| Author |
Mayor, Adrienne, 1946-
|
| Title |
The Poison King : the life and legend of Mithradates, Rome's deadliest enemy / Adrienne Mayor. |
| OCLC |
319247391 |
| ISBN |
9780691126838 (hardcover : alk. paper) |
|
0691126836 |
|
9780691150260 (pbk.) |
|
0691150265 (pbk.) |
| Publisher |
Princeton, N.J. : Princeton University Press, [2010] |
|
©2010 |
| Description |
xxii, 448 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some color), maps ; 25 cm |
| LC Subject heading/s |
Mithridates VI Eupator, King of Pontus, approximately 132 B.C.-63 B.C.
|
Other
Subject heading/s |
Mithridates (Pontisches Reich, König, VI.)
|
|
Mithridate (roi du Pont ; 6) -- biographie.
|
|
Mithridates VI, Pontisches Reich, König, v132-v63. (DE-588)118734210
|
| LC Subject heading/s |
Pontus -- Kings and rulers -- Biography.
|
|
Poisoning -- Political aspects -- Rome -- History.
|
|
Pontus -- History.
|
|
Rome -- History -- Mithridatic Wars, 88 B.C.-63 B.C.
|
|
Mediterranean Region -- History, Military.
|
|
Black Sea Region -- History, Military.
|
Other
Genre heading/s |
Biographie.
|
| SUBJECT |
Biographie.
|
| LC Subject heading/s |
Burris Collection.
|
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (pages [381]-433) and index. |
| Summary |
A new account of one of Rome's most relentless but least understood foes. 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.--From publisher description. |
| Contents |
Kill them all, and let the gods sort them out -- A savior is born in a castle by the sea -- Education of a young hero -- The lost boys -- Return of the king -- Storm clouds -- Victory -- Terror -- Battle for Greece -- Killers' kiss -- Living like a king -- Falling star -- Renegade kings -- End game -- In the tower -- Appendix 1. Mythic hero or deviant personality? -- Appendix 2. Mithradates' afterlife in the arts and popular culture. |
|
