James Romm

Who doesn’t worry sometimes that smart phones, the Internet, and TV are robbing us of time and preventing us from having a life? How can we make the most of our time on earth? In the first century AD, the Stoic philosopher Seneca the Younger offered one of the most famous answers to that question in his essay “On the Shortness of Life”—a work that has more to teach us today than ever before.

In How to Have a Life, James Romm presents a vibrant new translation of Seneca’s brilliant essay, plus two Senecan letters on the same theme, complete with the original Latin on facing pages and an inviting introduction.

With devastating satiric wit, skillfully captured in this translation, Seneca lampoons the ways we squander our time and fail to realize how precious it is. We don’t allow people to steal our money, yet we allow them to plunder our time, or else we give it away ourselves in useless, idle pursuits. Seneca also describes how we can make better use of our brief days and years. In the process, he argues, we can make our lives longer, or even everlasting, because to live a real life is to attain a kind of immortality.

A counterweight to the time-sucking distractions of the modern world, How to Have a Life offers priceless wisdom about making our time—and our lives—count.

A portrait of one of the ancient world’s first political celebrities, who veered from failure to success and back again

The life of Demetrius (337–283 BCE) serves as a through-line to the forty years following the death of Alexander the Great (323–282 BCE), a time of unparalleled turbulence and instability in the ancient world. With no monarch able to take Alexander’s place, his empire fragmented into five pieces.

Capitalizing on good looks, youth, and sexual prowess, Demetrius sought to weld those pieces together and recover the dream of a single world state, with a new Alexander—himself—at its head. He succeeded temporarily, but in crucial, colossal engagements—a massive invasion of Egypt, a siege of Rhodes that went on a full year, and the Battle of Ipsus—he came up just short. He ended his career in a rash invasion of Asia and became the target of a desperate manhunt only to be captured and destroyed by his own son-in-law.

“With great erudition, and elegance, Romm tells the story of the years after the death of Alexander the Great, revealing an ancient world whose politics, intrigue, and penchant for war will seem familiar to modern readers.”—Annette Gordon-Reed, Harvard University

“Romm brilliantly sketches the life, character, and achievements of Demetrius the Besieger, the most charismatic and unstable of the Successors of Alexander the Great—and one of the most formidable.”—Robin Waterfield, author of Creators, Conquerors, and Citizens: A History of Ancient Greece

“Romm’s gripping, sensitive biography traces the zigzagging career of Demetrius, cavalry commander at nineteen and notorious besieger of cities, as he strives to seize power as Alexander’s successor but ultimately languishes in luxury as a royal captive.”—Adrienne Mayor, author of The Poison King and The Amazons

A thrilling deep dive into the last decades of ancient Greek freedom leading up to Alexander the Great’s destruction of Thebes—and the saga of the greatest military corps of the age, the Theban Sacred Band, a unit composed of 150 pairs of male lovers.

The story of the Sacred Band, an elite 300-man corps recruited from pairs of lovers, highlights a chaotic era of ancient Greek history, four decades marked by battles, ideological disputes, and the rise of vicious strongmen. At stake was freedom, democracy, and the fate of Thebes, at this time the leading power of the Greek world.

The tale begins in 379 BC, with a group of Theban patriots sneaking into occupied Thebes. Disguised in women’s clothing, they cut down the agents of Sparta, the state that had cowed much of Greece with its military might. To counter the Spartans, this group of patriots would form the Sacred Band, a corps whose history plays out against a backdrop of Theban democracy, of desperate power struggles between leading city-states, and the new prominence of eros, sexual love, in Greek public life.

After four decades without a defeat, the Sacred Band was annihilated by the forces of Philip II of Macedon and his son Alexander in the Battle of Chaeronea—extinguishing Greek liberty for two thousand years. Buried on the battlefield where they fell, they were rediscovered in 1880—some skeletons still in pairs, with arms linked together.

From violent combat in city streets to massive clashes on open ground, from ruthless tyrants to bold women who held their era in thrall, The Sacred Band follows the twists and turns of a crucial historical moment: the end of the treasured freedom of ancient Greece.

To give and receive well may be the most human thing you can do—but it is also the closest you can come to divinity. So argues the great Roman Stoic thinker Seneca (c. 4 BCE–65 CE) in his longest and most searching moral treatise, “On Benefits” (De Beneficiis). James Romm’s splendid new translation of essential selections from this work conveys the heart of Seneca’s argument that generosity and gratitude are among the most important of all virtues.

Published October 8th, 2020 by Princeton University Press

This splendid new translation of essential selections from “On Anger,” presented with an enlightening introduction and the original Latin on facing pages, offers readers a timeless guide to avoiding and managing anger. It vividly illustrates why the emotion is so dangerous and why controlling it would bring vast benefits to individuals and society.

