Fredriksen, and 3 others.

A N Wilson

A lot of people think becoming a Christian is a decision you make. St Augustine doesn’t really think that. [source]

Carlos Eire

St Augustine of Hippo was one of the first thinkers to struggle with the concepts of time, memory and eternity. [source]

Paula Fredriksen

For the reader it’s somewhat like crashing a session of classic psychoanalytic therapy: Augustine speaks, God just listens, and we overhear. [source]

24

The Twelve Caesars

Suetonius, Michael Grant, Robert Graves

4.4

As private secretary to the Emperor Hadrian, Suetonius gained access to the imperial archives and used them (along with eye-witness accounts) to produce one of the most colorful biographical works in history. The Twelve Caesars chronicles the public careers and private lives of the men who wielded absolute power over Rome, from the foundation of the empire under Julius Caesar and Augustus, to the

Recommended by Tom Holland.

Tom Holland

It really had a crucial sense of shaping our understanding of Imperial Rome as a place of savagery, sexual depravity and brutal, bawdy splendour. [source]

25

Gates of Fire: An Epic Novel of the Battle of Thermopylae

Steven Pressfield

4.3

In 480 B.C., two million Persian invaders come to the mountain pass of Thermopylae in eastern Greece, where they are met by 300 of Sparta's finest warriors. The Greek loyalists battle for six days in a prelude to their ultimate victory.

Recommended by Ron Conway, Chris Fussell, Xi-Wei Yeo, and 1 others.

Ron Conway

The story of the battle of 300 Spartan soldiers against the Persian army. [source]

Chris Fussell

A classic in the special operations community. [source]

Xi-Wei Yeo

I wasn’t the most confident of youths, I think. I was never bold enough to be a trend-setter, but always too concerned about what others thought of me to be comfortable in my own skin. Because of this I was lost, drifting from path to path. Then I read Gates of Fire, by Steven Pressfield, which was a historical fiction about the Battle of Thermopylae. I know it sounds a little silly now, but reading about the Spartan code changed me. It wasn’t about how brave you looked or seemed, but truly about knowing yourself and being proud of who you are. I learned to believe in myself more since then, and seize opportunities that I believed in, and not just what others wanted for me. [source]

26

Medea

Euripides, Rex Warner

4.3

One of the most powerful and enduring of Greek tragedies, Medea centers on the myth of Jason, leader of the Argonauts, who has won the dragon-guarded treasure of the Golden Fleece with the help of the sorceress Medea. Having married Medea and fathered her two children, Jason abandons her for a more favorable match, never suspecting the terrible revenge she will take.

Euripides' masterly portrayal

27

The Song of Achilles

Madeline Miller

4.3

Greece in the age of heroes. Patroclus, an awkward young prince, has been exiled to the court of King Peleus and his perfect son Achilles. By all rights their paths should never cross, but Achilles takes the shamed prince as his friend, and as they grow into young men skilled in the arts of war and medicine their bond blossoms into something deeper - despite the displeasure of Achilles' mother The

Recommended by Daniel Mendelsohn and Lucy Coats.

Daniel Mendelsohn

I don’t want to know what Achilles did in bed, frankly. If you want to play with the big boys, fine, but don’t turn The Iliad into a Twilight novel. [source]

Lucy Coats

I loved the richness of the language, the descriptions. She really made me feel I was in ancient Greece — the smells, the whole environment. [source]

28

Beowulf

Seamus Heaney

4.3

Beowulf is a major epic of Anglo-Saxon literature, probably composed between the first half of the seventh century and the end of the first millennium. The poem was inspired by the oral tradition Anglo-Saxon and Germanic transcribed a verse epic, recounting the exploits of Beowulf hero who gave his name to the poem, on which are grafted chretiens additions.

29

I, Claudius (Claudius, #1)

Robert Graves

4.3

Into the 'autobiography' of Clau-Clau-Claudius, the pitiful stammerer who was destined to become Emperor in spite of himself, Graves packs the everlasting intrigues, the depravity, the bloody purges and mounting cruelty of the reigns of Augustus and Tiberius, soon to culminate in the deified insanity of Caligula.

I, Claudius and its sequel, Claudius the God, are among the most celebrated, as well t

30

Poetics

Aristotle and Malcolm Heath

4.3

‘The plot is the source and the soul of tragedy’

In his near-contemporary account of Greek tragedy, Aristotle examines the dramatic elements of plot, character, language and spectacle that combine to produce pity and fear in the audience, and asks why we derive pleasure from this apparently painful process. Taking examples from the plays of Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides, The Poetics introduces

Recommended by Bill Liao and Richard Walter.

Bill Liao

The Book "Made to Stick" combined with "The Poetics" by Aristotle really helped me to see the power of telling great stories with surprises in them and every time I meet a start-up I can always make a contribution to their pitch. [source]

Richard Walter

Aristotle’s Poetics is the user’s guide to dramatic narrative and dramatic structure. It’s just a ragged little pamphlet really. [source]

31

Apology

Plato and James J. Helm

4.3

The Apology of Socrates is Plato's version of the speech given by Socrates as he unsuccessfully defended himself in 399BCE against the charges of "corrupting the young, and by not believing in the gods in whom the city believes, but in other daimonia that are novel" (24b). "Apology" here has its earlier meaning (now usually expressed by the word "apologia") of speaking in defense of a cause or of

Recommended by Mehdi Kajbaf.

