The ancient guide to modern life : the parallels with 2,000 years ago come to life in entertaining and surprising ways

In this thoroughly engaging book, Natalie Haynes brings her scholarship & wit to the most fascinating true stories of the ancient world. The Ancient Guide to Modern Life not only reveals the origins of our culture in areas including philosophy, politics, language, & art, it also draws illuminating connections between antiquity & our present time, to demonstrate that the Greeks & Romans were not so different from ourselves: is Bart Simpson the successor to Aristophanes? Do the Beckhams have parallel lives with The Satiricon's Trimalchio? Along the way Haynes debunks myths (gladiators didn't salute the emperor before their deaths, & the last words of Julius Caesar weren't "et tu, brute?") from Athens to Zeno's paradox, this irresistible guide shows how the history & wisdom of the ancient world can inform & enrich our lives today. Natalie Haynes is a best selling author, an award-winning comedian, a journalist, & a broadcaster. She has been a judge for both the Man Booker Prize & the Orange Prize. Natalie is a regular panelist on Radio 4's Saturday Review & the long-running arts show, Front Row. She is a guest columnist for The Independent & The Guardian. Natalie appears regularly on BBC Television's Newsnight Review. she writes for the Sunday Telegraph, the Mail on Sunday, The New Humanist, & the Times. Ms. Haynes earned her degree in classics at Cambridge.Her debut novel, The Furies was called "a gripping, can't-stop-turning-pages thriller" by Madeline Miller, bestselling author of Circe. Her other books include A Thousand Ships & The Children of Jocasta. Whether political, cultural, or social, there are endless parallels between the ancient and modern worlds. Whether itOCOs the murder of Caesar or the political assassination of Thatcher; the narrative arc of the hit HBO series, The Wire, or that of Oedipus; the popular enthusiasm for the Emperor Titus or President Obama OCo over and over again we can be seen to be living very much like people did 2,000 or more years ago.ItOCOs time for us to re-examine the past. Our lives are infinitely richer if we take the time to look at what the Greeks and Romans have given us in politics and law, religion and philosophy and education, and to learn how people really lived in Athens, Rome, Sparta and Alexandria. This is a book with a serious point to make but the author isnOCOt just a classicist but a comedian and broadcaster who has made television and radio documentaries about humour, education and Dorothy Parker. This is a book for us all, not for an elite." It's time for us to re-examine the past. Our lives are infinitely richer if we take the time to look at what the Greeks and Romans have given us in politics and law, religion and philosophy and education, and to learn how people really lived in Athens, Rome, Sparta and Alexandria. This is a book with a serious point to make but the author isn't simply a classicist but a comedian and broadcaster who has made television and radio documentaries about humour, education and Dorothy Parker. This is a book for us all. Whether political, cultural or social, there are endless parallels between the ancient and modern worlds. Whether it's the murder of Caesar or the political assassination of Thatcher; the narrative arc of the hit HBO series The Wire or that of Oedipus; the popular enthusiasm for the Emperor Titus or President Obama - over and over again we can be seen to be living very much like people did 2,000 or more years ago. This Book Reveals The Endless Parallels Between The Ancient And Modern Worlds. Old World Order -- How Many Angry Men? -- Thinking Allowed -- In The Lap Of The Gods -- Frankly, Medea, I Don't Give A Damn -- There's No Place Like Rome -- No Business Like Show-business -- Price Of Everything, The Value Of Nothing. Natalie Haynes. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 258-260). How modern are our lives? Or are we still living the lives our ancestors did? Addressing these questions, this title offers a guide to modern life.