The Civil Wars (Penguin Classics) (Paperback)

~ Appian (Author), John Carter (Translator, Introduction) "1. At Rome, the common people and senate were frequently at odds with each other over the passing of laws and the cancellation of debts..." (more)
Key Phrases: Gaius Caesar, Cisalpine Gaul, Decimus Brutus (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Taken from Appian's Roman History, the five books collected here form the sole surviving continuous historical narrative of the era between 133-35 BC - a time of anarchy and instability for the Roman Empire. A masterly account of a turbulent epoch, they describe the Catiline conspiracy; the rise and fall of the First Triumvirate; the murder of Julius Caesar; the formation of the Second Triumvirate by Antonius, Octavian, and Lepidus; and brutal civil war. A compelling depiction of the decline of the Roman state into brutality and violence, The Civil Wars portrays political discontent, selfishness and the struggle for power - a struggle that was to culminate in a titanic battle for mastery over the Roman Empire, and the defeat of Antony and Cleopatra by Octavian in 31 BC

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Latin

Product Details

• Paperback: 480 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Classics (December 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140445099
• ISBN-13: 978-0140445091
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #60,459 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #23 in	Books > Nonfiction > Foreign Language Nonfiction > Latin
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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars great book, August 25, 2005

By	jcoop "coop" (Ashland, MA United States) - See all my reviews

I learned about the book after reading Holland's "Rubicon" (also a very good book), in which it was used as one of the primary sources. The translation is very readable and really reads as a novel. Appian wrote the history a few centuries after the events described, but it remains the only continuous narrative of the period between the fall of the Gracchi and rise of Augustus. This is obviously an event-filled and fascinating period in Roman history. For those interested in the period, I would recommend Holland's book and follow it up with this one.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Notes from the Chaos, or: Infamy Unvarnished, December 17, 2007

By	Ian Vance (pagosa springs CO.) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Ancient Mediterranean history seems to have entered a revival period in 2007 (...or, at least, this was what TIME magazine informed me a few months ago). Copies of the *Illiad* and *Odyssey* gain new shiny covers and return to prominence on upper-middle coffee tables. Frank Millar's *300* captivated millions of college kids with its bald and rather bad triune-stroke. Vin Diesel (!!) is apparently scripting a version of Hannibal Barca's trek across the Alps. And HBO concluded its visually-magnificent-if-liberally-altered account of the fall of the Roman Republic with style and aplomb and certainly no lack of visceral carnality. I imagine, after the fact, that certain curious consumers interested in the fall of the Roman Republic / rise of the Roman Empire searched amazon.com and like retailers for the "real" story behind the lurid invention. Thus it is rather surprising that this tome - Appian's *The Civil Wars* - has been reviewed two times, considering it is the only surviving *continuous* history of the period, detailing the fall from beginning to end without serious lacunas or missing chapters.

Fans of HBO's Rome, casual neophytes of Latin history - this is what you are looking for. Appian chronicles the `good / bad old days' of the Roman Republic with taut precision, outlining the central conflict (land ownership, upper class greed - how times change, how... ) that eventually led to the rabble-rousing and subsequent murder of the Gracci Bros, the Catiline conspiracy, the rise and messy fall of the tyrants Sulla and Marus, the rise of Pompey and Caesar and the formation of the First Triumvirate, the assassination of Caesar, the struggles of Antony and Octavian to retain power in war-torn Italy, the creation of the Second Triumvirate and the cracking of its façade...

Appian wrote his histories around 200 years after the fact (this Penguin edition estimates its composition between AD 145 and 165), so - as with all ancient histories - the facts and minutiae will ever be in question. Appian's style is not the easiest to read, either: he favors long complex sentences, occasional tangents and the usual influx of names, names, names - happily, this edition contains voluminous footnotes and detailed maps. For a greater reading experience, I recommend having copies of Plutarch's *Makers of Rome* and *Fall of the Roman Republic* on hand - though not chronologically paced like the Civil Wars, they give insight into the major movers and shakers, offer a sort of conclusion with the portrait of Antony, and augment the overall impact of this turbulent, fascinating period of human development.

'Limitless human ambition, terrible lust for power, indefatigable patience, and evil in ten thousand shapes' -- the glory and the infamy, still unvarnished two thousand years postscript...

7 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing, July 19, 2000

By	Jacob Lamitie - See all my reviews

One of the best comprehensive histories of the Roman civil wars. Contains almost everything you want to know and more. A must for any Roman history fan or buff.