Mehdi Kajbaf

It’s difficult for me to separate all the different things I was reading and learning about at that time but I think Socrates Apology is probably the best place to focus. If you aren’t familiar with Socrates, he’s considered by most to be the father of Philosophy (which means love of wisdom). He annoyed a lot of people though because he constantly challenged their world views and encouraged them to seek truth and wisdom. He questioned everything, and eventually created too much of a stir so he was sentenced to death. In the Apology he gives a powerful speech and defense which ultimately falls short. [source]

32

Mythology

Edith Hamilton

4.3

The world-renowned classic that has enthralled and delighted millions of readers with its timeless tales of gods and heroes.

Edith Hamilton's mythology succeeds like no other book in bringing to life for the modern reader the Greek, Roman and Norse myths that are the keystone of Western culture-the stories of gods and heroes that have inspired human creativity from antiquity to the present.

We follo

Recommended by Alan Kay.

Alan Kay

A few more books like this, and by the time I got to first grade I had been ruined for the 'single book - single truth' ideas of school and church. [source]

33

The Trial and Death of Socrates (Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, Phaedo (death scene only))

Plato

4.2

Chronicling the life and death of the father of western philosophy, and charting his influence on the most influential ancient Greek philosophers, Plato's The Last Days of Socrates is translated from the Greek by Hugh Tredennick, revised with an introduction and notes by Harold Tarrant in Penguin Classics.

The trial and condemnation of Socrates on charges of heresy and corrupting young minds is a d

34

Brave New World

Aldous Huxley

4.2

Now reissued in a gorgeous hardcover edition: "one of the most prophetic dystopian works of the 20th century" (Wall Street Journal) must be read and understood by anyone concerned with preserving the human spirit in the face of our "brave new world." Huxley's masterpiece has become a bestseller once again after the American election.

Aldous Huxley's profoundly important classic of world literature,

Recommended by Sam Altman, Yuval Noah Harari, Andra Zaharia, and 9 others.

Yuval Noah Harari

Historian

The most prophetic book of the 20th century. Today many people would easily mistake it for a utopia. [source]

Andra Zaharia

These books and their core ideas have stuck with me the most and continue to guide me when I hit crossroads along the way. [source]

Catherine Mayer

It shows the ways in which technology, our need for certain creature comforts and consumer culture can be used to manipulate us. [source]

35

If Not, Winter: Fragments of Sappho

Anne Carson

4.2

From poet and classicist Anne Carson comes this translation of the work of Sappho, together with the original Greek. Carson presents all the extant fragments of Sappho's verse, employing brackets and white space to denote missing text - allowing the reader to imagine the poems as they were written.

Recommended by Bettany Hughes and Lydia Ruffles.

Bettany Hughes

This is a collection of fragments of Sappho’s poems. They are so beautiful, I would recommend them to anyone. [source]

Lydia Ruffles

Fragments [source]

36

Theogony / Works and Days

Hesiod, M. L. West

4.2

Hesiod, one of the oldest known Greek poets, stands out as the first personality in European literature. The Theogony contains a systematic genealogy of the gods from the beginning of the world and an account of their violent struggles before the present order was established. The Works and Days, a compendium of moral and practical advice for a life of honest husbandry, throws a unique and fascina

37

The Analects

Confucius

4.2

Preview Summary

This lively new translation with clear explanatory notes by one of the foremost scholars of classical Chinese provides the ideal introduction to the Analects for readers who have no previous knowledge of the Chinese language and philosophical traditions.

"How dare I claim to be a sage or a benevolent man?"

By constructing the philosophy expressed through The Analects, Confucius might well dare to ma

Recommended by Andrew Hui, Daniel A. Bell, and Michael Puett.

Andrew Hui

This edition is really good at showing both the constructed-ness of the original Analects and the vast exegetical machine that has driven the Chinese philosophical tradition through the centuries. [source]

Daniel A. Bell

It’s not written by Confucius himself. It is more a collection of anecdotes of how he engaged his students. [source]

Michael Puett

He believed one of our dangers is that we fall into ruts that are defined by the world around us. [source]

38

Lysistrata

Aristophanes, Sarah Ruden

4.2

Aristophanes' comic masterpiece of war and sex remains one of the greatest plays ever written. Led by the title character, the women of the warring city-states of Greece agree to withhold sexual favours with their husbands until they agree to cease fighting. The war of the sexes that ensues makes Lysistrata a bawdy comedy without peer in the history of theatre.

39

Circe

Madeline Miller

4.2

In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. But Circe is a strange child—not powerful, like her father, nor viciously alluring like her mother. Turning to the world of mortals for companionship, she discovers that she does possess power—the power of witchcraft, which can transform rivals into monsters and menace the gods themselves.

Threatened, Zeus banis

Recommended by Jacqui Pretty and Jason Kottke.

Jacqui Pretty

When it comes to fiction, there are so many to choose from! Some books I've loved in the past year include Circe by Madeline Miller. [source]

Jason Kottke

Another contemporary reinterpretation of Greek mythology from the perspective of a woman. I’m 3/4s of the way through Circe right now and I might like it even more than The Odyssey. [source]

40

On the Nature of the Universe

Lucretius, Ronald Melville, Don Fowler, Peta Fowler

4.2

Lucretius’ poem On the Nature of the Universe combines a scientific and philosophical treatise with some of the greatest poetry ever written. With intense moral fervour Lucretius demonstrates to humanity that in death there is nothing to fear since the soul is mortal, and the world is governed by the mechanical laws of nature and not by gods; and that by believing this men can live in peace of min

Recommended by James Warren.

