About Flavius Claudius Julianus–better known as Julian the Apostate–a fascinating and complex figure, in a concise biography for the “Ancient Lives” series, edited by Classics Professor at Bard James Romm. Freeman is the Pepperdine University Fletcher Jones Chairman of Western Culture. (Ancient Lives Series/Yale University Press/World Rights, 2022).
Stuff in the ‘Philip Freeman’ Category
10 November, 2020
JULIAN: The Last Pagan Emperor of Rome
8 December, 2019
CELTIC SPIRITUALITY, Philip Freeman
From Pepperdine University Fletcher Jones Chairman of Western Culture, classicist, a collection of the best religious writings from the ancient and medieval Celtic world in all new translations with commentary. (St. Martin’s/World Rights/Spring 2021).
18 September, 2019
HOW TO TELL A STORY, Aristotle, Translated by Philip Freeman
For over two thousand years, Aristotle’s Poetics has been a fundamental but often little-known text on storytelling. In this short but fascinating work Aristotle reveals the timeless secrets of plot, character, timing, and all the other elements needed to make a story work. In this new translation, entitled How to Tell a Story, Philip Freeman makes this ancient text come alive for a modern readers and writers. Freeman is the Fletcher Jones Chairman of Western Culture at Pepperdine University and author of numerous translations of classic works, including HOW TO WIN AN ELECTION, HOW TO GROW OLD and upcoming, HOW TO THINK ABOUT GOD. (Princeton University Press, World rights, Fall 2021)
29 March, 2018
The Gospel of Mary, Philip Freeman
A young Irish nun finds herself the guardian of a mysterious manuscript claiming to be the lost gospel of Mary, when she realizes that church authorities are willing to kill to get their hands on it . . .
An old and dying nun has turned up at Deirdre’s monastery in Ireland with an ancient manuscript on a papyrus roll. When Deirdre reads the first line, she realizes it claims to be a previously unknown gospel written by Mary, the 
mother of Jesus. The church authorities in Rome have been seeking to destroy this gospel for centuries, claiming it is a forgery that threatens the very foundations of the faith.
Deirdre begins to translate the gospel, but when a delegate of the pope arrives in Kildare searching for the text, she must set out across Ireland seeking safety as the church and its henchmen are hot on her trail. What does the gospel say? And why is the church so afraid of it?
This is the third mystery set in Celtic times, in the early days of Christianity, featuring Sister Deirdre, by Philip Freeman. The first is St. Brigid’s Bones followed by Sacrifice. All three titles are from Pegasus.
21 March, 2018
How to Grow Old, Cicero, Marcus Tullius Cicero, Translated by Philip Freeman
Worried that old age will inevitably mean losing your libido, your health, and possibly your marbles too? Well, Cicero 
has some good news for you. In How to Grow Old (Princeton University Press), the great Roman orator and statesman eloquently describes how you can make the second half of life the best part of all―and why you might discover that reading and gardening are actually far more pleasurable than sex ever was.
Filled with timeless wisdom and practical guidance, Cicero’s brief, charming classic―written in 44 BC and originally titled On Old Age―has delighted and inspired readers, from Saint Augustine to Thomas Jefferson, for more than two thousand years. Presented here in a lively new translation with an informative new introduction and the original Latin on facing pages, the book directly addresses the greatest fears of growing older and persuasively argues why these worries are greatly exaggerated―or altogether mistaken.
Montaigne said Cicero’s book “gives one an appetite for growing old.” The American founding father John Adams read it repeatedly in his later years. And today its lessons are more relevant than ever in a world obsessed with the futile pursuit of youth.
Philip Freeman is the Fletcher Jones Chair of Western Culture at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California. He earned his Ph.D. from Harvard University in Classical Philology and Celtic Languages and Literature. His books have been reviewed in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and other national publications.
7 February, 2017
SEARCHING FOR SAPPHO, Philip Freeman (Paperback)
An exploration of the fascinating poetry, life, and world of Sappho, including a complete translation of all her poems.
Searching for Sappho: The Lost Songs and World of the First Woman Poet (W.W. Norton, paperback release March 21, 2017)
, is the exciting tale of the rediscovery of Sappho’s poetry and of the woman and world they reveal, by a noted classicist and master storyteller.
