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Golden Laurels, Silver Seas: A Concise Survey of Greek History from the Bronze Age to the End of the Hellenistic Period
Discover the allure of ancient Greece – Unlock a world where Greek mythology, art, culture, and politics intertwineFor those who seek inspiration from the great civilizations of the past, Golden Laurels, Silver Seas offers an accessible, comprehensive, and engaging survey of ancient Greek history.
The cradle of democracy, Ancient Greece laid the foundation for the politics, philosophy, art, and science that form the basis of the modern world. Marathons, the Olympics, civic architecture - the list goes on. Yet, how much of its story remains shrouded in the mists of time or buried in dusty, boring academic tomes?
From the devastating Trojan War to the Hellenistic Greek Kingdoms fighting to succeed Alexander, here’s your chance to learn all the key events that marked the history and culture of the ancient Greeks.
This isn't just another history of Greece—the team at Aeon History has written another well-researched, highly compelling read.
The wisdom and progress of the Greeks call to us across the centuries. Golden Laurels, Silver Seas is your key to over 2,000 years of Greek history - political, military, intellectual, philosophical, and cultural.
For many, making sense of so much seems a Herculean task. But in this detailed and engaging account, every word, every myth, every war, is a step closer to appreciating the far-reaching influence of the Greeks.
This book isn't just a list of facts; it's a journey across millennia. Welcome to your own personal Odyssey.
Here’s just a fraction of what you’ll find in this
Greek Uncover the Minoans, Mycenaeans, and other Greek civilizations of the Bronze AgeDiscover the mythological heroes of the Trojan War… and the surprises that archaeologists have unearthedExplore the birth of Ancient Greek Democracy, Theater, Science, and PhilosophyLearn about the rise of the Greek city-states and their mighty battles in the Persian WarsClassical See the rise and fall of Spartan Power and Athenian Democracy - Rediscover the devastation wrought by Greek on Greek during the Peloponnesian WarsExamine the growing threat of Macedon and how Philip II revolutionized Greek warfareTravel to the edge of the world - Follow Alexander the Great as he seeks bloody revenge on the Persian Empire - and becomes the greatest conqueror of the ancient worldHellenistic Insights 101: Delve deep into a golden era when East met West, defined by art, culture, and the rise of new superpowers
All this and so much more.
Even if you've encountered the story of ancient Greece before, Golden Laurels, Silver Seas offers fresh perspectives, weaving together intricate details into an accessible and compelling narrative. It's the best way to start your lifelong journey into the ancient history that forged Western Civilization.
If you’re ready to embark on a journey where legends, battles, and history come alive, scroll up and click “Add to Cart” right now.
The cradle of democracy, Ancient Greece laid the foundation for the politics, philosophy, art, and science that form the basis of the modern world. Marathons, the Olympics, civic architecture - the list goes on. Yet, how much of its story remains shrouded in the mists of time or buried in dusty, boring academic tomes?
From the devastating Trojan War to the Hellenistic Greek Kingdoms fighting to succeed Alexander, here’s your chance to learn all the key events that marked the history and culture of the ancient Greeks.
This isn't just another history of Greece—the team at Aeon History has written another well-researched, highly compelling read.
The wisdom and progress of the Greeks call to us across the centuries. Golden Laurels, Silver Seas is your key to over 2,000 years of Greek history - political, military, intellectual, philosophical, and cultural.
For many, making sense of so much seems a Herculean task. But in this detailed and engaging account, every word, every myth, every war, is a step closer to appreciating the far-reaching influence of the Greeks.
This book isn't just a list of facts; it's a journey across millennia. Welcome to your own personal Odyssey.
Here’s just a fraction of what you’ll find in this
Greek Uncover the Minoans, Mycenaeans, and other Greek civilizations of the Bronze AgeDiscover the mythological heroes of the Trojan War… and the surprises that archaeologists have unearthedExplore the birth of Ancient Greek Democracy, Theater, Science, and PhilosophyLearn about the rise of the Greek city-states and their mighty battles in the Persian WarsClassical See the rise and fall of Spartan Power and Athenian Democracy - Rediscover the devastation wrought by Greek on Greek during the Peloponnesian WarsExamine the growing threat of Macedon and how Philip II revolutionized Greek warfareTravel to the edge of the world - Follow Alexander the Great as he seeks bloody revenge on the Persian Empire - and becomes the greatest conqueror of the ancient worldHellenistic Insights 101: Delve deep into a golden era when East met West, defined by art, culture, and the rise of new superpowers
All this and so much more.
Even if you've encountered the story of ancient Greece before, Golden Laurels, Silver Seas offers fresh perspectives, weaving together intricate details into an accessible and compelling narrative. It's the best way to start your lifelong journey into the ancient history that forged Western Civilization.
If you’re ready to embark on a journey where legends, battles, and history come alive, scroll up and click “Add to Cart” right now.
- GenresNonfiction
237 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 19, 2023
35 people are currently reading
37 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
December 26, 2023
very educational
Concise, clear and well written, this book is a good basic introduction to the current state of academic thinking about early Greek history. I don’t think that some of the assertions made in the book should be taken at face value, such as the idea that myths are completely untrustworthy when it comes to actual historic events. This is an assertion with which I may disagree, but it certainly is the current state of academic thinking.
Probably no one should believe the totality of what any book says about
ancient history. It’s just someone’s best guess when you get that far back. Still this is probably the best book I’ve seen at giving an overview of a not entirely understood subject.