James Warren

Lucretius produces something quite extraordinary. It’s a poem. It’s long. It’s in six books of about twelve hundred or so lines each, which set out, again, a systematic version of Epicureanism, addressed to this imagined interlocutor called Memmius. Lucretius explains to Memmius, starting from the very first beginnings of Epicurean physics. [source]

41

The Annals: The Reigns of Tiberius, Claudius and Nero

P. Cornelius Tacitus

4.2

Here is a lively new translation of Cornelius Tacitus' timeless history of three of Rome's most memorable emperors. Tacitus, who condemns the depravity of these rulers, which he saw as proof of the corrupting force of absolute power, writes caustically of the brutal and lecherous Tiberius, the weak and cuckolded Claudius, and "the artist" Nero. In particular, his gripping account of the bloody rei

Recommended by Mary Beard.

Mary Beard

This is the best work of history ever written. [source]

42

The Golden Ass

Lucius Apuleius

4.2

43

Rubicon: The Last Years of the Roman Republic

Tom Holland

4.2

In 49 B.C., the seven hundred fifth year since the founding of Rome, Julius Caesar crossed a small border river called the Rubicon and plunged Rome into cataclysmic civil war. Tom Holland’s enthralling account tells the story of Caesar’s generation, witness to the twilight of the Republic and its bloody transformation into an empire. From Cicero, Spartacus, and Brutus, to Cleopatra, Virgil, and Au

44

Politics

Aristotle and Benjamin Jowett

4.2

What is the relationship of the individual to the state? What is the ideal state, and how can it bring about the most desirable life for its citizens? What sort of education should it provide? What is the purpose of amassing wealth? These are some of the questions Aristotle attempts to answer in one of the most intellectually stimulating works.
Both heavily influenced by and critical of Plato's Rep

45

Cleopatra: A Life

Stacy Schiff

4.2

The Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer brings to life the most intriguing woman in the history of the world: Cleopatra, the last queen of Egypt.

Her palace shimmered with onyx, garnets, and gold, but was richer still in political and sexual intrigue. Above all else, Cleopatra was a shrewd strategist and an ingenious negotiator.

Though her life spanned fewer than forty years, it reshaped the contours

Recommended by Danielle Morrill and Anne Thériault.

Anne Thériault

@annfosterwriter Omg isn’t this book the best?? [source]

46

The Landmark Thucydides: A Comprehensive Guide to the Peloponnesian War

Thucydides, Robert B. Strassler, Richard Crawley, Victor Davis Hanson

4.2

Recommended by Gideon Rose, Joseph Nye, and Robert Service.

Gideon Rose

Thucydides is the single best treatment of international relations, foreign policy and military affairs that exists. It is the best description of what life in a multipolar world is like, what politics and war are like for the units involved, of the basic realities of international relations. It has no single line. [source]

Joseph Nye

when Thucydides is trying to account for the Peloponnesian War, an extraordinary war in the fifth century BC in which the Greek city-state system tore itself apart, he says the basic cause of the war was the rise in power of Athens and the fear that created in Sparta. He points out that when there is this kind of fear, and there is a belief that war is inevitable, it can itself become a cause of war. Some of the greatest wisdom on international politics and the rise and fall of power goes back to Thucydides in the fifth century BC. [source]

Robert Service

It was the trauma of Thucydides’ lifetime and in the book he sought to explain why the war had gone on so long and why Athens lost it. [source]

47

The Conquest of Gaul

Gaius Julius Caesar

4.2

The Gallic War, published on the eve of the civil war which led to the end of the Republic, is an autobiographical account written by one of the most famous figures of European history. This new translation reflects the purity of Caesar's Latin while preserving the pace & flow of his momentous narrative of the conquest of Gaul & the first Roman invasions of Britain and Germany. Detailed notes, map

48

Iliad & Odyssey (Leather-bound Classics)

Homer

4.1

No home library is complete without the classics! Iliad & Odyssey brings together the two essential Greek epics from the poet Homer in an omnibus edition-a keepsake to be read and treasured.

The Iliad and The Odyssey are two of the oldest works of Western literature--yet these ancient myths still offer powerful lessons for our times. From the fascinating fall of Troy to Odysseus' perilous journey h

49

The Dhammapada

Gil Fronsdal and Jack Kornfield

4.1

The Dhammapada (Pāli; Prakrit: धम्मपद Dhammapada; Sanskrit: धर्मपद Dharmapada) is a collection of sayings of the Buddha in verse form and one of the most widely read and best known Buddhist scriptures. The original version of the Dhammapada is in the Khuddaka Nikaya, a division of the Pali Canon of Theravada Buddhism.
The Buddhist scholar and commentator Buddhaghosa explains that each saying record

Recommended by Jonathan Haidt and Dr. Gabor Maté.

Jonathan Haidt

The Dhammapada is one of the greatest psychological works ever written, and certainly one of the greatest before 1900. It is masterful in its understanding of the nature of consciousness, and in particular the way we are always striving and never satisfied. You can turn to it – and people have turned to it throughout the ages – at times of trouble, at times of disappointment, at times of loss, and it takes you out of yourself. It shows you that your problems, your feelings, are just timeless manifestations of the human condition. It also gives specific recommendations for how to deal with those problems, which is to let go, to accept, and to work on yourself. So I think this is a kind of tonic that we ambitious Westerners often need to hear. [source]

Dr. Gabor Maté

The Buddhist collection of sayings. And it begins with, basically, the idea that we create the world with our minds. [source]

50

Cleopatra's Daughter

Michelle Mora

4.1

At the dawn of the Roman Empire, when tyranny ruled, a daughter of Egypt and a son of Rome found each other...

