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The Classical Greeks (History of Civilization)
by Michael Grant
Product Group: Book
Publisher: Scribner (1989-09)
ISBN: 0684191261
EAN: 9780684191263
Dewey Decimal #: 938.0099
Hardcover: 337 pages
SKU: 20215
Condition: Used: Very Good
Comments: Hardback. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. All pages clean and unmarked.
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Editorial Reviews
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Product Description
Grant places 37 of the great men of the age of Classical Greece in historical context and explores the factors that gave rise to outstanding achievements in cultural, philosophical, scientific, and literary spheres. 8 cassettes.
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Customer Reviews
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Excellent organization and aims, but poor execution
Rating  (3)
Date: 2007-11-27
Michael Grant's summary of the Classical Greeks uses an excellent and inventive organizational structure by dividing chapters according to important and influential figures. It should be the perfect introductory book for a humanities course at the freshman or sophomore level, but unfortunately the dense academic tone will provide many readers with a headache or a quick nap.
The information covered in the book is all the basics one would want to know in an incipient study of Greece 500-336 B.C. The book is divided into seven chronological/thematic sections enclosing the chapters on famous individuals:
1. Wars against External Enemies (Miltiades, Themistocles, Pausanias, Gelon and Hiero I)
2. Between the Wars: the First Phase (Cimon, Pindar, Aeschylus, Parmenides, the Olympia Master [concerning sculpture], Polygnotus)
3. The Periclean Age (Pericles, Protagoras, Herodotus, the Riace Master and Polyclitus, Ictinus and Phidias)
4. The Peloponnesian War (Hermocrates, Sophocles, Euripides, Aristophanes, Hippocrates, Socrates, Zeuxis and Parrhasius, Thucydides, Lysander)
5. First Half of the Fourth Century: West and East (Dionysius I, Archytas, Leucon I, Mausolus and Pythius)
6. First Half of the Fourth Century: the Greek Mainland (Epaminondas, Xenophon, Plato, Isocrates, Praxiteles)
7. The End of Classical Greece (Timoleon, Philip II, Demosthenes, Aristotle)
Grant also includes five appendices of one or two pages each on Pythagoras, Women, Metics, Helots, and Slaves.
This organization lends itself well to a reference format, so if a student needs to remind himself in five minutes of the significance of Epaminondas or the plot of Arisophanes's Frogs, he can pick it up and refresh.
The two greatest strengths, aside from the organization, are the inclusion of information related to Greeks beyond the mainland and Grant's academic standards.
The author provides information on the culture and history of classical Greece beyond Athens and Sparta, extending to Hellenized or Greek-colonized areas that were significant politically, culturally, or contextually. These include settlements in Sicily, Italy, and around the Bosphorus.
Grant also consistently acknowledges whenever scholarship has put in doubt any of his statements, such as mentioning which works have been disputed as authentic. This is a crucial standard in narrative history that often misleads readers when not upheld.
The problem is that this book, by content and organization, is meant for beginners, yet the writing style is painfully high-handed and academic. While I'm very used to academic style, a number of times I had to sort of longwinded and convoluted sentences. I continually zoned out so that I had to keep backtracking--and I love reading about ancient Greece. For students that have only a little interest in the subject, or who hate academic writing, this book would be a poor choice.
I would have given the book more stars for its strengths, but they essentially come to nothing when one considers that the writing style drastically undermines the goals and target audience.
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And oh, so Classical!
Rating  (5)
Date: 2002-02-19
11 out of 12 customers found this reveiw helpful
In this book, the astute historical mind of Michael Grant focuses on 37 of the most pivotal and influential Greeks of the classical age. The book starts with the heroes of the Persian War (Miltiades, Themosticles, Pausanias, etc) and ends at the very border of the rise of Macedon and the beginning of the Hellenic age (Aristotle, Demosthenes). In between, Grant offers us a comprehensive look at personages who filled in all of the occupations that were of the utmost importance to the ancient Greeks. These include military leaders (Miltiades, Themostocles, Cimon, Epaminondas, Pausanias, Lysander, etc), orators / politicians (Pericles, Pindar, Dionysius I, Archytas, Demosthenes, etc), philosophers (Parmenides, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle), playwrights (AEschylus, Sophocles, Euripedes, Aristophanes), historians (Herodotus, Thucydides) and architects / artisians (Polygnotus, Polyclitus, Ictinus, Phidias, etc). In all of these mini-biographies, Grant maintains his usual standard of excellence in pointing out the most salient aspects of their historical importance and sundry accomplishments. Grant is spectacular in demonstrating his immense erudition and knowledge of the ancient world. One of the nice features of this books is its format: it is composed of 37 seperate essays, + a number of appendices on various topics. Therefore, you can read an essay & then let the book sit for weeks or months w/out sacrificing anything. So, that makes it a great book to have "at the ready" in places where you may need to kill some time by having a book in-hand. I would highly recommend this book for people who have an interest in ancient Greece, but do not @ present know too much about it. This book is an excellent introduction to that epoch. For the classical scholar / student, this book is an absolutely indispensable reference.
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Excellent introduction to the golden age of ancient Greece
Rating (5)
Date: 2000-04-29
7 out of 9 customers found this reveiw helpful
Through focusing on 37 historical personages who have largely defined classical Greek civilization, Michael Grant has created an ideal introduction on the subject for the uninitiated. The book is informative, easy to absorb and extremely readable. If you harbor any interest regarding Ancient Greece and don't know where to begin, this is an ideal spot.
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