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Introducing the Ancient Greeks: From Bronze Age Seafarers to Navigators of the Western Mind Hardcover – 18 Jul 2014

4.6 out of 5 stars 37 customer reviews

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Product details

  • Hardcover: 336 pages
  • Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; 1st Edition edition (18 July 2014)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0393239985
  • ISBN-13: 978-0393239980
  • Product Dimensions: 16.8 x 2.8 x 24.4 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 503,815 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Product Description

Review

Penetrating and acute. --James Romm"

In Edith Hall s new and groundbreaking study of ancient Greek culture, society, and mentality over a millennium and more, from Agamemnon to Constantine, theater takes its due place among the Greeks manifold memorable and pioneering achievements. Professor Hall acutely identifies and brilliantly explores ten defining qualities that together explain why we simply cannot do without the ancient Greeks.--Paul Cartledge, A. G. Leventis Professor of Greek Culture, University of Cambridge, and the author of The Greeks: A Portrait of Self and Others"

Edith Hall s characteristically original approach to the world of classical antiquity is on full display in this introductory survey of the ancient Greeks and their enduring accomplishments. Covering such disparate topics as the love of seafaring, a passion for excellence, suspicion of authority, addiction to speech and rhetoric, a zest for wit and polish, and an enduring search for beauty (to name only a few), Hall will accompany the reader on a voyage of both pleasure and discovery.--Froma Zeitlin, Ewing Professor of Greek Language and Literature, emerita, Princeton University"

What accounts for the glory that was Greece? In this vivacious and learned book, Edith Hall distills the essence of Hellenic culture to discover the secrets of its success and stamina. Filled with striking anecdotes and little-known facts, this book will delight any student of the ancient Greek world.--Adrienne Mayor, Stanford University, author of The Poison King

A superb introduction, informative and inspiring. With deep expertise and unabashed enthusiasm, Edith Hall surveys the whole history of the ancient Greeks and pinpoints the shared traits that explain their enduring achievements.--Sheila Murnaghan, professor of classics studies and Alfred Reginald Allen Memorial Professor of Greek at the University of Pennsylvania

Penetrating and acute.--James Romm

A hearty, delightful voyage through 2,000 years of Greek history, written with wit and verve and deep insight.--Mark Gamin

Book Description

Edith Hall unpacks the mysterious and successful ancient Greek people through ten uniquely ancient Greek personality traits. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Customer Reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
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Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
Of the several quotes on the back cover of the book, the one that comes closer to my own assessment of the book's narrative is by Ian Rickson: 'Her writing is so clear and accessible, yet full of complex reflections and revelations.'

Reading the book you are impressed with the erudition of its author on ancient Greeks, the traits with which were endowed, their culture and historical evolution covering a huge time span from 1600 BC to 400 AD, her sharpness of mind and wit, the meticulous research she conducted for the specific book, its exemplary organization and structure, original conception,and master narration.

The author argues convincingly that most ancient Greeks shared ten particular qualities most of the time which collectively underpinned the Greek miracle. These comprised seagoing, suspicious of authority, individualistic, inquiring, open to new ideas, witty, competitive, admired excellence, elaborately articulate, and addicted to pleasure including sensual pleasure.

The author brilliantly organizes the book in ten chapters - ten periods of Greek history, each paired with a fundamental characteristic. In this way the reader obtains both an insight in Greek history and an elaboration of the ten traits.

Analytically the ten chapters comprise: the Mycenaean world from 1600 to about 1200; the emergence of the Greek identity between the tenth and the eighth centuries; the era of colonization and tyrants in the seventh and sixth; the early scientists in Ionia and Italy in the sixth and fifth; democratic Athens in the fifth; Sparta in the early fourth; Macedonia in the late fourth (chapters six and seven); Hellenistic kingdoms in the third to the first centuries; Greeks under the Roman Empire; and the relationship between pagan Greeks and early Christians leading up to the triumph of the new monotheistic faith at the end of the fourth century AD.

A gem of a book.
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Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase
This was a great read. If you know something about the ancient Greeks or if you don't you will love the way Hall threads a thousand years of history and development together to make it both coherent and beautiful.
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Format: Hardcover
As with all Edith Hall's books, we get a rare combination of academic authority with accessibility.
From a scholarly perspective Hall never dumbs down, never over-simplifies a debate or perpetuates any out of date notion; she is absolutely at the cutting edge of her field, with a commanding, multi-disciplinary knowledge. Yet the book itself is easy to read and clear. It never becomes arcane or esoteric or excludes the reader. As such it is an excellent introduction for anyone: the pleasure reader, classics-enthusiast, the undergraduate...
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Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
An extraordinarily entertaining introduction the the world of the Ancient Greeks by a very well respected academic .Proving that books written by experts can appeal to a lay audience.it is the best book on the subject I have read for years and has made me eager to look at the various themes explored .
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Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
The book goes beyond the norms of Classical Athens with a bit of Sparta and lots of fighting. Professor Hall gets into the mind of the Ancient Greeks in a witty and sometimes unexpected way. Her chapter titles intrigue. A scholarly work but not written for scholars only. A very accessible read that really brings the Ancient Greeks to life.
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Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
A fascinating book. Well written and brings back into your mind all the things you knew about Ancient Greece but had forgotten. It links the phases of Greek history to its shared culture - if reawakens your thirst to learn more! It works well for those who have no prior knowledge of classical Greece and those who already know quite a bit - and it doesn't try to skip passed the Minoans, as so many books do!
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Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
Edith Hall is an erudite classical historian and a gifted communicator.

In her book Introducing The Ancient Greeks, she sets out what it means to have been Greek in ancient times and why we in the western world are the beneficiaries of their groundbreaking work in a wide variety of disciplines that are at the root of who we are today - philosophy, the natural sciences, mathematics, medicine, theatre, poetry and prose, history, political theory, democracy, civic community and our concept of freedom. She makes the case that we owe them, and indirectly the Romans who adopted much of Greek thought, an immeasurable debt.

It therefore beggars belief that the classics have fallen off the curricula of many schools. This book should be required reading for anyone with an interest in the education of our youth.
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Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
The only item of criticism I have about this fascinatingly informative book is the title. It is far too advanced to be described as "Introducing the Ancient Greeks". I was introduced some years ago to this subject and have read many books since. I found this volume to be much too advanced to be described as an introduction. A wonderful appraisal nonetheless and a must for any student. Why did the author choose to write using American spellings of English words, I wonder?
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