Famous Men of Greece

Famous Men of Greece

by John Henry Haaren, Addison B. Poland

If the Romans were historys great men of action, the Greeks were historys great men of thought. Dive into the lives and minds of thirty famous Greeks through stories detailing the rise, Golden Age, and fall of Greece. The triumphs of Aristotle, Ptolemy, Ulysses, Pericles, Alexander the Great and many others will enable your students to understand why the scope of Greek accomplishment is still known today as The Greek Miracle. A good substitute for the Greenleaf Press version.

Genres: History, Ancient History, Nonfiction, Education, Childrens, Ancient, Family

172 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1904

About the author

John Henry Haaren (born August 13, 1855, New York, New York – d. September 23, 1916, Brooklyn, New York) was an American educator and historian.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_He...

Reviews

[Emily Sparks · Rating 4 out of 5]

We started this as a recreational read-aloud, and it wasn’t quite interesting enough for that (especially when there are Steelheart books to be read), so I finished it myself. I wasn’t too impressed by the beginning section about mythology, but the short biographies were well done. While it isn’t something most kids would read for pleasure, it would be quite engaging as a school book. I figure it would be about right for fifth to seventh grade.

[Rachael Stoldt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written book about Ancient Greece and the prominent men in history. The chapters are short and the boys enjoyed it.

[Not Well Read · Rating 3 out of 5]

I will state before I begin that this book was clearly not intended for me: I was hoping, as a classicist, to gain a little more insight into some major figures in Greek history, including in periods and places I haven’t studied in a while, and this is clearly not for the well-versed in Greek history. This is more intended for older children (I would think) as an introduction to Greek culture and the major figures, though perhaps it would also help those less well-versed in this subject to understand allusions made to the ancient world elsewhere. Nevertheless, I’ll try not to judge the book purely on my own (misguided) expectations, but on its merits in and of itself.

I have to wonder why they used the Roman names for gods and heroes in a book about the famous men of Greece: perhaps it would have been better to include (or footnote) the Roman names on introduction of the Greek characters, for the sake of clarity? I found it a little jarring to hear about Greek figures through the Roman nomenclature all the time. Some characters are also not strictly Greek (e.g. Croesus the Lydian, and Cyrus the Mede). The book also makes the perhaps controversial decision to mix up clearly mythological characters (i.e. Theseus) with very real and rather well-attested historical figures (Pericles), which might be confusing for children, though on the positive side it also does a good job of balancing the more established figures in Greek mythology and history with some lesser known ones, like Epaminondas, who still deserve recognition.

On a more positive note, the style is clear and entertaining for its audience, and doesn’t require any prior knowledge of the periods of history concerned, and does include some interesting tidbits about the figures concerned that may not be otherwise known. Not all the profiles included are quite as engaging as others, but I expect this is largely a matter of personal opinion. All in all, this is a perfectly fine book for a basic introduction or revision of the predominant Greek figures, but perhaps not so suitable for those looking for a more detailed or insightful view.

[Dawn Roberts · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my favorite "spines" for ancient history.

[Kali · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have a lot of doubt about a book called "Famous Men of Greece" that keeps talking about the Greek gods and the Greek way of life and the Greek landscape... whilst predominantly using the ROMAN names for the gods, themselves. The author seems to be mistakenly under the impression that the names are completely interchangeable, but they're really not - especially in an academic sense. If you're writing an educational book about GREEK people and GREEK heroes in GREECE, use the GREEK names.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book with my daughter for part of her 7th grade studies. We both enjoyed the simple explanation of ancient Greek history. This is a great book for kids wanting an introduction to ancient Greece.

[David Anusontarangkul · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was fun to read about the Greek gods. The one person that really stands out the most to me was Aristotle. He had such an interesting look on life and death.

[Becky Filipek · Rating 3 out of 5]

This has been a good history supplement.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is some sign of censorship.

[Gary · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great mix of solid information and readable story-telling.

Liked it a lot.

[Elisa Luggeri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting and factual read. Simplified yet concise.

[Wendy Riley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a great introduction to the major people and events of ancient Greek history for Middle-grade readers.

[Ebookwormy1 · Rating 5 out of 5]

A valuable homeschool resource that features biographies of key Grecians. My rating is 4.5 stars. While I highly recommend it, the text is slanted (as you might expect when written by history majors) toward politics and philosophy. Writers receive adequate coverage.

Lacking is coverage of scientists, inventors, and technologists. Biographies for these skills have been overlooked even though they make significant contributions to development of all civilizations, including Greece. Video gamers have figured this out (just ask a gamer about the tech tree of a civilization building game), but historians are still catching up. Those who use this resource for homeschool will want to fill in the gap, especially if they have students interested in math and science.

[Mister Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although written for ages 9 through 14 at the end of the 19th century and early 20th century, I found this book highly informative as a survey of all the various events and personalities that shaped Ancient Greece and a great deal of Western civilization; from its mythology to its philosophers and leaders, Haaren provides very readable stories, and I found that I had developed better knowledge and awareness from reading it-- and humbled from it--which actually is a good thing because this is only a series of historical ages and profound influential civilizations--which means I'll read more.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was our read-aloud text for the Greek section of our history studies this year. Honestly, the kids found it very engaging. I loved that there were so many VERY little known people mentioned and talked about. There were also the 'important' ones, but there wasn't to focus solely on them. Instead, they talked about the people that helped set up the 'important' ones (such as Aristotle, Socrates, Philip of Macedonia and Alexander the Great). It was quite enjoyable and I know the kids learned a lot. The only thing that would make it better would have been just a touch more indepth detail, but that would have been just for myself. For my kids (ages 5-11), this was the perfect dose.

[R. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short and sweet. I listened to the free audiobook version of this available from Librivox.org on my Android phone. I chose this particular book based on the title alone, and so had no idea what to expect really. This is more geared towards people who nothing about ancient Greece and are interested in learning. Probably meant for young adults as well. It was entertaining and informative as a primer, but I can't say that I personally learned anything new from it. Still, worth listening to for anyone of any age just stepping into a study of the classical world.

[Renee · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't like that the author talks about mythical figures as actual living people. The book should have been about the lives of real men, not gods.

[Danijel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Audio knjiga na povezavi https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbdBW....