Obviously incomplete, but one of the works I am most proud of. Please ask any questions you might have!
Also fun fact: whilst Carthage officially surrendered after zama, marooned Carthaginians in northern Italy continued to fight on with their Celtic allies (boii and insubri) for nearly a decade!
One of the biggest misconceptions about Hellenistic kingship is that people believed their kings were literally immortal gods.
They didn't. Everyone knew kings could grow old and die.
What made a king "divine" wasn't immortality—it was the ability to do what ordinary humans could not: found cities, end wars, establish peace, and transform entire societies. In a famous hymn to Demetrios Poliorcetes, the traditional gods are described as distant, but the king is here—present and able to help.
Perhaps the real challenge is not understanding ancient religion, but recognizing that the Hellenistic world didn't draw the same sharp line between humanity and divinity that we do today.
How do you interpret ruler cult: political propaganda, genuine religious belief, or both?
This book is a great look into Spartan relations with the wider Lacedaemonian group and how that cultural group grew. It was interesting learning about the Lacedaemonian League and how Spartan hegemony was not dependent on the state but functioned as a relationship with its king between other cities, much like how Seleucid rulership worked. Cleomenes III was certainly an ambitious and interesting figure, and his hegemony was quite unique in Greece. There was also an insightful chapter about the Achaean League. Definitely a great book!