The Hellenistic Age: A History

It's very hard to write gripping history, but Green here succeeds. He gives an appropriate median of history and soap opera in retelling the story of the post-Alexandrian dynasties. Green is frankly an excellent writer. His hundred-page introduction to the Hellenistic age is a pleasure to read. The work is also supplemented with a lengthy chronology, maps and a few genealogies. This is great classical writing, have no doubt.

Peter Green has crafted a very readable and well-rounded history of the Hellenistic Age in the eastern Mediterranean, from the death of Alexander to Rome's conquest of the squabbling Greek kingdoms. It is nice to see such an accessible, cheap volume put out by a major historian in the field. The reason that I don't give it 5 stars is because at times it feels extremely rushed. A lot of detail is sacrificed, and trying to follow some events is mind boggling. While the book itself is good, the real reason to own this volume is for the appendices. There are some excellent tables depicting the very convoluted family trees of the various Hellenistic dynasties. The Ptolemy tree is an especially welcome addition. The maps are nothing terribly special, but there are a number of them and they're crisp, clear and easy to read. (The Aegean one is a little squished, but it is well-labeled.) The chronological table is also wonderful for making sense of this fast-paced era. This book is more than worth its price tag for an introduction into the era. More advanced students will want to look at Dr. Green's 'Alexander to Actium', but this little book has a lot of good stuff inside.

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This excellent - and occasionally harrowing - overview of the Hellenistic age is very much worth reading. It's much less long than his earlier account (Alexander to Actium, published some 20 years earlier). For that reason, it is better for neophytes and beginners, especially those who want a very good overview of a crucial and interesting period in the history of an area stretching from Greece to Pakistan. But it is also a tasty morsel for experienced Hellenists, who certainly know Green's work from his other brilliant writings. As for the allegation that Green hasn't been to the places he discusses, that's absurd. Green might be a professor, but he's notorious for leaving the ivory tower and going and spending time in the places whose history he charts. I said earlier that the account is harrowing. It is because of the horror show of suffering, violence, war, uncertainty and instability that characterizes the entire age -- especially for ordinary people -- which still manages to be one of the more pleasant ever to hit that particular fraught troubled region. Why were things so bad? It is as though one petty despot, psycho, and/or satrap after another tries his hand at domination in each and every one of the little city states (especially when his master isn't paying attention) in the area. To sum up, give Green a chance. Read either this book or one of his many others, or perhaps a translation. He's a marvelous guide to the past.

As the title suggests ("A Short History") this treatment of the period sacrifices depth for brevity. Not being familiar with the subject I enjoyed this well-written introduction. Not only is the book a good first overview, it has plenty of notes geared towards further study and a short guide to further reading indicating what the author considers current best texts--as well as the usual bibliography.