The poison king : the life and legend of Mithridates, Rome's deadliest enemy / Adrienne Mayor.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Mayor, Adrienne, 1946-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Mithridates VI Eupator, King of Pontus, approximately 132 B.C.-63 B.C.

Mithridates.

Poisoning--Political aspects--Rome--History.

Poisoning.

Pontus--Kings and rulers--Biography.

Pontus.

Pontus--History.

Rome--History--Mithridatic Wars, 88-63 B.C.

Rome.

Mediterranean Region--History, Military.

Mediterranean Region.

Black Sea Region--History, Military.

Black Sea Region.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (479 p.)

Edition:

Course Book

Place of Publication:

Princeton : Princeton University Press, c2009.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Machiavelli praised his military genius. European royalty sought out his secret elixir against poison. His life inspired Mozart's first opera, while for centuries poets and playwrights recited bloody, romantic tales of his victories, defeats, intrigues, concubines, and mysterious death. But until now no modern historian has recounted the full story of Mithradates, the ruthless king and visionary rebel who challenged the power of Rome in the first century BC. In this richly illustrated book--the first biography of Mithradates in fifty years--Adrienne Mayor combines a storyteller's gifts with the most recent archaeological and scientific discoveries to tell the tale of Mithradates as it has never been told before. The Poison King describes a life brimming with spectacle and excitement. Claiming Alexander the Great and Darius of Persia as ancestors, Mithradates inherited a wealthy Black Sea kingdom at age fourteen after his mother poisoned his father. He fled into exile and returned in triumph to become a ruler of superb intelligence and fierce ambition. Hailed as a savior by his followers and feared as a second Hannibal by his enemies, he envisioned a grand Eastern empire to rival Rome. After massacring eighty thousand Roman citizens in 88 BC, he seized Greece and modern-day Turkey. Fighting some of the most spectacular battles in ancient history, he dragged Rome into a long round of wars and threatened to invade Italy itself. His uncanny ability to elude capture and surge back after devastating losses unnerved the Romans, while his mastery of poisons allowed him to foil assassination attempts and eliminate rivals. The Poison King is a gripping account of one of Rome's most relentless but least understood foes.Some images inside the book are unavailable due to digital copyright restrictions.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

List of Illustrations

Dramatis Personae

Time Line

Acknowledgments

Introduction

1. Kill Them All, and Let the Gods Sort Them Out

2. A Savior Is Born in a Castle by the Sea

3. Education of a Young Hero

4. The Lost Boys

5. Return of the King

6. Storm Clouds

7. Victory

8. Terror

9. Battle for Greece

10. Killers' Kiss

11. Living Like a King

12. Falling Star

13. Renegade Kings

14. End Game

15. In the Tower

Appendix One: Mythic Hero or Deviant Personality?

Appendix Two: Mithradates' Aἀerlife in the Arts and Popular Culture

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9786612608209

9781282608207

1282608207

9781400833429

1400833426

OCLC:

704257920