Selene's legendary parents are gone. Her country taken, she has been brought to the city of Rome in chains, with only her twin brother, Alexander, to remind her of home and all she once had.

Living under the watchful eyes of the ruling family, Selene and her brother must quickly learn how

51

Crime and Punishment: A Russian Realistic Novel

Fyodor Dostoyevsky

4.1

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the

Recommended by Ben Domenech, Esther Perel, Irvine Welsh, and 3 others.

Ben Domenech

@SohrabAhmari @li88yinc @jgcrum @BlueBoxDave @InezFeltscher @JarrettStepman Maybe the best book ever written. [source]

Esther Perel

You can reread the Russians. They are timeless. [source]

Irvine Welsh

It is not a crime book in the way that we understand crime fiction today. Instead it is like an existential psychological thriller. [source]

Cover unavailable

52

Ancient Secrets of a Master Healer: A Western Skeptic, An Eastern Master, And Life’s Greatest Secrets

Clint G. Rogers

4.1

Discover Ancient Secrets that Can Change Your Life!
Join a skeptical university researcher from the USA as he travels to the Himalayas and uncovers secrets from an ancient healing lineage that began with Lord Buddha's physician.
For thousands of years, the greatest healers in the Himalayas have been refining a potent healing science for the treatment of physical ailments, psychological disorders, a

Cover unavailable

53

The Heretic Queen

Michelle Moran

4.1

In ancient Egypt, a forgotten princess must overcome her family’s past and remake history.

The winds of change are blowing through Thebes. A devastating palace fire has killed the Eighteenth Dynasty’s royal family—all with the exception of Nefertari, the niece of the reviled former queen, Nefertiti. The girl’s deceased family has been branded as heretical, and no one in Egypt will speak their names

54

The Upanishads

Eknath Easwara

4.1

The Upanishads, the earliest of which were composed in Sanskrit between 800 and 400 bce by sages and poets, form part of the Vedas - the sacred and ancient scriptures that are the basis of the Hindu religion. Each Upanishad, or lesson, takes up a theme ranging from the attainment of spiritual bliss to karma and rebirth, and collectively they are meditations on life, death and immortality. The esse

Recommended by Caterina Fake.

55

Alexander the Great: The Anabasis and the Indica

Arrian, Martin Hammond, John Atkinson

4.1

'His passion was for glory only, and in that he was insatiable'Although written over four hundred years after Alexander’s death, Arrian’s Campaigns of Alexander is the most reliable account of the man and his achievements we have. Arrian’s own experience as a military commander gave him unique insights into the life of the world’s greatest conqueror. He tells of Alexander’s violent suppression of

Recommended by Hugh Bowden.

Hugh Bowden

Arrian is using Alexander as a model for how to be a king and setting up his bad points as things to avoid and his good points as things to follow. [source]

56

Clouds

Alan H. Sommerstein

4.1

Text with facing translation, commentary and notes. (Aris and Phillips 1982)

Recommended by M M McCabe and Paul McMullen.

M M McCabe

If you read The Clouds and the Apology side by side you get a snapshot of Athens at the end of the Fifth Century [source]

Paul McMullen

It is a comedy and quite vulgar, which I love. [source]

57

The Agricola and the Germania

Tacitus, James Rives, Harold Mattingly

4.1

The Agricola is both a portrait of Julius Agricola - the most famous governor of Roman Britain and Tacitus' well-loved and respected father-in-law - and the first detailed account of Britain that has come down to us. It offers fascinating descriptions of the geography, climate and peoples of the country, and a succinct account of the early stages of the Roman occupation, nearly fatally undermined

Recommended by Jeffrey Beneker.

Jeffrey Beneker

Agricola is a tribute to his father-in-law and it’s really nice to have this family connection. A lot of ancient literature can oftentimes seem so distant and cold that it’s hard to see the human connection, but it’s strong in this book. In the introduction and especially in the conclusion you can feel the real bond that Tacitus must have felt with this person. [source]

58

The Code Book: The Science of Secrecy from Ancient Egypt to Quantum Cryptography

Simon Singh

4.1

In his first book since the bestselling Fermat's Enigma, Simon Singh offers the first sweeping history of encryption, tracing its evolution and revealing the dramatic effects codes have had on wars, nations, and individual lives. From Mary, Queen of Scots, trapped by her own code, to the Navajo Code Talkers who helped the Allies win World War II, to the incredible (and incredibly simple) logistica

Recommended by Stephen Kinsella.

Stephen Kinsella

@gavreilly @SLSingh Love that book [source]

Cover unavailable

59

Poems and Fragments

Sappho, Stanley Lombardo, Pamela Gordon

4.1

Little remains today of the writings of the archaic Greek poet Sappho (fl. late 7th and early 6th centuries B.C.E.), whose work is said to have filled nine papyrus rolls in the great library at Alexandria some 500 years after her death. The surviving texts consist of a lamentably small and fragmented body of lyric poetry--among them, poems of invocation, desire, spite, celebration, resignation, an

Recommended by Charlotte Higgins.

