What did the Persians believe about the ancient Greeks? How does the Roman Empire compare to ancient China? Understanding the ancient world allows us to understand how our perceptions of it influence the way we see the world we live in today - from what constitutes significant art to how we perceive Islam.

Jerry Toner takes us on a journey through the bustling streets of Rome and Pompeii, where the stench of death takes our breath away, danger lurks around every corner, and the sounds of love, drunkenness, and songs are the accompaniment to evening meals in taverns. He wonders what it was like to be an ordinary woman at that time and in what circumstances one would resort to magic. He presents us with the great variety of peoples who lived in different periods and places, from the Persians to the Germans. He reaches the periods after classical Athens and Rome, up to the Hellenistic kingdoms that succeeded Alexander and the late Roman Empire, where Christianity prevailed.

"A Little History of the Ancient World" is a lively, provocative, and highly informative guide to the peoples and cultures that shaped the way we live today.