The ancient Mediterranean by Michael Grant

by Michael Grant

Written by eminent classical scholar Michael Grant. The Ancient Mediterranean is a wonderfully revealing, unusually comprehensive history of all the peoples who lived around the Mediterranean from about 15,000 B.C. to the time of Constantine (306-337 A.D.). Many volumes, including Professor Grant's own previous works, trace the histories of the great civilizations of Greece and Rome. But this unique work looks at the influences and cultures of the entire region, including Egypt, Israel, Crete, Carthage, Ionia and the Eastern colonies. Syria, and the Etruscans, as well as the Greek and Roman states. Drawing on archaeology, geography, anthropology, and economics. Professor Grant shows how the great Oriental civilizations—Egypt, Assyria, Babylonia, Persia—originated attitudes and institutions ultimately passed on to the West. He describes the effect on the people and their achievements of the long, irregular coastline, the mountainous terrain surrounding small fertile plains, the typical plant life of olive and grape, and the rapidly changing weather. Further, he investigates how the demographic factors around this deep and stormy sea caused or influenced the great periods of ancient history, such as that of fifth-century Athens and of Rome in the first century A.D. Appealing and fascinating reading, this impeccably researched history brings a fresh perspective to understanding our ancient heritage.

Genres: History, Ancient History, Nonfiction, Greece, Classics

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1969

About the author

Michael Grant was an English classisist, numismatist, and author of numerous popular books on ancient history. His 1956 translation of Tacitus’s Annals of Imperial Rome remains a standard of the work. He once described himself as "one of the very few freelances in the field of ancient history: a rare phenomenon". As a popularizer, his hallmarks were his prolific output and his unwillingness to oversimplify or talk down to his readership.

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Reviews

[Hancock · Rating 5 out of 5]

The is a great book. If this book was a college class it would be what was called 'a survey course.' A survey course is a class that covers a broad range of areas for a given subject. No area is covered in depth. That's what this book does. It covers the Mediterranean area from 15,000 BC to shortly after the dawn of the new era. It covers a great deal but nothing in great detail. This is exactly what I sought in a book. Now I feel prepared to delve a bit deeper into the areas that interest me.

[Stephen Simpson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good overview of the subject from a scholar who was himself a pretty interesting subject. The book is not comprehensive, but it gives a good overview and the author's tone makes it a very pleasant read.

The only major downside is an unavoidable one - the book is around 50 years old and there have been a lot of discoveries since then. I'd be really curious to see what an updated version would look like (although the author is long dead...).

[Sally · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is far more scholarly a work than I usually read, but it looked interesting. I like the period quotations which Grant sprinkles liberally throughout the book to support what he is writing about at any given time. These quotes range from the Bible's Old Testament and Virgil to 19th Century Lord Byron. It certainly is a good book to read to get an in-depth understanding of the patterns of civilization and cultures as they progressed from the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea to the western end, over the course of 7,000 years or so, and how the varied environments of the different parts of the Sea influenced that growth and development.

[Lauren Albert · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is no story in this history. On the back cover it says "drawing on archaeology, geography, anthropology and economics, Professor Grant etc." But there is no "drawing on"--it is ALL archaeology, geography, anthropology (though I don't see much of this) and economics. There's no story. The people are seen distantly as abstractions. Instead we see pots and wheat and buildings. If you're into those things, this book is for you. If you want some story, if you want some real people, than this isn't for you.

[Coco · Rating 3 out of 5]

Michael Grant provides a history of a vast area that he thoroughly researched and painstakingly referenced. It is informative although it is somewhat dated because of archaeological discoveries and analysis made since 1969.

[Jay D]

somewhat boring, but not terrible.

[Susu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Deutsche Ausgabe dtv: Abriss der Geschichte von der Vorzeit bis zur Antike - wahrscheinlich nicht das aktuellste Werk, aber informativ, auch wenn es etwas trocken daher kommt