“Greek and Latin, of course, are by no means dead. Their life has been vibrant throughout the centuries. Imagine a river that has several mouths, and in addition several tributaries, and all of them flow into a huge literary and cultural sea. The texts and myths that are the focus of ancient history are as relevant now as they always have been. This libellus, or this little book, will give you everything you need for a general idea of the subject. We will discuss both large topics and small things. We will discover the mythological foundations for literature and philosophy, look at how the great epic poems with which Western civilization began came into being, and what their meaning is. We explore how history works, talk about love poetry and tragedy... In the pages of this book, Una and I wander through the dirty and crowded streets of north London and the almost rural hills of Hampstead Heath, but in our imagination we pass the Athenian Parthenon in all its colorful beautiful, spying on the Roman senators while Cicero exposes the scoundrel Catiline, or just idly playing dice in the yard. To keep us company on this journey, you won’t even need boots... Now get ready - and take everything from this book!” (Philip Womack)