Both humorous and shocking, Miracula is filled with astonishing facts and stories drawn from ancient Greece and Rome that have rarely been retold in English. It explores 'the incredible' as presented by little-known classical writers like Callimachus and Phlegon of Tralles. However, it offers much more: familiar authors such as Herodotus and Cicero often couldn't resist relating sensational, tabloid-worthy tales. The book also tackles ancient examples of topics still relevant today, such as racism, slavery and misogyny. The pieces are by turns absorbing, enchanting, curious, unbelievable, comical, astonishing, disturbing, and occasionally just plain daft.
An entertaining and sometimes lurid collection, this book is perfect for all those fascinated by the stranger aspects of the classical world, history enthusiasts, and anyone interested in classical history, society and culture.
By:
Paul Chrystal
Imprint: Reaktion Books
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions:
Height: 216mm,
Width: 138mm,
ISBN: 9781836390497
ISBN 10: 1836390491
Pages: 256
Publication Date: 01 July 2025
Audience:
General/trade
,
ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming
Foreword by Philip Matyszak Preface Introduction 1 Strangely Strange and Oddly Normal The Sciences 2 Agriculture 3 The Climate and Natural Disaster 4 Roman Recycling 5 Astronomy and Space Travel Medicine 6 Medicine and the Medical Arts 7 Physiology 8 Embalming 9 Deformity and Disability 10 Female Genital Mutilation (fgm) Language 11 The Greek Alphabet Derived from the Phoenician Alphabet 12 The Written Word and Bad Books 13 The Pontius Pilate Stone, Tiberius Julius Abdes Pantera and Jesus of Nazareth 14 The Spoken Word: Rough-Speaking Romans 15 Graffiti 16 Aphorisms: True Or Not So True? Sex and Sexuality 17 Fetishes and Voyeurism 18 Pederasty: The Sexual Pursuit of Boys by Men 19 Sex: From Buttocks Partialism to Zoophilia 20 Satyrs and Satyriasis 21 Priapus and Priapism 22 Candaules, ‘Dog Throttler’, Father of Candaulism (and Voyeurism) 23 Lesbianism and Sappho 24 Hermaphrodites and Other Wondrous Beings 25 Gender Reassignment 26 Aphrodisiacs and Anti-Aphrodisiacs 27 The Roman Joy of Sex 28 Dildos Social Sciences 29 Bad Parenting, Good Parenting? 30 Sexism and Misogyny 31 Domestic and Sexual Abuse 32 On Being a Left-Hander, and Toilet Etiquette 33 Men and Boys History and Ethnography 34 Aethiopians and Black People 35 Sparta and the Spartan Stasi 36 The Death of Pyrrhus: History’s Best-Aimed Tile 37 Mithridates 38 Socrates: He Danced Alone 39 The Celts 40 Dinner with Attila the Hun, 450 ce Greek and Roman Society 41 Children and Schooling 42 The Games 43 The Law 44 Public Services 45 Food and Feasting 46 Drink and Drinking 47 Slaves and Revolting Slaves 48 The Public Baths, Sex and Hair-Pulling 49 The Hell that Is Urban Living 50 Parking Restrictions 51 All Creatures Great and Small 52 Pets Mythology 53 The Graeae: The Oldest Triplets the World Has Ever Seen 54 Philomena and Procne 55 The Unicorn 56 Charon: A Life Underground 57 Talos: The World’s First Automaton 58 Cerberus: Guard Dog from Hell The Military and War 59 The Military 60 War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity 61 Women at War 62 Torture Religion and Superstition 63 Religion and Superstition 64 Entombing a Vestal Virgin 65 Omens, Prodigies and Oracles 66 Spells, Curses and Voodoo Dolls 67 Witches and Witchcraft 68 Werewolves and Lycanthropy 69 Witch-Lite: The Bogeywoman Is Coming to Get You 70 Ghosts Travel and Archaeology 71 Wild Travel and Exploration 72 Explorers – Gorillas or Hairy Women? 73 Skeletons from the Far East Found in Roman London Epilogue Further Reading Acknowledgements Photo Acknowledgements Index
Paul Chrystal is a contributor to a number of history and archaeology magazines, and TV and radio programmes. He is the author of numerous books published on a wide range of subjects, including, most recently, The Book in the Ancient World: How the Wisdom of the Ages Was Preserved (2024).
