Ancient Athens on 5 Drachmas a Day

A companion to Matyszak's earlier "Ancient Rome on 5 Denarii a Day", the present volume is written in the form of a guidebook for an ancient tourist -- in this case, a visitor to 431 BC Athens, on the eve of the Peloponnesian War. It is filled with authentic advice on what to see and do in Classical Athens, and sprinkled with sometimes startling advice, such as avoiding a particular public well that has water with a high lead content because it is frequently used as a dump for old records insribed on lead strips. It is a humorous, irreverant, but nonetheless historically accurate look at Ancient Greece, presented in an uncommonly lively fashion. Although this Athens guide is perhaps not quite as detailed as the earlier Rome guid (reflecting a difference in the detail of the archaeological and written records, I suppose), it is still about as close to really "being there" in Ancient Athens as most of us can hope to get. The book makes for hours of interesting browsing.

As one might expect, the book is similar in scope to Matyszak's "Ancient Rome on Five Denarii a Day." Rather than the standard dry academic format, the book's conceit is that is written from the perspective of a narrator who serves as tour guide to a living, breathing ancient city. The time frame is a generation after the Persian Wars and just prior to the start of the wars with Sparta, though the omniscient narrator has knowledge of events in both the near and distant futures. The period was chosen because it offered a glimpse of Athenian culture near the height of its golden era, but before (as the author states) a "certain innocence was lost" through the later greed and depravations of an empire destined to be overthrown. A variety of illustrations and stunning color photographs are included to good effect. With almost each page one is also treated to quotes from primary sources relevant to the topic being discussed. Side bars also provide interesting "fun facts" on a given subject. The book itself is small and easy to carry about, the ideal companion on a flight or train ride. Matyszak writes intelligently yet clearly for the general reader, and his quirky sense of humor will greatly endear many to the subject at hand. There is a surprising amount of information crammed into such a little book. Even though I consider myself fairly knowledgeable in the classics, I learned some new things (did you know that "obscene" originated from the Greek word for offstage, where sex and violence in a Greek drama took place so as not to offend the audience?). In short, this inexpensive book is a treat to read for both diehard classics buffs and more casual students of history.