Covering the very beginnings of Western civilization, this biographical dictionary introduces readers to the great cultural figures of the ancient world, including those who contributed significantly to architecture, astronomy, history, literature, mathematics, philosophy, painting, sculpture, and theology. While focusing on great cultural figures of the Mediterranean basin, such as Homer, Sophocles, and Aristophanes, the volume also includes those who impinged on Greco-Roman Civilization such as Hannibal Barca and King Darius of Persia. Showing how the era's intellectual milieu was interwoven with its political agenda, the book also includes entries on major political and military figures, pointing to their cultural as well as their political contributions. With 480 entries, the book is an excellent basic reference for students seeking an understanding of the ancient world. Going from polis to empire, the years from 800 BC to AD 500 include the archaic period of the eastern Mediterranean, the Greek classical period, the Persian and Peloponnesian Wars, and Rome's evolution from a republic to an empire dominating the entire Western world. A Jewish carpenter, living at the edge of the Roman Empire, preached a message with profound implications for the Roman State and Western religion. Providing a quick and easy reference to people who lived in this world, this book profiles the men and women who contributed to the development, growth, and culture of Western civilization. Most of the subjects were native to the Mediterranean basin, including Asia Minor, Greece, Italy, southern Gaul, Spain, North Africa, and Phoenicia, but the book also includes important Persians, Celts, Germanic peoples, and Huns. The book provides valuable background information for anyone interested in the birth of Western culture.

Democracy is easy to talk about but hard to define in other than broad generalizations; its history is a long, complex, and contested subject. What this volume seeks to do is to explore the general evolution of political and social thinking that would eventually coalesce into what we now know as democracy, for all its imperfections and shortcomings. The question of just why some societies evolved into a democratic trajectory and others did not continues to engage the interest of historians, political scientists, sociologists, and anthropologists. Much conjecture surrounds the rise of certain elements we now recognize if not as democratic, then proto-democratic, such as collective decision-making, constraints on the exercise of power and a degree of accountability of the ruler to the ruled. If democracy in the sense of “rule by the people” has two essential qualities – rule by the majority and the equal treatment of free citizens - then its origins, however feeble, are to be found in these early examples of government. Historical Dictionary of Democracy contains a chronology, an introduction, a glossary, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 600 cross-referenced entries. This book is an excellent resource for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about democracy.

Beginning in 500 with the fusion of classical, Christian, and Germanic cultures and ending in 1300 with a Europe united by a desire for growth, knowledge, and change, this volume provides basic information on the significant cultural figures of the Middle Ages. It includes over 400 people whose contributions in literature, religion, philosophy, education, or politics influenced the development and culture of the Medieval world. While focusing on Western European figures, the book does not neglect those from Byzantium, Baghdad, and the Arab world who also contributed to the politics, religion, and culture of Western Europe. Europe underwent fundamental changes during the Middle Ages. It changed from a preliterate to a literate society. Cities became a vital part of the economy, culture, and social structure. The poor and serfs went to the cities. The devout joined monastic orders. Christianity spread throughout Europe, while a man was born in Mecca who would change the shape of the religious map. Islam spread throughout the Holy Land. Christian piety led to the Crusades. This book provides a convenient guide to those who helped shape these movements and counter-movements during this era that would pave the way for the Renaissance.

Presuming that the heart of Paul's gospel announcement was the news that God had raised Jesus from the dead (as indicated in 1 Thessalonians 1:9b-10), Pillar explores the evidence in Paul's letter and in aspects of the Roman imperial culture in Thessalonica in order to imagine what that proclamation would have evoked for its first hearers. He argues that the gospel of resurrection would have been heard as fundamentally anti-imperial: Jesus of Nazareth was executed by means of the epitome of imperial power. The resurrection thus subverts and usurps the empire's immense power. The argument is verified in aspects of the response of those living in a thoroughly imperialized metropolis.

This book addresses common doubts and concerns Christians have concerning God and the Bible, including: claims from the 'New Atheism'; disputes over Bible archaeology; questions about the historical accuracy of the Bible; questions about the original texts of the Old and New Testament; questions about what the Bible really teaches concerning topics such as baptism, heaven and hell, satan and demons; questions about the value and relevance of the Bible's moral and ethical teachings.