Drawing on his great arsenal of rhetoric, including historical examples (especially from Caligula’s horrific reign), anecdotes, quips, and soaring flights of eloquence, Seneca builds his case against anger with mounting intensity. Like a fire-and-brimstone preacher, he paints a grim picture of the moral perils to which anger exposes us, tracing nearly all the world’s evils to this one toxic source. But he then uplifts us with a beatific vision of the alternate path, a path of forgiveness and compassion that resonates with Christian and Buddhist ethics.

Published February 19, 2019 by Princeton University Press

“It takes an entire lifetime to learn how to die,” wrote the Roman Stoic philosopher Seneca (c. 4 BC–65 AD). He counseled readers to “study death always,” and took his own advice, returning to the subject again and again in all his writings, yet he never treated it in a complete work. How to Die gathers in one volume, for the first time, Seneca’s remarkable meditations on death and dying. Edited and translated by James S. Romm, How to Die reveals a provocative thinker and dazzling writer who speaks with a startling frankness about the need to accept death or even, under certain conditions, to seek it out.

Published February 27 2018 by Princeton University Press

Readers of Seneca's philosophic works have long wondered how a sober Stoic moralist could have worked hand in glove with Nero, an unstable, self-indulgent ruler who tried to secure his reign by murdering his rivals.  This book explores Seneca's political career and his extensive writings in an effort to understand the disjuncture between the two.  The trials Seneca faced, as a committed Stoic caught in a moralist's worst nightmare, able to do good in the public realm only by undergoing private torment, stands as a paradigm of the timeless conflict between individual conscience and political compromise.

Dying Every Day was selected by the New York Times as one of the 100 Most Notable Books of 2014.

Published December 2, 2014 by Penguin Random House

“Gripping . . . the narrative verve of a born writer and the erudition of a scholar” — Daniel  Mendelsohn

Press and Reviews for Dying Every Day:

"School for a Scoundrel" - New York Times Sunday Book Review

"Such a Stoic" - New Yorker Books

"Fratricide, Matricide, and the Philosopher" - London Review of Books

When Alexander the Great died at the age of thirty-two, his empire stretched from the Adriatic Sea in the west all the way to modern-day India in the east. In an unusual compromise, his two heirs—a mentally damaged half brother, Philip III, and an infant son, Alexander IV, born after his death—were jointly granted the kingship. But six of Alexander’s Macedonian generals, spurred by their own thirst for power and the legend that Alexander bequeathed his rule “to the strongest,” fought to gain supremacy. Perhaps their most fascinating and conniving adversary was Alexander’s former Greek secretary, Eumenes, now a general himself, who would be the determining factor in the precarious fortunes of the royal family.

Ghost on the Throne was recognized as the Choice Magazine Outstanding Academic Title in 2012.

Published November 13, 2013 by Penguin Random House

Press and Reviews for Ghost on the Throne:

"The Diodachi Delivered" - The New Criterion 

Herodotus, widely known as the father of history, was also described by Aristotle as a mythologos, or "tale-teller." 

Although most ancient historians wrote only about events they themselves had lived through, Herodotus explored an era well before his own time—from the rise of the Persian Empire to the Persian invasions of Greece in 490 and 480 B.C., the heroic fight of the Greeks against the invaders, and the final Greek victory. Working without the aid of written sources, Herodotus traveled widely and wove into his chronology descriptions of people and countries he visited and anecdotes that shed light on their lives and customs.

Published as a part of the Hermes Book Series on December 11, 1998 by Yale University Press

“Romm has provided what we have long needed in English: a reliable, sophisticated, well-written, up-to-date treatment of the literary and intellectual aspects of Herodotus’ Histories. It can be recommended enthusiastically to students and interested laypeople alike. Scholars too will learn much from this delightful and stimulating book.” -John Marincola, Classical Journal

"This introduction to Herodotus touches on every aspect of his genius, includes a comprehensive bibliography, and—as part of the admirable Hermes series—is intended for the non-classicist reader." -Washington Post Book World

For the Greeks and Romans the earth's farthest perimeter was a realm radically different from what they perceived as central and human. The alien qualities of these "edges of the earth" became the basis of a literary tradition that endured throughout antiquity and into the Renaissance, despite the growing challenges of emerging scientific perspectives. The Greeks, and to a somewhat lesser extent the Romans, saw geography not as a branch of physical science but as an important literary genre.

Published 1994 by Princeton University Press

"An immensely engaging and erudite work, packed full of provocative insights.... Romm successfully sorts out for us some of the most complex traditions of ancient geographic literature; and he deserves high marks for doing it in such an intelligent, original, and attractive manner." -T. Corey Brennan, Bryn Mawr Classical Review

"Romm's incisive and brilliant analysis of Greco-Roman ideas of earth's geography is grounded in a linguistic interpretation of Greek conceptions of space and boundary. . . . His work captures the imagination as few others have and will provide material for the study of the classical legacy in the shaping of the modern scientific mind for many years to come." -Helen Liebel-Weckowicz, Classical Bulletin

