The Poison King: The Life and Legend of Mithradates, Rome's Deadliest Enemy

Hardcover
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Author: Adrienne Mayor

ISBN-10: 0691126836

ISBN-13: 9780691126838

Category: Historical Biography - Royalty & Nobility

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"One of Rome's fiercest enemies who sought to keep his Eastern kingdom free, Mithradates should be a household name alongside his fellow rebels Hannibal, Cleopatra, Spartacus, and Attila. This detailed, juicy, entertaining, yet painstaking work of superb scholarship should finally give Mithradates the recognition he deserves."--Margaret George, author of Helen of Troy: A Novel"Meticulous in its research, exciting in its narration, ambitious in its conception, The Poison King re-creates an era when much of the Mediterranean world rebelled against Rome. At the center of it all is the fascinating and frightening king who rallied the resistance: Mithradates. Mayor has written a terrific book."--Barry Strauss, author of The Spartacus War"Adrienne Mayor succeeds masterfully in bringing to life one of the most notorious yet strangely neglected figures in ancient history--Mithradates, Eastern scourge of a still young Roman Empire. Truly history that reads like a novel, The Poison King is a book for our time."--Steven Pressfield, author of Gates of Fire: An Epic Novel of the Battle of Thermopylae"A fascination with the byways of ancient science, a wonderful eye for the telling detail, and a relish for floating theories that is almost buccaneering: these have always been the trademarks of Adrienne Mayor. Now, with this stirring biography of the toxicologist's favorite tyrant, she parades her gift for narrative as well. Thanks to Mayor, Mithradates has emerged from the shadows at last as one of Rome's most potent and remarkable enemies."--Tom Holland, author of Rubicon: The Last Years of the Roman Republic"'He died old'--so A. E. Housman refers to the subject of Adrienne Mayor's latest enthralling book, Mithradates VI, king of Pontus. Pursuing her interest in deadly chemical and biological substances, she focuses here on the life and times of the hammer of the mighty Romans in the last century of the Republic, the hellenized oriental ruler finally nailed by Pompey the Great. Ruthless, aggressive, charming, manipulative, callous--was Mithradates a textbook sociopath? Read this exhilarating and penetrating biography to find out."--Paul Cartledge, author of Alexander the Great"Adrienne Mayor's The Poison King is an intriguing and highly readable new biography of one of the most controversial figures of antiquity, Mithradates--ruthless Hellenistic king, genocidaire, terrorist, alchemist, implacable enemy of Rome. It is an important contribution to our understanding of the desperate measures some rulers were prepared to take to resist Rome's iron-fisted pursuit of empire."--R. Bruce Hitchner, Tufts University The Washington Post - Carolyn See I read this biography as a layperson, not a scholar, but I can say without reservation that it's a wonderful reading experience, as bracing as a tonic, the perfect holiday gift for adventure-loving men and women…it's drenched in imaginative violence and disaster, but it also wears the blameless vestments of culture and antiquity. You can have all the fun of reading about a greedy villain being put to death by being made to "drink" molten gold, but still hide safe behind the excuse that you're just brushing up on your classics.

List of IllustrationsDramatis PersonaeTime LineIntroduction 11 Kill Them All, and Let the Gods Sort Them Out 132 A Savior Is Born in a Castle by the Sea 273 Education of a Young Hero 434 The Lost Boys 735 Return of the King 966 Storm Clouds 1237 Victory 1478 Terror 1699 Battle for Greece 18810 Killers' Kiss 21411 Living Like a King 23612 Falling Star 26213 Renegade Kings 28814 End Game 31515 In the Tower 347Appendix One 371Appendix Two 377Notes 381Bibliography 421Index 435\\