Charlotte Higgins

Well, she was admired in antiquity for the delicacy and elegance of her verse, and this is quite right – it’s just pitch-perfect. She talks about love as being bittersweet – such a cliché but she was almost certainly the first person to coin this expression that everyone can understand…..In classical antiquity and later she was massively valued as a poet. In the Great Library in Alexandria there were nine volumes of her poems. We now have 200 tiny fragments and only two complete poems. So it’s a minuscule proportion of what she produced. [source]

60

On the Shortness of Life

Seneca, C. D. N. Costa

4.1

The Stoic writings of the philosopher Seneca offer powerful insights into the art of living, the importance of reason and morality, and continue to provide profound guidance to many through their eloquence, lucidity and timeless wisdom.

Throughout history, some books have changed the world. They have transformed the way we see ourselves—and each other. They have inspired debate, dissent, war and re

Recommended by Chip Conley, Ryan Holiday, John Craig, and 3 others.

Chip Conley

Says something about the fact that it’s not so much the shortness of life, it’s how we waste it. [source]

Ryan Holiday

Author

Seneca’s letters are the best place to start, but the essays in On the Shortness of Life are excellent as well. [source]

John Craig

This is the book that I recommend to everybody. It's everything you will need to make it in life & business. It is by far a complete business self-motivational book all-in-one. The best thing is that it’s 2,000-year of time-tested wisdom. [source]

Cover unavailable

61

The Satyricon

Petronius, P. G. Walsh

4.1

62

Oedipus at Colonus (The Theban Plays, #2)

Sophocles, Eamon Grennan, Rachel Kitzinger

4.1

The latest title to join the acclaimed Greek Tragedy in New Translations series, Sophocles' Oedipus at Colonus tells the story of the last day in the life of Oedipus. It was written at the end of the fifth century BCE in Athens, in the final years of the "Golden Age" of Athenian culture, and in the last year of Sophocles' own life. At the center of the play is the mysterious transformation of Oedi

63

Prometheus Bound

Aeschylus, James Scully, C. John Herington

4.1

For readers accustomed to the relatively undramatic standard translations of Prometheus Bound, this version by James Scully, a poet and winner of the Lamont Poetry Prize, and C. John Herington, one of the world's foremost Aeschylean scholars, will come as a revelation. Scully and Herington accentuate the play's true power, drama, and relevance to modern times. Aeschylus originally wrote Prometheus

64

Persian Fire: The First World Empire and the Battle for the West

Tom Holland

4.1

In 480 B.C., Xerxes, the King of Persia, led an invasion of mainland Greece. Its success should have been a formality. For seventy years, victory—rapid, spectacular victory—had seemed the birthright of the Persian Empire. In the space of a single generation, they had swept across the Near East, shattering ancient kingdoms, storming famous cities, putting together an empire which stretched from Ind

65

The Civil War

Gaius Julius Caesar

4.1

A military leader of legendary genius, Caesar was also a great writer, recording the events of his life with incomparable immediacy and power. The Civil War is a tense and gripping depiction of his struggle with Pompey over the leadership of Republican Rome - a conflict that spanned the entire Roman world, from Gaul and Spain to Asia and Africa. Where Caesar's own account leaves off in 48 BC, his

66

The Bacchae

Euripides

4.1

Euripides' classic drama about the often mortifying consequences of the unbridled--and frequently hysterical--celebration of the feast of Dionysus, the God of wine.

67

The Landmark Xenophon's Hellenika

Xenophon, Robert B. Strassler, John Marincola, David Thomas

4.1

From the editor of the widely praised The Landmark Thucydides and The Landmark Herodotus, here is a new edition of Xenophon’s Hellenika, the primary source for the events of the final seven years and aftermath of the Peloponnesian War.

Hellenika covers the years between 411 and 362 B.C.E., a particularly dramatic period during which the alliances among Athens, Sparta, Thebes, and Persia were in co

Recommended by Johanna Hanink.

Johanna Hanink

He goes through to the end of the Peloponnesian War and becomes the major source that we have for what happened in Athens during the rise and the rule of the Thirty Tyrants. He then goes on into this very interesting period, in the first part of the 4th century, when Athens has some aspirations to regain the Aegean empire that it had. [source]

68

The History of Rome, Books 1-5: The Early History of Rome

Titus Livy

4.1

Livy (c. 59 BC-AD 17) dedicated most of his life to writing some 142 volumes of history, the first five of which comprise The Early History of Rome. With stylistic brilliance, he chronicles nearly 400 years of history, from the founding of Rome (traditionally dated to 757 BC) to the Gallic invasion in 386 BC - an era which witnessed the reign of seven kings, the establishment of the Republic, civi

69

The Persian Expedition

Xenophon, Rex Warner, George Cawkwell

4.1

In The Persian Expedition, Xenophon, a young Athenian noble who sought his destiny abroad, provides an enthralling eyewitness account of the attempt by a Greek mercenary army - the Ten Thousand - to help Prince Cyrus overthrow his brother and take the Persian throne. When the Greeks were then betrayed by their Persian employers, they were forced to march home through hundreds of miles of difficult

70

Inferno

Dante Alighieri

4.1

This work is designed as an introduction to Dante's Inferno. With this in mind, Longfellow's poetic translation has been juxtaposed side by side with a prose version -- the poem for enjoying the poetry without the interruption of footnotes; the prose for delving more deeply into various aspects of the work.

Most of the footnotes are taken from various translations and commentaries (listed below), s

Recommended by Chris Walsh and Nick Havely.

