Richard Stoneman (1) (1951–)
Autore di A Traveller's History of Turkey
Per altri autori con il nome Richard Stoneman, vedi la pagina di disambiguazione.
Sull'Autore
Richard Stoneman is an honorary visiting professor in the Department of Classics and Ancient History at the University of Exeter. His many books include Alexander the Great: A Life in Legend and Xerxes: A Persian Life.
Opere di Richard Stoneman
Alexander Romance in Persia and the East (Ancient Narrative Supplementum) (2012) — A cura di — 3 copie
Books we Might have Known 2 copie
Il romanzo di Alessandro vol.II 1 copia
Opere correlate
Athenaeus and his world : reading Greek culture in the Roman Empire (2000) — Collaboratore — 8 copie
The Ancient Novel and Beyond (Mnemosyne, Bibliotheca Classica Batava Supplementum) (2003) — Collaboratore — 2 copie
Etichette
Informazioni generali
- Nome legale
- Stoneman, Richard John
- Data di nascita
- 1951
- Sesso
- male
- Nazionalità
- England, UK
- Luogo di residenza
- London, England, UK
Devon, England, UK - Attività lavorative
- classics editor
classics scholar - Organizzazioni
- University of Exeter, UK
Routledge
Utenti
Recensioni
Liste
Premi e riconoscimenti
Potrebbero anche piacerti
Autori correlati
Statistiche
- Opere
- 29
- Opere correlate
- 11
- Utenti
- 654
- Popolarità
- #38,587
- Voto
- 4.0
- Recensioni
- 5
- ISBN
- 88
- Lingue
- 7
Richard Stoneman does the best he can with the resources available in Xerxes: A Persian Life (galley received as part of early review program). He has a great handle on the relevant resources available in Greek and the current state of archaeology. In this work he even strains by using far later Iranian tales, which in whatever details they perhaps retain about Xerxes, are garbled and intermixed with stories of later Parthian and perhaps even Sassanid kings, as well as later operas and plays written by Greeks and Europeans.
Xerxes is as much a biography of the Persian Empire as it is a story about Xerxes himself. The author well framed the life of Xerxes in terms of how his father Darius ascended to the throne and Darius’ adventures against the Scythians and the Greeks. The author suggests Xerxes was constantly haunted by the specter of his father and keeping up the family legacy.
The author considered what could be known of life in the Persian court and how Xerxes would have conducted himself within it. The author uses Herodotus’ narrative in order to set forth Xerxes’ campaign against the Greeks and tries his best to imagine the situation according to Xerxes’ perspective. It would be impossible to consider the Greek campaign an unmitigated success, and its failings may have bedeviled Xerxes for the rest of his life; but it was not a complete failure, for many people did submit to him, and he was able to destroy Athens.
The author shows how Xerxes otherwise seemed to invest his time and efforts in a major building program at Persepolis, which proves quite difficult to consider since the Greek records suggest Alexander the Great very specifically targeted the parts of Persepolis built by Xerxes for destruction.
Xerxes’ home life is considered as well as the assassination plot which led to his death. You’d think much more would be recorded about such a great and influential king. And yet we seem to know more about many kings before and after Xerxes than Xerxes himself.
While the author casts aspersions on the historical legitimacy of the book of Esther for many not insignificant reasons, ironically, it would seem the author of the book of Esther might well have best captured the personality and spirit of Xerxes and his court. He was a man who got whatever he wanted, for better or for worse, and who could be easily directed for all kinds of ends. His biggest mistake was his biggest exploit, making himself the ultimate enemy of the Greeks, leading to the erasure of most of his legacy.
Xerxes ascended to the throne without drama, and despite his assassination, the throne passed relatively smoothly to his son Artaxerxes (I). It was not much, but it was something. And we are all left to consider how such aspirations to greatness could lead to such vanity and futility.… (altro)