Matthew Polis's Books

The Fortifications of Arkadian City States in the Classical and Hellenistic Periods

By: Matthew Maher

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The Fortifications of Arkadian City States in the Classical and Hellenistic Periods

By: Matthew Maher

This illustrated study comprises a comprehensive and detailed account of the historical development of Greek military architecture and defensive planning, specifically in Arkadia in the Classical and Hellenistic periods. Employing data gathered from the published literature, and collected during the field reconnaissance of every site, the fortification circuit of each Arkadian polis is explored. In this way, the book provides an accurate chronology for the walls in question; an understanding of the relationship between the fortifications and the local topography; a detailed inventory of all the fortified poleis of Arkadia; a regional synthesis based on this inventory; and the probable historical reasons behind the patterns observed through the regional synthesis. Maher argues that there is no evidence for fortified poleis in Arkadia during the Archaic period. However, when the poleis were eventually fortified in the Classical period, the fact that most appeared in the early fourth century BC, strategically distributed in limited geographic areas, suggests that the larger defensive concerns of the Arkadian League were a factor. Although the defensive responses to innovations in siege warfare and offensive artillery of the Arkadian fortifications follow the same general developments observable in the circuits found throughout the Greek world, there does exist a number of interesting and noteworthy, regionally specific, patterns. Such discoveries validate the methodology employed and clearly demonstrate the value of an exclusively regional focus for shedding light on a number of architectural, topographical, and historic issues.

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441

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Oxford University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

019878659X

ISBN 13

9780198786597

Religion & Classical Warfare

Archaic and Classical Greece

By: Christopher Matthew,Matthew Dillon,Michael Schmitz

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Religion & Classical Warfare

Archaic and Classical Greece

By: Christopher Matthew,Matthew Dillon,Michael Schmitz

Religion was integral to the conduct of war in the ancient world and the Greeks were certainly no exception. No campaign was undertaken, no battle risked, without first making sacrifice to propitiate the appropriate gods (such as Ares, god of War) or consulting oracles and omens to divine their plans. Yet the link between war and religion is an area that has been regularly overlooked by modern scholars examining the conflicts of these times. This volume addresses that omission by drawing together the work of experts from across the globe. The chapters have been carefully structured by the editors so that this wide array of scholarship combines to give a coherent, comprehensive study of the role of religion in the wars of the Archaic and Classical Greek world. Aspects considered in depth will include: Greek writers on religion and war; declarations of war; fate and predestination, the sphagia and pre-battle sacrifices; omens, oracles and portents, trophies and dedications to cult centers; militarized deities; sacred truces and festivals; oaths and vows; religion & Greek military medicine.

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320

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Pen and Sword Military

Published Date

ISBN 10

1473889529

ISBN 13

9781473889521

Greek Mercenaries

From the Late Archaic Period to Alexander

By: Matthew Trundle

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Greek Mercenaries

From the Late Archaic Period to Alexander

By: Matthew Trundle

Greek Mercenaries is an analysis of the political, social and economic aspects of classical Greek mercenary service.

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219

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Routledge

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ISBN 10

1134304331

ISBN 13

9781134304332

The Politics of Borders

Sovereignty, Security, and the Citizen after 9/11

By: Matthew Longo

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The Politics of Borders

Sovereignty, Security, and the Citizen after 9/11

By: Matthew Longo

Borders are changing in response to terrorism and immigration. This book shows why this matters, especially for sovereignty, individual liberty, and citizenship.

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269

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Cambridge University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1107171784

ISBN 13

9781107171787

Pilgrims and Pilgrimage in Ancient Greece

By: Matthew Dillon

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Pilgrims and Pilgrimage in Ancient Greece

By: Matthew Dillon

This volume explores the religious motivations for pilgrimage and reveals the main preoccupations of worshippers in Ancient Greece. Dillon examines the main sanctuaries of Delphi, Epidauros and Olympia, as well as the less well-known oracle of Didyma in Asia Minor and the festivals at the Isthmus of Corinth. He discusses the modes of travel to the sites, means of communication between pilgrims and the religious and ritual practices at the sanctuaries themselves. A unique insight into pilgrimage in Ancient Greece is presented, focusing on the diverse aspects of pilgrimage; the role of women and children, the religious festivals of particular ethnic groups and the colourful celebrations involving music, athletics and equestrian events. Pilgrims and Pilgrimage in Ancient Greece is an accessible and fascinating volume, which reveals how the concept of pilgrimage contributes to Greek religion as a whole.

