Books

[Ursus]

What are your favorite books or documentaries to recommend on Ancient Greece?

[Aurelianus]

Fact and fiction?

For fiction I would recommend Valerio Massimo Manfredi's Alexander series, and Spartan

and for fact, there is a book I would recommend, but I can't remember either the title or the author (it was a while ago). I'll have a rummage around for it.

[AEGYPTUS]

I would recommend Alexander The Great the invisible enemy by John Maxwell O'Brien. Takes you through Alexander

[Pertinax]

As a good desk reference I find the "Oxford Companion to Classical Civilisation" invaluable, obviously this overlaps (rightly) with the Roman world.It has very useful conceptual articles about the interpenetration of Greek and Roman culture cultures

[DecimusCaesar]

Bronze Age Greece:

 

On the early history of Greece, especially the Greek Bronze Age 'In Search of the Trojan War' by Michael Wood is great (as well as the BBC series the book accompanies) as well as 'The Greece of Odysseus' by Peter Connolly (which gives a very basic outline of the Trojan war, with some great pictures - it's very short too).

'The Myceneans c. 1650-1100 BC' byNicolas Grguric is a good book that gives a brief outline of Warfare in Mycenean Greece. 'Mycenean Citadels c. 1350-1200 BC' by Nic Fields also gives a good short coverage of Bronze age settlements like Tiryns, Mycenae and so on. 'Mycenae: Agammemnon's Capital' by Elizabeth French is also worth a look as she has been working as an archaeologist on the site for years, although the book is more academic than the other titles listed.

 

Classical Greece:

 

the Histories of Herodotus are a must as well as the outline of the lives of the famous Greeks by Plutarch.

Thucydides is good as well as Xenophon's account on the March of the Ten thousand.

'Persian Fire' by Tom Holland is definately a good book to read up on if you are new to the history of Greece. It gives an account of the Greco-Persian Wars. 'The Spartans: An Epic History' by Paul Cartledge is worth a look as well - he is an expert on their culture.

'The Greeks at War: From Athens to Alexander' (Philip de Souza et al) gives a brief overview of the major wars in Ancient Greece from the Persian Invasions, Pelopennesian War and on to Alexander's campaigns. 'The Greeks: Their Life and Customs' (E. Guhl and W.Koner) is an old book (maybe out of date too) that gives an outline of the architecture and material culture of Classical Greece.

 

Alexander and Hellenistic World:

 

Arrian's account of Alexander's life is the greatest that has survived to our time: he sees Alexander as a hero. Quintus Curtius Rufus's account is also good, he sees Alexander as a Tyrant.

Peter Green's biography is brilliant as well, as is Robin Lane Fox's. Michael Wood's book and TV series 'In the Footseps of Alexander the Great' is good for beginners. To get an understanding of Alexander the Great's personality 'The Nature of Alexander' by Mary Renault is good. 'Conquest and Empire' by A. B. Bosworth is also a thorough and academic research on Alexander's life.

'Alexander the Great' by Nick Sekunda and John Warry deals with the Macedonian army and the Campaigns of Alexander (it also contains many illustrations).

'The Hellenistic World' by F.W Walbank is a description of the World after Alexander up until the Conquests of Rome.

[Aurelianus]

Ah, found it. The Rise and Fall of Athens (Plutarch), it baisicaly contains the biographies of the main figures of Athenian Politics, law and war. Something to wet your apatite for more.

[WotWotius]

Does anybody know of any reputable books on the Ancient Minoans?

 

As for the original question: the best book that I have read on the life of Alexander was Robert Lane Fox's Alexander.

[Pantagathus]

Ursus,

 

I may have mentioned this before, but as a fellow polytheist, I HIGHLY recommend The Marraige of Cadmus and Harmony by Roberto Calasso.

 

It is a wonderful modern treatment of Greek Myth. It's not some dry scholarly treatment but reads like eternal masterpiece of mythic poetry itself...

