Ancient Greek Civilization by David Sansone

by David Sansone

A concise narrative of Greek history and an analysis of the literature, art, and thought of the ancient Greeks.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Classics

Paperback

First published December 11, 2003

Reviews

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very insightful into the workings of Ancient Greek civilization, hence the title. I would recommend it for anyone interested.

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you've ever wanted to do a deep dive, or at least a medium dive, into a history of ancient Greek Civilization, I'd recommend this book by David Sansone. Classical civilization has been a woeful gap in my learning. I know Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, Sophocles, and Homer, but Hesiod, Euripides, Aeschylus, Aristophanes, Solon, Herodotus, and Thucydides were just names I had heard and bore no context for me. Sansone's book is as brief as any 1,000 year history could be and puts it all in context and in a proper timeline. The Persian wars, the Peloponnesian War, the developments of democracy, rhetoric, and drama are all there.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great, very readable, overview of Ancient Greek history.

Key word: Overview. There's hardly anything for depth here, but that's not what it claims to be. I thought it was a fantastic and brief introduction. It made me interested to learn more. Sansone tells you enough to give you the general idea of what people study when they study Greek Civilization, but to obtain any knowledge past surface level you'll have to look elswhere.

Sansonse also provides and abundant amount of resources for further reading.

Perfect introduction to Greek Civilization.

[Teo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This being an academic literature I can't believe how much I actually enjoyed reading it.
Very nice flow of relevant topics about the ancient Greek Civilization from Archaic, Classical to Hellenistic period.
Even though I would personally prefer reading more about the details on certain Greek tyrants and intellectuals I was not disappointed!