Translated by Palmela Mensch, Edited with Introduction and Notes by James Romm

"This edition reproduces the fluent pace and readability of Herodotus' world-encompassing work. Mensch has produced a close translation of Herodotus' Greek that is also an engrossing read in English. As an old-time Herodotean, I found myself drawn into Herodotus' universe of history and story all over again. Combined with Romm's elegant introduction, which conveys the lure of Herodotus' work, the lucid maps and tables, and the pertinent, uncluttered notes, this is an edition to read for pleasure and for education. I recommend it to future students of Herodotus and their instructors, and to any reader who wants to discover and rediscover Herodotus in a vibrant new translation." - Emily Greenwood, Yale University

Published March 2014 by Hackett Publishing

Translation by Pamela Mensch, Introduction by Paul Cartledge, Edited by James Romm, Landmark Series Editor Robert B. Strassler

Arrian’s Campaigns of Alexander, widely considered the most authoritative history of the brilliant leader’s great conquests, is the latest addition to the acclaimed Landmark series. 
 
After twelve years of hard-fought campaigns, Alexander the Great controlled a vast empire that was bordered by the Adriatic sea to the west and modern-day India to the east. Arrian, himself a military commander, combines his firsthand experience of battle with material from Ptolemy’s memoirs and other ancient sources to compose a singular portrait of Alexander. This vivid and engaging new translation of Arrian will fascinate readers who are interested in classical studies, the history of warfare, and the origins of East­–West tensions still swirling in Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan today. Enriched by the Landmark series’ trademark comprehensive maps, illustrations, and annotations, and with contributions from the preeminent classical scholars of today.

Published January 17, 2012 by Penguin Random House

View a Sample From The Landmark Arrian: The Campaigns of Alexander

Press and Reviews for The Landmark Arrian:

"Ancient Ancient History" - The New Criterion 

"Paths to Glory" - New York Times Sunday Book Review

Translation by Pamela Mensch; Edited, with Introduction and Notes by James Romm

Although Plutarch did not intend his Lives as a historical record, they sometimes furnish the best account we have of events in classical Greece. In many instances they are the only account available to those exploring ancient history through primary sources.

In this compilation from Plutarch's Greek Lives, James Romm gathers the material of greatest historical significance from fifteen biographies, ranging from Theseus in earliest times to Phocion in the late fourth century BCE. While preserving the outlines of Plutarch's character portraits, Romm focuses on the central stories of classical Greece: the rivalry between Athens, Sparta, and Thebes, the rise of Macedon, and the conflicts between these European states and the Achaemenid Persian empire. Bridging Plutarch’s gaps with concise summaries, Romm creates a coherent narrative of the classical Greek world.

Published September 2012 by Hackett Publishing

Edited, with Introduction, by James Romm; Translated by Pamela Mensch and James Romm

Comprising relevant selections from the four ancient writers whose portraits of Alexander the Great still survive—Arrian, Diodorus, Plutarch, and Quintus Curtius—this volume provides a complete narrative of the important events in Alexander's life. The Introduction sets these works in historical context, stretching from the conclusion of the Peloponnesian War through Alexander's conquest of Asia, and provides an assessment of Alexander's historical importance as well as a survey of the central controversies surrounding his personality, aims and intentions. 

Published 2005 by Hackett Publishing

Praise for Alexander the Great: Selections from Arrian, Diodorus, Plutarch, and Quintus Curtius

"The translations . . . are rendered in clear, modern style. Romm's Introduction is fresh, mature, and insightful—one of the best brief synopses of Alexander's life and impact this reviewer has read in recent years. . . . Romm's carefully selected and well-translated passages from Arrian provide a vivid and cohesive narrative of the highlights of Alexander's career. Wherever there is a major discrepancy among our ancient sources, or wherever an alternate version seems to enrich Arrian's account, Romm relegates the variant source to his notes, thereby providing the enhancement without disrupting the main narrative.  He has thus preserved the flow of Arrian's narrative, while also providing a commentary that alerts the reader to some of the pitfalls that mark any attempt to understand the course of Alexander's achievements."  - Eugene N. Borza, The Classical Outlook

Translated by Samuel Shirley; Edited, with Introduction and Annotation, by James Romm

Designed for students with little or no background in ancient Greek language, history, and culture, this new abridgment presents those selections that comprise Herodotus’ historical narrative. These are meticulously annotated, and supplemented with a chronology of the Archaic Age, Historical Epilogue, glossary of main characters and places, index of proper names, and maps.

Published 2003 by Hackett Publishing

Praise for Herodotus: On the War for Greek Freedom:

“Romm has made a judicious selection of the most important passages from the Histories and he has joined them with concise summaries of the intervening events so as to make the book a unified, coherent whole. The translation (provided mainly by Shirley, although many key passages have been translated by Romm) is lively and readable, and Romm’s notes provide just the sort of information that a first-time reader of Herodotus would need... In short, Romm and Shirley have produced a valuable desideratum: an excellent, one-volume introduction to Herodotus’ Histories. It would be eminently suitable for undergraduate readers, particularly in a Greek History or Ancient Greek Civilization class.” - Susan O. Shapiro, The Classical Outlook