Chris Walsh

The Inferno is the classic moment of people not wanting to talk about cowardice. [source]

Nick Havely

It is a close and reliable translation, with the original text on the facing page, and it also has excellent notes. [source]

71

The Art of Living: The Classical Manual on Virtue, Happiness and Effectiveness

Epictetus

4.1

Epictetus was born into slavery about 55 C.E. in the eastern outreaches of the Roman Empire. Sold as a child and crippled from the beatings of his master, Epictetus was eventually freed, rising from his humble roots to establish an influential school of Stoic philosophy. Stressing that human beings cannot control life, only how they respond to it, Epictetus dedicated his life to outlining the simp

72

Nefertiti

Michelle Moran

4.1

Nefertiti and her younger sister, Mutnodjmet, have been raised in a powerful family that has provided wives to the rulers of Egypt for centuries. Ambitious, charismatic, and beautiful, Nefertiti is destined to marry Amunhotep, an unstable young pharaoh. It is hoped by all that her strong personality will temper the young Amunhotep's heretical desire to forsake Egypt's ancient gods, overthrow the p

73

Mythos

Stephen Fry

4.1

Stephen Fry retells the Greek myths! This glitzy, gorgeous hardcover pairs a legendary storyteller with some of the most popular legends of all time.

Recommended by Simon Kuestenmacher.

Simon Kuestenmacher

Amazing series of symbol visualises Greek mythology. I just finished @stephenfry's amazing book Mythos and could remember more characters than expected. Icon source: https://t.co/xd2ZbgqUca The book: https://t.co/svtMJRmEiF #Greece #mythology #history #booklovers https://t.co/opZxytQDCU [source]

74

Phaedrus

Plato, Alexander Nehamas, et al.

4.1

Set in the idyllic countryside outside Athens, the Phaedrus is a dialogue between the philosopher Socrates and his young friend Phaedrus, inspired by their reading of a clumsy speech by the writer Lysias about love. After first considering the virtues of romantic love, their conversation develops into a wide-ranging discussion on such subjects as the pursuit of beauty, the nature of humanity, the

75

Caesar: Life of a Colossus

Adrian Goldsworthy

4.1

Tracing the extraordinary trajectory of the great Roman emperor’s life, Goldsworthy covers not only the great Roman emperor’s accomplishments as charismatic orator, conquering general, and powerful dictator but also lesser-known chapters during which he was high priest of an exotic cult, captive of pirates, seducer not only of Cleopatra but also of the wives of his two main political rivals, and r

76

The Red Tent

Anita Diamant

4.1

Her name is Dinah. In the Bible, her life is only hinted at in a brief and violent detour within the more familiar chapters of the Book of Genesis that are about her father, Jacob, and his dozen sons. Told in Dinah's voice, this novel reveals the traditions and turmoils of ancient womanhood--the world of the red tent. It begins with the story of her mothers--Leah, Rachel, Zilpah, and Bilhah--the f

77

Jason and the Golden Fleece (The Argonautica)

Apollonius of Rhodes, Richard Hunter

4.1

The Argonautica is the dramatic story of Jason's quest for the Golden Fleece and his relations with the dangerous princess Medea. The only surviving Greek epic to bridge the gap between Homer and late antiquity, this epic poem is the crowning literary achievement of the Ptolemaic court at Alexandria, written by Appolonius of Rhodes in the third century BC. Appollonius explores many of the fundamen

78

Imperium (Cicero, #1)

Robert Harris

4.0

From the bestselling author of Fatherland and Pompeii, comes the first novel of a trilogy about the struggle for power in ancient Rome.

In his “most accomplished work to date” (Los Angeles Times), master of historical fiction Robert Harris lures readers back in time to the compelling life of Roman Senator Marcus Cicero. The re-creation of a vanished biography written by his household slave and righ

Recommended by Olly Murphy (Wycombe Abbey).

Olly Murphy (Wycombe Abbey)

A lot of Robert Harris’s books are quite similar: they have a protagonist and you see the story, all the machinations through his eyes. In Imperium we see the life of Cicero through the eyes of his slave, Tiro. We know Tiro was a real person, who recorded everything Cicero wrote. [source]

79

Claudius the God and His Wife Messalina (Claudius, #2)

Robert Graves

4.0

Robert Graves begins anew the tumultuous life of the Roman who became emperor in spite of himself. Captures the vitality, splendor, and decadence of the Roman world at the point of its decline.

80

Catullus: The Poems

Catullus, Peter Whigham

4.0

One of the most versatile of Roman poets, Catullus wrote verse of an almost unparalleled diversity and stylistic agility, from the brevity of the epigram to the sustained elegance of the elegy. This collection contains all of Catullus' extant work and includes his lyrics to the notorious Clodia Metelli - married, seductive and corrupt - charting the course from rapturous delight in a new affair to

Recommended by Charlotte Higgins.

Charlotte Higgins

Catullus was a Roman poet who lived from about 84 to 54 BC, so he was a younger contemporary of Julius Caesar. There are poems that are funny and obscene, there are poems that are astonishingly beautiful and delicate, there are angry, hot, throbbing poems about loss, there are charming poems about his home and family, there are poems that are incredibly learned – almost T S Eliot-like in their dense construction. [source]

81

The Egyptian Book of the Dead: The Book of Going Forth by Day: The Complete Papyrus of Ani

Ogden Goelet, Raymond Faulkner, et al.

4.0

Maybe the most stunning presentation of this book in 3300 years: For the first time in 3,300 years, The Egyptian Book of the Dead: The Book of Going Forth by Day: The Papyrus of Ani is showcased in its entirety in seventy-four magnificent color pages.