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344

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Routledge

Published Date

ISBN 10

1135099871

ISBN 13

9781135099879

Classical Greek Oligarchy

A Political History

By: Matthew Simonton

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Classical Greek Oligarchy

A Political History

By: Matthew Simonton

Classical Greek Oligarchy thoroughly reassesses an important but neglected form of ancient Greek government, the "rule of the few." Matthew Simonton challenges scholarly orthodoxy by showing that oligarchy was not the default mode of politics from time immemorial, but instead emerged alongside, and in reaction to, democracy. He establishes for the first time how oligarchies maintained power in the face of potential citizen resistance. The book argues that oligarchs designed distinctive political institutions—such as intra-oligarchic power sharing, targeted repression, and rewards for informants—to prevent collective action among the majority population while sustaining cooperation within their own ranks. To clarify the workings of oligarchic institutions, Simonton draws on recent social science research on authoritarianism. Like modern authoritarian regimes, ancient Greek oligarchies had to balance coercion with co-optation in order to keep their subjects disorganized and powerless. The book investigates topics such as control of public space, the manipulation of information, and the establishment of patron-client relations, frequently citing parallels with contemporary nondemocratic regimes. Simonton also traces changes over time in antiquity, revealing the processes through which oligarchy lost the ideological battle with democracy for legitimacy. Classical Greek Oligarchy represents a major new development in the study of ancient politics. It fills a longstanding gap in our knowledge of nondemocratic government while greatly improving our understanding of forms of power that continue to affect us today.

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376

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Princeton University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0691192057

ISBN 13

9780691192055

Xenophon and the Athenian Democracy

The Education of an Elite Citizenry

By: Matthew R. Christ

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Xenophon and the Athenian Democracy

The Education of an Elite Citizenry

By: Matthew R. Christ

Examines how Xenophon instructs his elite readers concerning the values and skills needed to lead the Athenian democracy.

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227

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Cambridge University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1108495761

ISBN 13

9781108495769

Naukratis I and II, Hawara, Biahmu, and Arsinoe

By: William Matthew Flinders Petrie,Ernest A. Gardner

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Naukratis I and II, Hawara, Biahmu, and Arsinoe

By: William Matthew Flinders Petrie,Ernest A. Gardner

Reissued here together are three illustrated excavation reports, published 1886-9, relating to important archaeological sites in Egypt.

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383

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Cambridge University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1108066119

ISBN 13

9781108066112

But n Ben A-Go-Go

By: Matthew Fitt

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But n Ben A-Go-Go

By: Matthew Fitt

Written entirely in Scots, this is a science fiction novel set in a future where the Scottish Highlands are the only unsubmerged area of Britain. With strong characters and a gripping plot, the well-defined settings create an atmosphere of paranoia and danger. The exciting denouement has a surprising twist and is set on Schiehallion. The introduction includes a section on how to read the Scots in this book, Matthew has made the spelling as straightforward as possible for a population used to English spelling conventions.

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229

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Luath Press Ltd

Published Date

ISBN 10

1912387840

ISBN 13

9781912387847

Athens, Rome, and England

America's Constitutional Heritage

By: Matthew A Pauley

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Athens, Rome, and England

America's Constitutional Heritage

By: Matthew A Pauley

Uncovering the roots of the U.S. Constitution The U.S. Constitution influences nearly every aspect of our lives. But for all the fierce disputes about what the Constitution means, the historical foundations of America’s legal and political institutions pass almost unnoticed today. This is a glaring oversight, one that clouds our understanding of the Constitution and American law and politics in general. For the Constitution did not spring up suddenly in 1787. The framers were influenced at every turn by a tradition of constitutional development dating back to ancient times. Political scientist and legal scholar Matthew A. Pauley fills in the blanks in our understanding by chronicling the three most important influences on the American constitutional experience: ancient Greece, ancient Rome, and England. Pauley’s masterful historical survey sheds new light on our system of representative democracy, our court structure, and our traditions of law—civil and criminal, public and private. No student of law or government can afford to ignore this highly readable, deeply informative work. Athens, Rome, and England adds immeasurably to our appreciation and understanding of the roots of the American Constitution and our legal and political system.

