Technology and culture in Greek and Roman antiquity / S. Cuomo.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Cuomo, S. (Serafina)

Series:

Key themes in ancient history

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Technology--Greece--History--To 1500.

Technology.

Technology--Rome--History.

Technology and civilization--History--To 1500.

Technology and civilization.

History.

Greece.

Physical Description:

xi, 212 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, UK ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 2007.

Summary:

The technological achievements of the Greeks and Romans continue to fascinate and excite admiration. But what was the place of technology in their cultures? Through five case-studies, this book sets ancient technical knowledge in its political, social and intellectual context. It explores the definition of the techne of medicine in classical Athens, the development of new military technology in Hellenistic times, the self-image of technicians through funerary art in the early Roman Empire, the resolution of boundary disputes in the early second century AD, and the status of architecture and architects in late antiquity. It deploys a wide range of sources, from technical treatises to philosophical texts and the works of historians and playwrights, as well as epigraphical and archaeological evidence, to reconstruct a dialectic picture of ancient technology, where several ancient points of view are described and analysed, and their interaction examined. Dr Cuomo argues for the centrality of technology to the ancient world-picture, and for its extraordinarily rich political, social, economic, and religious significance.

Contents:

The definition of techne in classical Athens

The Hellenistic military revolution

Death and the craftsman

Boundary disputes in the Roman Empire

Architects of late antiquity.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 169-210) and index.

ISBN:

0521810736

9780521810739

0521009030

9780521009034

OCLC:

85814090