{"product_id":"9781474260725","title":"Imagining Xerxes Ancient Perspectives on a Persian King","description":"\u003ch3\u003eBloomsbury Studies in Classical Reception\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003ch1\u003eImagining Xerxes\u003c\/h1\u003e\u003ch2\u003eAncient Perspectives on a Persian King\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003ch3\u003eEmma Bridges\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cb\u003eHistory \/ Ancient \/ General\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp\u003eHailed by Tom Holland as a 'fascinating and compendious survey of ancient attitudes to Xerxes' and now available in paperback, \u003ci\u003eImagining Xerxes\u003c\/i\u003e is a transhistorical analysis that explores the richness and variety of Xerxes' afterlives within the ancient literary tradition and the reinvention of his image in a remarkable array of cultural and historical contexts.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis Persian king, who invaded Greece in 480 BC, quickly earned a notoriety that endured throughout antiquity and beyond. The Greeks' historical encounter with Xerxes – which resulted, against overwhelming odds, in the defeat of the Persian army – has inspired a series of literary responses to the king in which he is variously portrayed as the archetypal destructive and enslaving aggressor, as the epitome of arrogance and impiety, or as a figure synonymous with the exoticism and luxury of the Persian court. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEmma Bridges examines the earliest representations of the king, in Aeschylus' tragic play \u003ci\u003ePersians \u003c\/i\u003eand Herodotus' historiographical account of the Persian Wars, before tracing the ways in which the image of Xerxes was revisited and adapted in later Greek and Latin texts. The author also looks beyond the Hellenocentric viewpoint to consider the construction of Xerxes' image in the Persian epigraphic record and the alternative perspectives on the king found in the Jewish written tradition.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eEmma Bridges\u003c\/b\u003e is a Lecturer in Classical Studies at the Open University, UK.\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ctable\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePublication Date: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e24 September 2015\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePublisher: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eBloomsbury Academic\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eImprint: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eBloomsbury Academic\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eISBN-13: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e9781474260725\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eFormat: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePaperback softback\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePage Count: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e248\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eWeight (oz): \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e12.48\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e","brand":"Bloomsbury Academic","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51331632070796,"sku":"9781474260725","price":42.26,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0710\/9545\/1788\/files\/getimage_a9bcf07b-6422-4d73-91d4-6ba6da0941d6.jpg?v=1783597985","url":"https:\/\/fh90cf-fv.myshopify.com\/products\/9781474260725","provider":"Late Knight Books and Services, LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}