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142

Publisher

Open Road Media

Published Date

ISBN 10

1497675138

ISBN 13

9781497675131

Ancient Greece

Social and Historical Documents from Archaic Times to the Death of Socrates

By: Matthew Dillon,Lynda Garland

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Ancient Greece

Social and Historical Documents from Archaic Times to the Death of Socrates

By: Matthew Dillon,Lynda Garland

First Published in 1999. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

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681

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Routledge

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ISBN 10

113460372X

ISBN 13

9781134603725

Understanding Greek Warfare

By: Matthew A. Sears

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Understanding Greek Warfare

By: Matthew A. Sears

Understanding Greek Warfare offers a wide-ranging survey of Greek warfare, from the Mycenaeans through to the Hellenistic kingdoms’ clashes with Rome. Each chapter provides an overview of a particular theme and historical period, and a detailed discussion of the relevant sources, both ancient and modern. This volume covers not only the development of equipment, tactics, strategy, and the major wars of Greek history – the "drums and trumpets" – it also examines the political, social, and cultural importance of warfare in each period. Each chapter outlines major scholarly debates, such as the true nature of hoplite battle and whether Alexander the Great had a strategic vision beyond conquest, and includes several short selections from the primary literary evidence. Readable yet scholarly, this book is an ideal companion to courses on Greek warfare and society, and offers detailed suggestions for further reading and research. Understanding Greek Warfare will be a crucial resource for students of war in the ancient Greek world, and of the ancient Greeks in general.

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386

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Routledge

Published Date

ISBN 10

1351974122

ISBN 13

9781351974127

Athens, Thrace, and the Shaping of Athenian Leadership

By: Matthew A. Sears

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Athens, Thrace, and the Shaping of Athenian Leadership

By: Matthew A. Sears

This book explores the social, political, and cultural importance of Thrace to prominent Athenian individuals from the mid-sixth to the mid-fourth century BCE. It examines the unique opportunities that ties with Thrace afforded these important men, and the resulting significance of Thrace to the political, cultural, and social history of Athens.

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345

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Cambridge University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1107030536

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9781107030534

History and Philosophy of Sport and Physical Activity

By: R. Scott Kretchmar,Mark Dyreson,Matt Llewellyn,John Gleaves

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History and Philosophy of Sport and Physical Activity

By: R. Scott Kretchmar,Mark Dyreson,Matt Llewellyn,John Gleaves

History and Philosophy of Sport and Physical Activity, Second Edition, blends historical investigations and philosophical insights regarding sport and physical activity. This cross-disciplinary text shows how theory in the humanities can affect professional practice

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370

Publisher

Human Kinetics

Published Date

ISBN 10

1718212941

ISBN 13

9781718212947

Scorn: The Art of the Game

By: Matthew Pellett

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Scorn: The Art of the Game

By: Matthew Pellett

Official lavish in-depth coffee table art book for the first-person horror adventure game Scorn, inspired by H.R. Giger and Zdzisław Beksiński, to be released on Xbox series X/S, Microsoft Windows, Steam, and Windows Store. In this coffee table hardback, uncover the concept and vision behind Scorn, alongside insight from the artists and software designers at Ebb. The game is set in a nightmarish universe of odd forms and somber tapestry inspired by the work of H.R. Giger, and designed around the idea of "being thrown into the world". This lavish book explores the characters, creatures, weapons, and locations, with maps, user interfaces, concept art, and original designs. The unsettling biomechanical environment is a character in itself, and every location reveals its own theme, puzzles, and characters that are integral in creating a cohesive lived-in world. “It blends the anatomical and organic with the mechanical and architectural to create fleshy, irregular landscapes inhabited by shambling monstrosities” – PC Gamer magazine

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200

Publisher

Titan Books (US, CA)

Published Date

ISBN 10

1803363983

ISBN 13

9781803363981

Teaching Through Song in Antiquity

Didactic Hymnody Among Greeks, Romans, Jews, and Christians

By: Matthew E. Gordley

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Teaching Through Song in Antiquity

Didactic Hymnody Among Greeks, Romans, Jews, and Christians

By: Matthew E. Gordley

While scholars of antiquity have long spoken of didactic hymns, no single volume has defined or explored this phenomenon across cultural boundaries in antiquity. In this monograph Matthew E. Gordley provides a broad definition of didactic hymnody and examines how didactic hymns functioned at the intersection of historical circumstances and the needs of a given community to perceive itself and its place in the cosmos and to respond accordingly. Comparing the use of didactic hymnody in a variety of traditions, this study illuminates the multifaceted ways that ancient hymns and psalms contributed to processes of communal formation among the human audiences that participated in the praise either as hearers or active participants. The author finds that in Greek, Roman, Jewish, and Christian contexts, many hymns and prayers served a didactic role fostering the ongoing development of a sense of identity within particular communities.