Egyptian mythology: Upon death it was the practice for some Egyptians to produce a papyrus manuscript called the Book of Going Forth by Day or the Bo

82

The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire

Edward Gibbon

4.0

Length: 126 hrs and 31 mins

The History of the Decline & Fall of the Roman Empire was written by English historian Edward Gibbon & originally published in six quarto volumes. Volume 1 was published in 1776, going thru six printings; 2-3 in 1781; 4-6 in 1788-89. It was a major literary achievement of the 18th century, adopted as a model for the methodologies of historians.

The books cover the Roman E

83

Gorgias

Plato, Robin Waterfield

4.0

One of Plato's most widely read dialogues, Gorgias treats the temptations of worldly success and the rewards of the genuinely moral life. Appealing to philosophers as a classic text of moral philosophy--and to everyone for its vividness, clarity, and occassional bitter humor--this new translation is accompanied by explanatory notes and an illuminating and accessible introduction.

About the Series:

Recommended by David Greenberg.

David Greenberg

Plato and Socrates heavily disapproved of spin (or rhetoric, as it was referred to back then). Aristotle and the Sophists had a different point of view. [source]

84

The Dovekeepers

Alice Hoffman

4.0

Over five years in the writing, The Dovekeepers is Alice Hoffman's most ambitious and mesmerizing novel, a tour de force of imagination and research, set in ancient Israel.

In 70 C.E., nine hundred Jews held out for months against armies of Romans on Masada, a mountain in the Judean desert. According to the ancient historian Josephus, two women and five children survived. Based on this tragic and i

85

Five Dialogues: Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, Meno, Phaedo

Plato, John M. Cooper, et al.

4.0

The second edition of Five Dialogues presents G. M. A. Grube's distinguished translations, as revised by John Cooper for Plato, Complete Works (Hacket, 1997). Cooper has also contributed a number of new or expanded footnotes and updated Suggestions for Further Reading.

Recommended by Carlos Fraenkel, Kenan Malik, and M M McCabe.

Carlos Fraenkel

Reading Plato can be a Socratic exercise because you’re reading a text that is part of the canon of philosophy but it advances views that are opposed to everything you believe in. [source]

Kenan Malik

Unlike earlier Greek philosophers, such as Diagoras and Democritus, Plato believed in the divine, and much of his philosophy flowed from his concept of a transcendental reality. He provided the resources for the later Christian view of goodness as a transcendental quality. But in his dialogue Euthyphro he also provides the classic argument against looking to God as the source of moral values, an argument that still resonates 2,000 years later. [source]

M M McCabe

The philosophical content creeps up on you when you think all this is merely a rhetorical flourish: it’s completely extraordinary. [source]

86

Fragments: Citations Et Témoignages

Heraclitus, Brooks Haxton, James Hillman

4.0

Peut-être Héraclite d'Ephèse (520-460 ?), dont nous ne savons presque rien, a-t-il de son vivant écrit un livre Sur la nature. Les auteurs anciens en ont conservé une centaine de brèves citations, énigmatiques, qui sont autant d'oracles prononcés sur le monde, le feu qui le constitue et le changement perpétuel auquel tout est éternellement soumis. Ces «fragments», qui sont ici rassemblés et commen

Recommended by Ryan Holiday.

Ryan Holiday

Author

While most of the other practical philosophy recommendations I’m making are bent towards hard, practical advice, Heraclitus might seem a bit poetic. But those beautiful lines are really the same direct advice and timeless, perspective-changing observations as the others. “Try in vain with empty talk / to separate the essences of things / and say how each thing truly is.” “Applicants for wisdom / do what I have done: / inquire within.” “Character is fate.” “What eyes witness / ears believe on hearsay.” “The crops are sold / for money spent on food.” [source]

87

City of God

Augustine of Hippo, Henry Bettenson

4.0

No book except the Bible itself had a greater influence on the Middle Ages than Augustine's City of God. And since medieval Europe was the cradle of modern Western society, this work is vital for understanding our world and how it came into being.

Recommended by Ellen Wayland-Smith.

Ellen Wayland-Smith

Augustine’s City of God created the distinction between the ‘City of God,’ which is perfect, and the earthly city, where we live day-to-day. [source]

88

Ancient Book Of Jasher: Referenced In Joshua 10:13; 2 Samuel 1:18; And 2 Timothy 3: 8

Ken Johnson

4.0

There are 13 ancient history books that are mentioned and recommended by the Bible. The Ancient Book of Jasher is the only one of the 13 that still exists. It is referenced in Joshua 10:13; 2 Samuel 1:18; and 2 Timothy 3:8. This volume contains the entire 91 chapters plus a detailed analysis of the supposed discrepancies, cross-referenced historical accounts, and detailed charts for ease of use. A

89

The Histories

Tacitus, Kenneth Wellesley

4.0

In AD 68, Nero's suicide marked the end of the first dynasty of imperial Rome. The following year was one of drama and danger, with four emperors—Galba, Otho, Vitellius, and Vespasian—emerging in succession. Based on authoritative sources, The Histories vividly recounts the details of the "long but single year" of revolution that brought the Roman empire to the brink of collapse.

90

The Ancient Secret of the Flower of Life: Volume 1

Drunvalo Melchizedek

4.0

Once, all life in the universe knew the Flower of Life as the creation pattern. Now a new dawn is streaming through the windows of perception. This book is one of those windows. Drunvalo Melchizedek presents the Flower of Life Workshop, illuminating the mysteries of how we came to be.

