The first complete English translation of the Brontoscopic Calendar, providing an understanding of Etruscan Iron Age society as revealed through the ancient text.

The Etruscans can be shown to have made significant, and in some cases perhaps the first, technical advances in the central and northern Mediterranean. To the Etruscan people we can attribute such developments as the tie-beam truss in large wooden structures, surveying and engineering drainage and water tunnels, the development of the foresail for fast long-distance sailing vessels, fine techniques of metal production and other pyrotechnology, post-mortem C-sections in medicine, and more. In art, many technical and iconographic developments, although they certainly happened first in Greece or the Near East, are first seen in extant Etruscan works, preserved in the lavish tombs and goods of Etruscan aristocrats. These include early portraiture, the first full-length painted portrait, the first perspective view of a human figure in monumental art, specialized techniques of bronze-casting, and reduction-fired pottery (the bucchero phenomenon). Etruscan contacts, through trade, treaty and intermarriage, linked their culture with Sardinia, Corsica and Sicily, with the Italic tribes of the peninsula, and with the Near Eastern kingdoms, Greece and the Greek colonial world, Iberia, Gaul and the Punic network of North Africa, and influenced the cultures of northern Europe. In the past fifteen years striking advances have been made in scholarship and research techniques for Etruscan Studies. Archaeological and scientific discoveries have changed our picture of the Etruscans and furnished us with new, specialized information. Thanks to the work of dozens of international scholars, it is now possible to discuss topics of interest that could never before be researched, such as Etruscan mining and metallurgy, textile production, foods and agriculture. In this volume, over 60 experts provide insights into all these aspects of Etruscan culture, and more, with many contributions available in English for the first time to allow the reader access to research that may not otherwise be available to them. Lavishly illustrated, The Etruscan World brings to life the culture and material past of the Etruscans and highlights key points of development in research, making it essential reading for researchers, academics and students of this fascinating civilization.

In antiquity, the expertise of the Babylonians in matters of the heavens was legendary and the roots of both western astronomy and astrology are traceable in cuneiform tablets going back to the second and first millennia BC. The Heavenly Writing, first publsiehd in 2004, discusses the place of Babylonian celestial divination, horoscopy, and astronomy in Mesopotamian intellectual culture. Focusing chiefly on celestial divination and horoscopes, it traces the emergence of personal astrology from the tradition of celestial divination and the use of astronomical methods in horoscopes. It further takes up the historiographical and philosophical issue of the nature of these Mesopotamian 'celestial sciences' by examining elements traditionally of concern to the philosophy of science, without sacrificing the ancient methods, goals, and interests to a modern image of science. This book will be of particular interest to those concerned with the early history of science.

Neo-Assyrian and Greek Divination in War is about practices which enabled humans contact the divine. These relations, especially in difficult times of military conflict, could be crucial in deciding the fate of individuals, cities, dynasties or even empires.

This groundbreaking, first basic reference work on ancient religious beliefs collects and organizes available information on ten ancient cultures and traditions, including Greece, Rome, and Mesopotamia, and offers an expansive, comparative perspective on each one.

Examines the relationship between social networks and religious transmission to reappraise how new religious ideas spread in the Roman Empire.

At the peak of Rome's might a dragon is born among eagles, an heir to a line both blessed and cursed by the Gods for ages. In A.D. 197, Emperor Septimius Severus led one of the largest invasion forces in Rome’s history against the Parthian Empire. Among the men of thirty-three legions is Lucius Metellus Anguis, a young man from an ancient Equestrian family. Against the wishes of his conservative father, Lucius is determined to pursue a career in the military and resurrect the glory of his family name on the battlefield rather than the marble of the Senate. However, as in all conflicts, Lucius’ ideals and his faith are challenged as he witnesses the worst in humanity. As the imperial legions fight their way through Mesopotamia to the Parthian capital of Ctesiphon, Lucius discovers the inner strength that may well ensure that this young dragon rises from the ranks of Rome’s eagles. Can a man survive the trials of war unscathed? Do the Gods indeed favour the bold? March to war with Rome’s legions and find out! A Dragon among the Eagles is the first novel in Adam Alexander Haviaras’ ground-breaking Eagles and Dragons historical fantasy series. If you like books by Douglas Jackson, Manda Scott, and David Gemmell, or movies like Gladiator and Pompeii, then you will love this historical series that combines adventure, romance, and the supernatural. Download this book now to set off on a thrilling adventure in the Roman Empire! To read more about the history and places in this book, be sure to check out our blog series The World of A Dragon among the Eagles at www.eaglesanddragonspublishing.com