[Ursus]

But how did it all begin, Pan? ;-)

[Pantagathus]

But how did it all begin, Pan? ;-)

:notworthy:

[Ursus]

_Sailing the Wine Dark Seas: Why the Greeks Mattered_

Thomas Cahill

 

 

“For me, the historian’s principal task should be to raise the dead to life,” intones author Thomas Cahill in his introduction. Most historians would disagree with the notion that necromancy should be included in their job description. They are quite content to merely document the ebb and flow of past events and personalities. While this approach is all too often boring, it usually suffices to present the full array of known facts and figures of a given culture. Cahill’s approach is, as you might expect, far more personable and enticing. He renders a humanist’s perspective on Ancient Greece, suggesting how the Greeks thought and felt. Yet conversely this approach paints only the broadest possible portrait of Hellenic culture, leaving aside the nuts and bolts that often make history what it is. The result is a somewhat shallow treatment of Greek life. Cahill may succeed in resurrecting the Hellenes, but they are like the shades that haunt Hades, pale phantasms absolved from a breathing fresh-and-blood reality.

 

 

Cahill’s work is divided into seven chapters. Each chapter revolves around a certain humanistic theme, and is prefaced by a choice passage from Hellenic literature. Chapter one and two concentrate on the martial valor of the warrior and the sentimental musings of a wanderer, respectively. As you might imagine, Homer and his two great works form the basis of the discussion. The next four chapter discuss in turn contributions from poets and playwrights, politicians, philosophers and artists. Finally, the last chapter concludes with the synthesis of Hebraic and Hellenic thought that transpired under Roman dominion, and led to what would later be termed Christianity.

 

Each chapter offers a sketch of the subject under study. There is nothing especially insightful in these studies, though the author never claims otherwise. The author’s stated purpose is to make us taste and feel as the Greeks themselves tasted and felt. True enough, the author’s prose and colorful sense of humor are charmingly disarming. He does manage to convey a sense of warmth to an academic discipline that is all too often presented as dry and sterile. But in tasting each subject offered by Cahill, I felt as though I nibbled a meager portion from what could have been a veritable feast and buffet. Depth has been traded for breadth, substance for familiarity. The result is that I am not convinced, despite the subtitle, that the Greeks really mattered. They should matter – it seems a truism they should matter. But this book, despite its title, seems to take the assumption for granted and never quite gives us a penetrating disclosure on why they do matter.

 

To the extent they matter, it seems to come to the fore in the last chapter. Cahill offers a brief if compelling account on how Christianity extricated itself from its purely Hebraic roots and became immersed in the language of Hellenic philosophy and mystery religions. But the Greeks matter thus only insofar as they gave a more marketable gloss to a Jewish product that would otherwise not sell in the glutted religious market of the Roman Empire. This is somewhat disappointing.

 

As an aside, the author likens Romans to plodding apes of Greek culture, something that many Romanophiles might contest.

 

Nonetheless, the author’s warmth and the work’s brevity make it a quick read. It also is rather affordable, selling on Amazon for under 10 dollars. I, however, would rather suggest the book to budding high school students than to adults wanting a serious examination on the miracle of ancient Hellas.

[georgious]

_Sailing the Wine Dark Seas: Why the Greeks Mattered_

Thomas Cahill

 

 

 

[Ursus]

I can't recommend anything by Graves. He may have been a good literati, but his historical and religious views are questionable at best. His bad scholarship basically laid the foundation for a lot of New Age myths.

[M. Porcius Cato]

On the topic of mythology, I found G. S. Kirk's The Nature of Greek Myths to be quite interesting.

[The Augusta]

I can't recommend anything by Graves. He may have been a good literati, but his historical and religious views are questionable at best. His bad scholarship basically laid the foundation for a lot of New Age myths.

 

To be fair, Graves is not a historian, nor did he have any pretensions of being. You are right, Ursus - he was first and foremost a poet. However, I would still recommend his translation of Suetonius over anyone's! His Greek Myths are something of a staple, though, and quite extensive. Bad scholarship? His 'scholarship' was English Literature! We should hardly be using him as a classical source. His contribution to the classical world was as a translator.