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Classics: A Very Short Introduction (Paperback)

by Mary Beard (Author), John Henderson (Author)
3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
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Product Description

This Very Short Introduction to Classics links a haunting temple on a lonely mountainside to the glory of ancient Greece and the grandeur of Rome, and to Classics within modern culture-from Jefferson and Byron to Asterix and Ben-Hur. We are all Classicists - we come into touch with the Classics daily: in our culture, politics, medicine, architecture, language, and literature. What are the true roots of these influences, however, and how do our interpretations of these aspects of the Classics differ from their original reception? This introduction to the Classics begins with a visit to the British Museum to view the frieze which once decorated the Apollo Temple at Bassae. Through these sculptures, John Henderson and Mary Beard prompt us to consider the significance of Classics as a means of discovery and enquiry, its value in terms of literature, philposophy, and culture, and its importance as a source of imagery.


About the Author

John Henderson is a Fellow of King's College, Cambridge, and Mary Beard is a Fellow of Newnham College, Cambridge.
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7 Reviews
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3.9 out of 5 stars (7 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars imaginative exploration of the classical heritage, 18 May 2002
By A Customer
This is no quick synopsis for last minute swotting for exams. This small book gives a sense of how classics works-how people think about the ancient past, more than how ancient communities thought about themselves.
Relax, go with it and it is a wondrfully thought-provoking journey-assembling fragments and impressions to re-create the magic of antiquity.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic if you want to know about what Classics does, 12 April 2008
By Mrs. K. A. Wheatley "katywheatley" (Leicester, UK) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)      
This book is really well written, entertaining and extremely thought provoking. It provides a whistlestop tour through the classical world in terms of how we study it, not the classical world itself. If you want lists and dates and what is taught at school as 'history', this is not the book for you.

The premise of the OUP Very Short Introduction To books is to take an expert who has something really interesting to say on a particular subject, whether it be bananas or the classical world and then get them to talk about their interest in the subject in an easy to digest 150 short pages. This is not clearly explained, and these books are often picked up by total novices expecting something like 'a dummies guide to'. Well, there are already 'dummies guides to' which do their job very well. These, in my opinion can be much more rewarding and thought provoking.

In this book, Beard and Henderson use the example of a classical temple site in Greek Arcadia and what we know about it to explore how we approach the study of classics. It roams through archaeology, sociology, religion, politics, study of language, poetry and literature and makes a compelling case for why classics are still relevant today and what they mean to us in modern times.
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23 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating Failure, 4 Jul 2004
By A Customer
A book that manages to be a fascinating thought-provoking read and yet fail in its basic aim.

The book discusses our views of the classical world largely through the example of a temple at Bassae in Arcadia, a remote corner of south-western Greece. The emphasis of the book is on encouraging us to think about the gaps in knowledge and perception between our world and theirs and between expectation, imagination and reality. What were the slaves who built the temple like? Greek literature tells us nothing about them. What is the correct order of the stones slabs that make up a large frieze from the temple on display in the British Museum in London? How would the Greeks have seen this frieze? In the museum it's clean, brightly lit, at eye level and made of the smooth white marble many associate with the classical world. In situ it would have been high above the Greeks' heads, cobwebbed, dimly lit and painted, possibly quite gaudily.

This approach is interesting, engages the reader and provides food for thought. It makes the book a worthwhile and challenging read.

The book talks about the gap between reality and expectation but is also an example of it. I was expecting the book to tell me a little about classical Greek and Roman history, and provide information on Greek and Roman authors and their literature. I came out little wiser than I started however.

An interesting read but if you want a brief introduction to Classical literature and its 'main players' look elsewhere.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Print too small by far...
I bought this book for myself and my son on the strength of the good reviews and name Mary Beard. What a real disappointment when it arrived - tiny format, very tiny print, which... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Pete Howcroft

5.0 out of 5 stars Modern classics
A novel take on 'the Classics' in a volume that avoids the usual emphasis on history and the arts. Instead, it focuses on such intangibles as identity in the ancient world. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Jon Chambers

3.0 out of 5 stars An interesting light read - sadly nothing more
This book is a nice, easy read, suitable for introducing classics as a subject. It is not, however, and academic introduction to classics or an introduction to classical... Read more
Published on 5 Mar 2005

3.0 out of 5 stars A useful scene-setter
This book wasn't really what I was expecting - or what I was after, which was an introduction to the writers of The Classics, their lives, and their works. Read more
Published on 12 Jun 2001

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