Cover unavailable

91

The Books of Enoch: A Complete Volume Containing 1 Enoch (First Book of Enoch), 2 Enoch (Second Book of Enoch) the Extended Version, 3 Enoch (Third Book of Enoch)

Joseph Lumpkin

4.0

The First Book of Enoch was lost for centuries to the western world although it was kept by the Ethiopian church. In 1773 the Scottish explorer James Bruce heard that the Book of Enoch may have been in Ethiopia so traveled there and procured three copies. In 1821 Richard Laurence, a professor of Hebrew at Oxford, produced the first English translation. Fragments of ten Enoch manuscripts were found

Recommended by The Dome.

The Dome

@Gospel_Truther do a study on orbs, and the orbs of the sun as it sets as well - may find it interesting - the book of enoch refers to this as well - it is an "enclosed circle" [source]

92

The Peloponnesian War

Donald Kagan

4.0

For three decades in the fifth century B.C. the ancient world was torn apart by a conflict that was as dramatic, divisive, and destructive as the world wars of the twentieth century: the Peloponnesian War. Donald Kagan, one of the world’s most respected classical, political, and military historians, here presents a new account of this vicious war of Greek against Greek, Athenian against Spartan. T

93

Augustus: The Life of Rome's First Emperor

Anthony Everitt

4.0

He found Rome made of clay and left it made of marble. As Rome’s first emperor, Augustus transformed the unruly Republic into the greatest empire the world had ever seen. His consolidation and expansion of Roman power two thousand years ago laid the foundations, for all of Western history to follow. Yet, despite Augustus’s accomplishments, very few biographers have concentrated on the man himself,

Recommended by Robert Greene.

Robert Greene

Author

A few of my favorite bios for the new book. #whatimreading [source]

94

Phaedo

Plato and David Gallop

4.0

The Phaedo is acknowledged to be one of Plato's masterpieces, showing him both as a philosopher and as a dramatist at the height of his powers. For its moving account of the execution of Socrates, the Phaedo ranks among the supreme literary achievements of antiquity. It is also a document crucial to the understanding of many ideas deeply ingrained in western culture, and provides one of the best i

95

The Divine Comedy

Dante Alighieri

4.0

"Dante and Shakespeare divide the world between them, there is no third." T. S. Eliot

"Ciardi has given us a credible, passionate persona of the poet, stripped of the customary gauds of rhetoric and false decoration, strong and noble in utterance." Dudley Fitts

"A sensitive and perceptive translation;a spectacular achievement." Archibald MacLeish

Belonging in the immortal company of the great works o

Recommended by A N Wilson.

A N Wilson

I don’t think there’s anything in world literature to compare with the last few cantos of the Paradiso as a Christian statement. [source]

96

Julián Is a Mermaid

Jessica Love

4.0

In an exuberant picture book, a glimpse of costumed mermaids leaves one boy flooded with wonder and ready to dazzle the world.

While riding the subway home from the pool with his abuela one day, Julián notices three women spectacularly dressed up. Their hair billows in brilliant hues, their dresses end in fishtails, and their joy fills the train car. When Julián gets home, daydreaming of the magic

Recommended by Joseph Coelho.

Joseph Coelho

This book celebrates the importance of allowing people to be themselves without judgment, without fear. Especially across generations. [source]

97

Prometheus Bound and Other Plays

Philip Vellacott, Aeschylus

4.0

Aeschylus I contains “The Persians,” translated by Seth Benardete; “The Seven Against Thebes,” translated by David Grene; “The Suppliant Maidens,” translated by Seth Benardete; and “Prometheus Bound,” translated by David Grene. Sixty years ago, the University of Chicago Press undertook a momentous project: a new translation of the Greek tragedies that would be the ultimate resource for teachers, s

98

The Penelopiad

Margaret Atwood

4.0

Now that all the others have run out of air, it’s my turn to do a little story-making.

In Homer’s account in The Odyssey, Penelope—wife of Odysseus and cousin of the beautiful Helen of Troy—is portrayed as the quintessential faithful wife, her story a salutary lesson through the ages. Left alone for twenty years when Odysseus goes off to fight in the Trojan War after the abduction of Helen, Penelop

Recommended by Emily Wilson.

Emily Wilson

I really love the Penelopiad. It’s wonderful at bringing out some of what I already hinted was important in my work of a translator: teasing out the multiple perspectives, multiple voices, in this poem. I also love how it juxtaposes different styles and different voices. It has both ballad-like verse and prose intermixed, which is not what the Odyssey does, but I think it speaks to something which is in the Odyssey, about the mixture of different modes, different ways of seeing things. [source]

99

The Silence of the Girls

Pat Barker

4.0

The ancient city of Troy has withstood a decade under siege of the powerful Greek army, which continues to wage bloody war over a stolen woman—Helen. In the Greek camp, another woman—Briseis—watches and waits for the war's outcome. She was queen of one of Troy's neighboring kingdoms, until Achilles, Greece's greatest warrior, sacked her city and murdered her husband and brothers. Briseis becomes A

Recommended by Olly Murphy (Wycombe Abbey).

Olly Murphy (Wycombe Abbey)

This book allows you to realise that one of the key issues with the classics—one of the things that we’re always fighting against—is the lack of information we have about women. [source]

100

Electra

Sophocles, Marianne MacDonald, J. Michael Walton

4.0