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476

Publisher

Mohr Siebeck

Published Date

ISBN 10

3161507223

ISBN 13

9783161507229

Against Empire

Ekklesial Resistance and the Politics of Radical Democracy

By: Matthew T. Eggemeier

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Against Empire

Ekklesial Resistance and the Politics of Radical Democracy

By: Matthew T. Eggemeier

Against Empire analyzes the relationship between Christian theology and radical democracy by exploring how black prophetic thought, feminist theology, Latin American liberation theology, and peaceable theology offer plural forms of ekklesial resistance to empire: the black church (Cornel West), the ekklesia of wo/men (Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza), the church of the poor (Ignacio Ellacuría, Jon Sobrino), and the peaceable church (Stanley Hauerwas). These approaches to Christian political engagement differ in their specific focus but share common resistance to neoliberalism, nationalism, and militarism as networks of power that intersect with racism, sexism, and neo-colonialism to form what they refer to as empire. In diverse ways, West, Schüssler Fiorenza, Ellacuría and Sobrino, and Hauerwas reimagine Christian witness as a form of radical democratic resistance to empire in the face of political formations that not only block the expansion of democracy (neoliberal-neoconservative hegemony) but also attempt to retrench its achievements (authoritarian populism).

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212

Publisher

Wipf and Stock Publishers

Published Date

ISBN 10

1532657862

ISBN 13

9781532657863

Extraterritorial

A Political Geography of Contemporary Fiction

By: Matthew Hart

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Extraterritorial

A Political Geography of Contemporary Fiction

By: Matthew Hart

The future of fiction is neither global nor national. Instead, Matthew Hart argues, it is trending extraterritorial. Extraterritorial spaces fall outside of national borders but enhance state power. They cut across geography and history but do not point the way to a borderless new world. They range from the United Nations headquarters and international waters to CIA black sites and the departure zones at international airports. The political geography of the present, Hart shows, has come to resemble a patchwork of such spaces. Hart reveals extraterritoriality’s centrality to twenty-first-century art and fiction. He shows how extraterritorial fictions expose the way states construct “global” space in their own interests. Extraterritorial novels teach us not to mistake cracks or gradations in political geography for a crisis of the state. Hart demonstrates how the unstable character of many twenty-first-century aesthetic forms can be traced to the increasingly extraterritorial nature of contemporary political geography. Discussing writers such as Margaret Atwood, J. G. Ballard, Amitav Ghosh, Chang-rae Lee, Hilary Mantel, and China Miéville, as well as artists like Hito Steyerl and Mark Wallinger, Hart combines lively critical readings of contemporary novels with historical and theoretical discussions about sovereignty, globalization, cosmopolitanism, and postcolonialism. Extraterritorial presents a new theory of literature that explains what happens when dreams of an open, connected world confront the reality of mobile, elastic, and tenacious borders.

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184

Publisher

Columbia University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0231547803

ISBN 13

9780231547802

Dangerous Counsel

Accountability and Advice in Ancient Greece

By: Matthew Landauer

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Dangerous Counsel

Accountability and Advice in Ancient Greece

By: Matthew Landauer

We often talk loosely of the “tyranny of the majority” as a threat to the workings of democracy. But, in ancient Greece, the analogy of demos and tyrant was no mere metaphor, nor a simple reflection of elite prejudice. Instead, it highlighted an important structural feature of Athenian democracy. Like the tyrant, the Athenian demos was an unaccountable political actor with the power to hold its subordinates to account. And like the tyrant, the demos could be dangerous to counsel since the orator speaking before the assembled demos was accountable for the advice he gave. With Dangerous Counsel, Matthew Landauer analyzes the sometimes ferocious and unpredictable politics of accountability in ancient Greece and offers novel readings of ancient history, philosophy, rhetoric, and drama. In comparing the demos to a tyrant, thinkers such as Herodotus, Plato, Isocrates, and Aristophanes were attempting to work out a theory of the badness of unaccountable power; to understand the basic logic of accountability and why it is difficult to get right; and to explore the ways in which political discourse is profoundly shaped by institutions and power relationships. In the process they created strikingly portable theories of counsel and accountability that traveled across political regime types and remain relevant to our contemporary political dilemmas.

