The Oxford History of Greece and the Hellenistic World

Whether you're a newcomer to Greek history or someone who has already studied diverse segments of it looking to organize your knowledge, this book will be an aid. It is essentially an overview of the main studies - aka, philosophy, literature, politics, military, eras, etc. That said, as it is a compilation of all these diverse things, it tends to become less specialist and more general (big picture). That is why people who are intensely interested in Greek history would be better off buying books specializing in different parts of it, then buying this book to clarify and put into context what you've learned from those other sources. Newcomers can make use of it too, but there will undoubtedly be parts they won't be able to make sense of due to their inexpertise. By and large, however, this book is accessible and to varrying degrees useful to professionals, amateurs, longtime students, and newcomers alike - providing they can tolerate academic language.

Very detailed and interesting information. It helped a lot prepraring for our trip to Rhodes and AThens

The Oxford History of Greece and the Hellenisic World is a perfect primer for ancient Greek studies on history, literature, philosophy and art, but it is also a great read for the casual history and literature buff (which is the reason I read it!) Spanning from the Archaic Period, with Homer and Hesiod, through the Classical period with Aeschylus and Euripides, to the curious Hellenistic world: a world of three empires (The Antigonids of Macedon, the Seleucids of Western Turkey through to Afghanistan, and the Ptolemies of Egypt) where the Roman influence was penetrating an already crumbled empire unable to defend itself against Roman cultural and military pressures. The Greeks still adopted the slow, inflexible, easily flanked and routed phalanx - no match for the Roman Legions which would soon topple almost all of the three empires. I must make special mention of certain essays. (This volume is a collection of essays by experts in their fields: as such, some sections are better than others.) The histories are absolutely brilliant, enlightening and fascinating. The discussion of literature is a mixed bag, however. One of my favourite essays is one on Homer's poetry. It must be read to be believed - wonderful stuff. However, the chapter on Elegaic and Lyric Poetry I found to be cryptic garbage. I study English - though admittedly mostly prose and script - and a lot of the discussion went far too deep, far too fast, and, coupled with a piecemeal historical background to be considered, the chapter turned to dust. It is certainly worth reading, but it by far the weakest chapter. The chapters on philosophy were, in fact, my favourite - sitting right up top with Homer. These chapters were probably the only truly "riveting" moments in the book, because the themes they deal with are so large, and the evolution so fascinating. The sections on mythology and religion are solid and informative. Thankfully art and architecture are not neglected, and the chapters concerning their evolution and influence are interesting, if not a little bit too far away from my sphere of interest. The depiction of the various deities and the like, however, was great and complemented the religious chapters well. The maps and the historical chart (detailing events both social and cultural) are the best I have ever seen in a single paperback volume. The selected readings at the end of each chapter are both comprehensive and accessible, so full marks there. It is a small pity that there isn't a glossary of useful greek terms, but that is of little consequence and does nothing to tarnish this brilliant gem. It pains me a bit to see that this book has only one review (now two) to it's name. It deserves to be read. As is said in the introduction of this book: "To see that such things can be true of people whom in some ways we find intelligible and recognizable can help to deliver us from the tyranny of the present, from the assumption that our own habits of action and thought are r

The Oxford History of Greece and the Hellenisic World is a perfect primer for ancient Greek studies on history, literature, philosophy and art, but it is also a great read for the casual history and literature buff (which is the reason I read it!) Spanning from the Archaic Period, with Homer and Hesiod, through the Classical period with Aeschylus and Euripides, to the curious Hellenistic world: a world of three empires (The Antigonids of Macedon, the Seleucids of Western Turkey through to Afghanistan, and the Ptolemies of Egypt) where the Roman influence was penetrating an already crumbled empire unable to defend itself against Roman cultural and military pressures. The Greeks still adopted the slow, inflexible, easily flanked and routed phalanx - no match for the Roman Legions which would soon topple almost all of the three empires. I must make special mention of certain essays. (This volume is a collection of essays by experts in their fields: as such, some sections are better than others.) The histories are absolutely brilliant, enlightening and fascinating. The discussion of literature is a mixed bag, however. One of my favourite essays is one on Homer's poetry. It must be read to be believed - wonderful stuff. However, the chapter on Elegaic and Lyric Poetry I found to be inaccessible. I study English, and a lot of the discussion went far too deep, far too fast, and, coupled with a piecemeal historical background to be considered, the chapter turned to dust. It is certainly worth reading, but it by far the weakest chapter. The chapters on philosophy were, in fact, my favourite - sitting right up top with Homer. These chapters were probably the only truly "riveting" moments in the book, because the themes they deal with are so large, and the evolution so fascinating. The sections on mythology and religion are solid and informative. Thankfully art and architecture are not neglected, and the chapters concerning their evolution and influence are interesting, if not a little bit too far away from my sphere of interest. The depiction of the various deities and the like, however, was great and complemented the religious chapters well. The maps and the historical chart (detailing events both social and cultural) are the best I have ever seen in a single paperback volume. The selected readings at the end of each chapter are both comprehensive and accessible, so full marks there. It is a small pity that there isn't a glossary of useful greek terms, but that is of little consequence and does nothing to tarnish this brilliant gem. It pains me a bit to see that this book has only one review (now two) to it's name. It deserves to be read. As is said in the introduction of this book: "To see that such things can be true of people whom in some ways we find intelligible and recognizable can help to deliver us from the tyranny of the present, from the assumption that our own habits of action and thought are really inescapable, and from the idea that there

The best aspect of this book on Greek history is its comprehensive treatment of all aspects of Greek life. Literature, politics, religion, etc. are all covered in this book. My favorite sections dealt with how the Greeks socialized through organizations such as the Gymnasion and the Prytany. It really showed how the Greeks were devoted to the polis and how they were required to be very social creatures from cradle to grave. A serious problem of the book is tendencies by some of the authors to write in a style that is not user friendly. Also, a background in Greek history is required to recognize names and places. Without that you will be lost. Don't buy it unless you are really interested in Greek culture.