The Long Shadow of Antiquity - by Gregory S Aldrete & Alicia Aldrete

About the Book

Essential and surprising ways the Classical world has shaped our world.

Book Synopsis

Democracy? Mathematics? The Calendar? Hospitals? This book is an enlightening look at the myriad ways that the civilizations of ancient Greece and Rome have fundamentally influenced and shaped our modern world. Familiar institutions, rituals, and aspects of everyday modern life are examined to reveal their often surprising classical roots, while the authors explore a selection of the innovations of ancient Greek and Roman civilization to trace how these have developed through history and still affect the world of the twenty-first century. The style is fast-paced and, while drawing on authoritative and current scholarship, the factual information is enlivened with anecdotal details. This book will open the reader's eyes to a new understanding of the world that we live in today.

Review Quotes

"Summarized." --New Testament Abstracts

"This book is exactly what is needed for those who would attempt to re-introduce the Roman and Greek world and its legacy to a Western society increasingly less well informed about its heritage... Gregory Aldrete and Alicia Aldrete have offered a remarkable volume aimed at restoring the respect that the Romans and the Greeks deserve, while simultaneously avoiding the condescension or superficiality of similar, previous attempts... Overall, this volume is an excellent new addition to the list of popular introductions to the ancient world." --Stephen M. Kershner, Western Kentucky University, USA, Bryn Mawr Classical Review

"The general reader will take a lot from this interesting, informative, and fast-paced book... [I]t is accessible enough to make it a useful recommendation to A Level students of Classical Civilisation or Ancient History; there is an excellent bibliography that provides ample scope for further research and its synthesis of many ancient sources will help to build a clear understanding of how they were received at the time, and their enduring importance." --The Journal of Classics Teaching

About the Author

Gregory S Aldrete is Professor of History and Humanistic Studies at the University of Wisconsin - Green Bay. His enthusiasm for the ancient world is reflected in his many publications which include Floods of the Tiber in Ancient Rome and Daily Life in the Roman City.
Alicia Aldrete has advanced degrees from Princeton and the University of Michigan. She is the co-author of Unraveling the Linothorax Mystery: Reconstructing and Testing Ancient Linen Armor.