After centuries of neglect there is renewed interest in the life and works of Lucius Annaeus Seneca (or Seneca the Younger, c 4 BCE-65 CE). At one time an advisor at court to Nero, Seneca and his political career came to ruin when he was implicated in a later plot to kill the capricious and matricidal emperor, and compelled to commit suicide. Discredited through collusion, or at least association, with a notorious and tyrannical regime, Seneca's ideas were for a time also considered deriva...

How did the ancient Greeks and Romans envision the end of the world?What is the long-term future of the human race? Will the world always remain as it is or will it undergo a catastrophic change? What role do the gods, human morality, and the forces of nature play in bringing about the end of the world? In Apocalypse and Golden Age, Christopher Star reveals the answers that Greek and Roman authors gave to these questions.The first large-scale inves...

A grimly entertaining anthology of ancient Greek and Roman writings about how to fearlessly prepare for the end of the world and other disastersA remarkable percentage of people believe we are living in the end times, according to pollsters. Between the climate crisis, nuclear weapons, AI, and other existential threats, it’s easy to see why. How should we think about the apocalypse? How can we mentally prepare for doomsday and other disasters? This anthology presen...

Christopher Star uncovers significant points of contact between Seneca and Petronius, two important Roman writers long thought to be antagonists.In The Empire of the Self, Christopher Star studies the question of how political reality affects the concepts of body, soul, and self. Star argues that during the early Roman Empire the establishment of autocracy and the development of a universal ideal of individual autonomy were mutually enhancing phenomena. Th...

A grimly entertaining anthology of ancient Greek and Roman writings about how to fearlessly prepare for the end of the world and other disastersA remarkable percentage of people believe we are living in the end times, according to pollsters. Between the climate crisis, nuclear weapons, AI, and other existential threats, it’s easy to see why. How should we think about the apocalypse? How can we mentally prepare for doomsday and other disasters? This anthology presen...

A field-defining survey of research in the rapidly growing field of English for Specific Purposes, now in its second editionThe Handbook of English for Specific Purposes provides an up-to-date account of the origins, development, current state, and future directions in the study of English as used in its specific contexts, including medical English, business English, and academic English. Featuring research from leading authorities, this comprehensive volu...