What do gods, emperors, and even the everyday person have in common? They’ve all worried about appearances. In How Do We Look, Mary Beard—Cambridge’s sharpest classicist with a knack for making the ancient world feel cheekily modern—takes us on a tour of art, culture, and self-image. Forget dusty museums and Latin you can’t pronounce: this is about how human beings, from ancient Mexico to classical Greece, have always asked the same question—what do I look like, and what does that say about me?

With her trademark wit and a twinkle in her scholarly eye, Beard explores the way art has never just been about beauty—it’s been about power, identity, and sometimes sheer survival. Expect gods staring down from temple walls, emperors stamping their faces on coins, and ordinary people immortalised in statues that outlived them by millennia. It’s not just history; it’s humanity, reflected back at us.

If you’ve ever wondered why selfies matter, why rulers plaster their portraits everywhere, or why statues still command awe, Mary Beard has the answers—delivered with style, bite, and a refreshing sense that the past is never really past.

Product details
Author: Mary Beard
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 
ISBN: 9781781259996
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