Introduction

In this chapter, the authors start deliberately with the world of Greek tragedy, where in Euripides’ Bacchae one finds reflections of conflict in the very language of the script. They consider cross-cultural connections between Herodotus’ work and areas as diverse as the China of Sima Qian and the reflections of east-west conflicts in the Roman historian Tacitus. The authors explore ideas across both temporal and genre lines, in not only Herodotus but also Virgil and Ovid. The study of classical exempla affords an opportunity to examine the relationship between history and literature and to appreciate how for the ancient Greeks and Romans the line between the two was not drawn as straight as in today’s academy. The authors investigate violence and discord in mortal interactions. They consider the problem of civil war in the legends of early Rome, the clash of religious systems of belief in the early Christian period, and the long-held fascination with the assassination of Julius Caesar.