For more than twenty-five centuries, all that the world knew of the poems of Sappho―the first woman writer in literary history―were a few brief quotations preserved by ancient male authors. Yet those meager remains showed such power and genius that they captured the imagination of readers through the ages. But within the last century, dozens of new pieces of her poetry have been found written on crumbling papyrus or carved on broken pottery buried in the sands of Egypt. As recently as 2014, yet another discovery of a missing poem created a media stir around the world.
The poems of Sappho reveal a remarkable woman who lived on the Greek island of Lesbos during the vibrant age of the birth of western science, art, and philosophy. Sappho was the daughter of an aristocratic family, a wife, a devoted mother, a lover of women, and one of the greatest writers of her own or any age. Nonetheless, although most people have heard of Sappho, the story of her lost poems and the lives of the ancient women they celebrate has never been told for a general audience.
23 August, 2016
THE GOSPEL OF MARY, Philip Freeman
A gospel that may or may not be authentic, a race against time, a secret that threatens the church: these are some of the elements of the third in the series featuring Sister Deirdre as sleuth in ancient Ireland, in Christianity’s early days. (World Rights/Pegasus/Fall 2017)
2 August, 2016
HOW TO BE A GOOD FRIEND: An Ancient Guide to Real Friendship in a Superficial Age, Cicero (Philip Freeman, Translator)
Classicist Freeman offers a vivid new translation of Cicero’s famous “De Amicitia,” ruminations on friendship as a core relationship based on loyalty and mutual and genuine connection with others. (Princeton University Press, 2017, World Rights)
12 February, 2016
SEARCHING FOR SAPPHO: The Lost Songs and World of the First Woman Poet
“Philip Freeman’s Searching for Sappho provides students and general readers with readable translations and interpretations of all the surviving poems and fragments, including those most recently discovered. As it reconstructs Sappho’s life, it offers a lively picture of ancient Greek women’s daily experience within their families and communities. Finally, it conveys a sense of the excitement generated in the last two decades by the unexpected recovery of several new Sappho texts. Soundly researched yet wholly accessible, this volume is a complete and rewarding introduction to one of the world’s greatest poets.” (Marilyn B. Skinner, professor of classics emerita, University of Arizona)
An exploration of the fascinating poetry, life, and world 
of Sappho, including a complete translation of all her poems.
For more than twenty-five centuries, all that the world knew of the poems of Sappho—the first woman writer in literary history—were a few brief quotations preserved by ancient male authors. Yet those meager remains showed such power and genius that they captured the imagination of readers through the ages. But within the last century, dozens of new pieces of her poetry have been found written on crumbling papyrus or carved on broken pottery buried in the sands of Egypt. As recently as 2014, yet another discovery of a missing poem created a media stir around the world.
The poems of Sappho reveal a remarkable woman who lived on the Greek island of Lesbos during the vibrant age of the birth of western science, art, and philosophy. Sappho was the daughter of an aristocratic family, a wife, a devoted mother, a lover of women, and one of the greatest writers of her own or any age. Nonetheless, although most people have heard of Sappho, the story of her lost poems and the lives of the ancient women they celebrate has never been told for a general audience.
Searching for Sappho is the exciting tale of the rediscovery of Sappho’s poetry and of the woman and world they reveal.
Published February 15, 2016 (W.W. Norton), the book includes Freeman’s original translations of Sappho’s poetry and 12 illustrations.
17 March, 2015
Celebrating Green: ST PATRICK OF IRELAND, Philip Freeman
Ireland’s patron saint has long been shrouded in legend, but the true story of St. Patrick is far more inspiring than the myths. In St. Patric
k of Ireland, Philip Freeman brings the historic Patrick and his world vividly to life. Patrick speaks in his own voice in two remarkable letters he wrote about himself and his beliefs, new translations of which are included here and which are still astonishing for their passion and eloquence.
Born late in the fourth century to an aristocratic British family, Patrick’s life was changed forever when he was abducted and taken to Ireland just before his sixteenth birthday. He spent six grueling years there as a slave, but the ordeal turned him from an atheist into a true believer. After a vision in which God told him he would go home, Patrick escaped captivity and, following a perilous journey, returned safely to Britain to the amazement of his family. But even more amazing to them was his announcement that he intended to go back to Ireland to spend the rest of his life ministering to the people who had once enslaved him.
Set against the turbulent backdrop of the British Isles during the last years of the Roman Empire, St. Patrick of Ireland brilliantly brings to life the real Patrick, shorn of legend, a man whose deep spiritual conviction and devotion helped to transform a country.