Auf ein Miniaturbild klicken, um zu Google Books zu gelangen.
Lädt ... Following Hadrian: A Second-Century Journey through the Roman Empire (2003. Auflage)von Elizabeth Speller
Werk-InformationenFollowing Hadrian: A Second-Century Journey through the Roman Empire von Elizabeth Speller
Keine Lädt ...
Melde dich bei LibraryThing an um herauszufinden, ob du dieses Buch mögen würdest. Keine aktuelle Diskussion zu diesem Buch. From the title I expected the whole book to be a travelogue of the philhellene Emperor Hadrian's many journeys through the empire. It also included biography and a psychological study of the man. Epigraphs began each chapter, alluding to the theme of each, then excerpts from the [fictitious] memoirs of Julia Balbilla, friend of Hadrian's disliked, if not hated, empress, Sabina. Julia accompanied them on their travels. There was a good deal of history and info dumping, discussion of sites in Rome and ruins of those in other parts of the Roman empire and much speculation on what might have happened, since there is not much primary source material on Hadrian. The book did present Hadrian as a very complicated man, capable of kindness and of cruelty and coldness when it suited him. He could hold grudges for decades, at real or imagined slights. I did get a better picture of his personality. My heart went out to the childless Sabina, who resented him for his antipathy towards her at first; but to protect herself, she cultivated the hard shell of indifference towards him. A marvelous fictional portrayal of the empress is given in the historical mystery [Semper Fidelis]; in it she plays an important role. Although Hadrian traveled to Greece, Judaea, Britain, and other places, much of the travel section was spent in Egypt, the land where his beloved male lover Antinous died. There was at least a whole chapter devoted to theories on his death and another on his possible final resting place. I enjoyed the chapters on the Pantheon and the extensive material on his villa at Tibur [Tivoli]. But I was disappointed the author made only fleeting references to his third great architectural wonder: Hadrian's Wall and there was no speculation as to the reason for building it in the first place. I did like the fact that "stone from Hadrian's Wall ... was placed [in the British Military Cemetery in Italy] at the wish of the citizens of Carlisle, to commemorate those servicemen from Cumbria killed in the Second World War." The book was enjoyable, once I accepted it on its own terms and didn't expect more from it than it could give. Zeige 4 von 4 keine Rezensionen | Rezension hinzufügen
"Hadrian, the great, but flawed, Roman Emperor, was an inveterate traveler, intellectual, and patron of the arts. He was determined to make his mark on posterity and left an unparalleled legacy of beautiful new cities and buildings throughout his vast empire and, of course, in Rome. Much of his inspiring architecture remains for today's travelers to marvel at, although some has disappeared without trace and is now the stuff of legend." "But Hadrian was also melancholy, volatile, and utterly ruthless. He treated his wife with contempt and devoted himself to a beautiful boy whose sinister death, while they traveled in Egypt, plunged Hadrian into despair; it changed his personality for ever and affected his ability to rule. Within two years, the man who had been one of the most peace-loving of emperors plunged his empire into a terrible, ill-judged, three-year war against Judea." "Classicist Elizabeth Speller tells the story of the most powerful man on earth in the early second century against a background of his travels and intrigues. This was a man who had commissioned a dazzling construction program, from Hadrian's Wall in Britain and the extraordinary Pantheon in Rome, to his 900-room villa at Tivoli, works which represented the central themes of his rule: military domination, religious tolerance, and an extravagant lifestyle. Soundly based on original sources and archaeology, this compelling book throws new light on Hadrian and the Roman Empire of the second century."--Jacket Keine Bibliotheksbeschreibungen gefunden. |
Aktuelle DiskussionenKeineBeliebte Umschlagbilder
Google Books — Lädt ... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)937.07History and Geography Ancient World Italian Peninsula to 476 and adjacent territories to 476 Italian Peninsula to 476 and adjacent territories to 476 Constitutional 31 B.C.-284 A.D.Klassifikation der Library of Congress [LCC] (USA)BewertungDurchschnitt:
Bist das du?Werde ein LibraryThing-Autor. |
Read Apr 2005 ( )