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249

Publisher

University of Chicago Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

022665379X

ISBN 13

9780226653792

Making Human

World Order and the Global Governance of Human Dignity

By: Matthew S. Weinert

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Making Human

World Order and the Global Governance of Human Dignity

By: Matthew S. Weinert

Differences between human beings have long been used to justify a range of degrading, exclusionary, and murderous practices that strip people of their humanity and dignity. While considerable scholarship has been devoted to such dehumanization, Matthew S. Weinert asks how we might conceive its reverse—humanization, or what it means to “make human.” Weinert proposes an account of making human centered on five mechanisms: reflection, recognition, resistance, replication of dominant mores, and responsibility. Examining cases such as the UN Security Council’s engagements with crises and the International Court of Justice’s grappling with Kosovo’s unilateral declaration of independence, he illustrates the distinct and contingent ways these mechanisms have been deployed. Theoretically, the cases evince a complex, evolving relationship between state-centric and human-centric views of society, ultimately revealing the normative potentialities of both. Though the case studies concern specific human relations issues on an international level, Weinert argues in favor of starting from the shared problem of being human and of living in a world in which the humanity of countless groups has been demeaned or denied. Working outward from that point, he proposes, we obtain a more pragmatically grounded understanding of the social construction of the human being.

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281

Publisher

University of Michigan Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0472120840

ISBN 13

9780472120840

Seasons of Change

By: Matthew Morrill

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Seasons of Change

By: Matthew Morrill

Growing up in the 1960’s and 70’s, then maturing to adulthood and entering the workforce in the 80’s has created almost a schizophrenic identity for Bryce F. Derneher. Derneher faces life with a multitude of conflicts between family, career, love interests, friends and life goals. Today’s world doesn’t respect quality or values; instead, speed-to-market and efficiencies in workflows are the corporate ideals. In Bryce’s heart, he knows that the deep-rooted good values from yesteryear are hidden within most people. People are just afraid today to show them. At least he has to believe in his heart that people are just afraid to show their values. Surely, people aren’t as bad as their daily actions in life. From the 2001 perspective, values demonstrate weakness in the marketplace. Values make the worker a liability and less important to a corporation then the dollar in the coffer at the end of the day. The dollar is number-one! People are number two. Values are bad business. Profit margins are the only concern. The most curious aspect of life today is what happens when values meet the technologically cold world of the 21st century. Can the person true to his values survive?

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218

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iUniverse

Published Date

ISBN 10

0595181651

ISBN 13

9780595181650

Fictions of the City

Class, Culture and Mass Housing in London and Paris

By: Matthew Taunton

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Fictions of the City

Class, Culture and Mass Housing in London and Paris

By: Matthew Taunton

Many studies of fictions of city life take the flâneur as the characteristic metropolitan type and streets and plazas as definitive urban spaces. Looking at novels and films set in London and Paris from L'Assommoir to Nil By Mouth , this book shows that mass housing is equally central to images of the modern city.

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211

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Springer

Published Date

ISBN 10

0230244912

ISBN 13

9780230244917

Girls and Women in Classical Greek Religion

By: Matthew Dillon

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Girls and Women in Classical Greek Religion

By: Matthew Dillon

It has often been thought that participation in fertility rituals was women's most important religious activity in classical Greece. Matthew Dillon's wide-ranging study makes it clear that women engaged in numerous other rites and cults, and that their role in Greek religion was actually more important than that of men. Women invoked the gods' help in becoming pregnant, venerated the god of wine, worshipped new and exotic deities, used magic for both erotic and pain-relieving purposes, and far more besides. Clear and comprehensive, this volume challenges many stereotypes of Greek women and offers unexpected insights into their experience of religion. With more than fifty illustrations, and translated extracts from contemporary texts, this is an essential resource for the study of women and religion in classical Greece.

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452

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Routledge

Published Date

ISBN 10

113436508X

ISBN 13

9781134365081

The Comedian as Critic

Greek Old Comedy and Poetics

By: Matthew Wright

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The Comedian as Critic

Greek Old Comedy and Poetics

By: Matthew Wright

Some of the best evidence for the early development of literary criticism before Plato and Aristotle comes from Athenian Old Comedy. Playwrights such as Eupolis, Cratinus, Aristophanes and others wrote numerous comedies on literary themes, commented on their own poetry and that of their rivals, and played around with ideas and theories from the contemporary intellectual scene. How can we make use of the evidence of comedy? Why were the comic poets so preoccupied with questions of poetics? What criteria emerge from comedy for the evaluation of literature? What do the ancient comedians' jokes say about their own literary tastes and those of their audience? How do different types of readers in antiquity evaluate texts, and what are the similarities and differences between 'popular' and 'professional' literary criticism? Does Greek comedy have anything serious to say about the authors and texts it criticizes? How can the comedians be related to the later literary-critical tradition represented by Plato, Aristotle and subsequent writers? This book attempts to answer these questions by examining comedy in its social and intellectual context, and by using approaches from modern literary theory to cast light on the ancient material.

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Page Count

257

Publisher

A&C Black

Published Date

ISBN 10

1780933460

ISBN 13

9781780933467

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