Concise, clear and well written, this book is a good basic introduction to the current state of academic thinking about early Greek history. I don’t think that some of the assertions made in the book should be taken at face value, such as the idea that myths are completely untrustworthy when it comes to actual historic events. This is an assertion with which I may disagree, but it certainly is the current state of academic thinking.
Probably no one should believe the totality of what any book says about
ancient history. It’s just someone’s best guess when you get that far back. Still this is probably the best book I’ve seen at giving an overview of a not entirely understood subject.
April 5, 2024
Written in a breezy and modern style, ‘Golden Laurels, Silver Seas’ serves as a fine primer, but breaks no new ground. This is not a flaw, unto itself; new works like this serve to summarize the latest scholarship for a general audience. But, how well does this book perform this task?
Structurally, the book is well paced and has fine workmanship in the invisible world of publishing details. The pictures presented in-line are well selected, and render well on e-ink screens. People who wish to know the latest scholarship about daily life in these times and places should look elsewhere; this book is primarily concerned with the affairs of the polis & states around the Mediterranean, how they influenced Greek and, subsequently, European history, and the actions of the consequential leaders in state and thought in those periods. This is not a flaw, just a focus, though I love to read about the daily life stuff personally. Regarding focus, the author’s table at Aeon History has a clear love of ancient battles, and the parts that cover battles have the most detail and love put into them.
In order to provide value in a world filled with histories of this region, you have to engage with some new scholarship. And so, I was very disappointed to find that the text treated Homer as a person, rather than as a tradition. Or, better put, a method of finding the most agreed upon version of a story and promulgating that one, blindly and without additions. This newer idea flatly solves the curious case of the man with no history in an ancient world that just loved to put down the bibliographical details of significant people. But then, after hundreds of pages of ascribing this and that to Homer, they do eventually mention this scholarship. I can understand sorting this information into the time period in which the Homeric versions of the tales were being gathered, but it is necessary to allude to major, surprising ideas like this earlier in the text. Similarly, the treatment of Epicurus as the originator of a philosophy rather than the person who wrote it down is a common practice, but not really accurate. In every way, the ‘epicurean’ philosophy and approach to life reached way back into the Dorian period, albeit (obviously) without that name. These are structural flaws, in my opinion. But, on to another matter of opinion.
I have to object to one idea that is presented in here, even though it is very much in the realm of debate, because I can make my point with evidence you present yourself. In regard to writing during the post Myicinian ‘dark age’ period, I must stress that absence of evidence is NOT evidence of absence… unless it comes with some other hallmarks. For instance, whatever happened to the Minoan civilization around 1500bce caused a full break in their language within 50 years. That’s what a dark age (everyone stopping entirely with the writing) looks like. The Dorian period, even though it was ten times that long, did not result in a loss of written language. To the contrary, it was actually fairly well retained for such a period; this is the reason back-translating from the Phoenician letters that were later adopted is even possible. This suggests that they didn’t stop writing, but rather that there was a fashion to write on things that do not preserve well. Not vases, carvings and statues, in other words.
Now, if there were a Chinese archeologist in the room, they might pipe up at this point and say ‘Oh, paper. We’ve had paper for at least that long, and we were trading with the Mediterranean in that period. We might have shown them how, and the Dorians just had posters up all over the place!’ At which point I would have to tell them to shush because western archeologists have convinced themselves that the Egyptians invented paper way later and they will not be convinced otherwise. They get very emotional, I would explain, before pulling the Chinese scholar aside to have an interesting talk between ourselves about the countless obvious ways the west borrowed things from the east, and then forgot they had done so. But there is another answer that we can see from accepted sources and later examples that (just barely) survived; pyrography on thin boards.
Both character types are well suited, bronze stylus work so well for pyrography that they are still used today, and the boards last long enough. There are some surviving examples, from centuries later, of things like tables of family relations that survived on that medium. But not many. Once they get ragged, thin boards are tempting as kindling. Even if they didn’t end up as kindling, slips of wood simply do not last more than a thousand years in the alternating humidity and dryness of that region. And there you go; no centuries long ‘dark age’ at all, just a fairly durable fashion to not write on pottery or stone. This is all up for debate, and I deduct no stars for it, even though there are clear logical problems with the ‘dark age’ theory IMO.
What I will deduct a star for is perpetuating the myth that the Spartans killed their disabled young, when the translations were pretty clearly mangled on that one until the last few decades. I will say with some authority they almost always exiled those young into the slave classes that had no political power. That’s not fantastic, but… Murdering fully born babies is very wasteful, and every warrior they had required half a dozen other people to keep them swinging. Every ancient people understood this, even the often pig-headed Spartans.
This also answers an obvious discrepancy in the tale of the battle of Thermopylae. Many versions of that tale recount how a relative of a warrior (perhaps Leonidas himself) who was variously described as disabled and thus relegated to support, betrayed them in his resentment to the Persians. It’s kind of hard for someone to be infanticided and also fully grown enough to betray their countrymen, is it not?
A relatively recent film adaptation of these events was done by some people who were also very fond of this outdated theory, but they wanted to keep that character AND the infanticide, so they just made a weird exception for this one pivotal character. Oh, they also made him extra ugly, I guess to try and prove the rule with an illogical exception to it. That was pretty stupid, but this book comes out more than 15 years later! It’s inexcusable that you don’t even present this myth as being up for debate.
And here I am, a lover of Athens, defending Sparta. What a world.
Look, the rest of the book works well, and the other flaws I found were minor quibbles compared to that one. The scholarship is generally sound and modern; for instance, Alexander is accurately portrayed as sort of a drunken slutty disaster bisexual. But that Spartan infanticide thing is not only a myth, but a rather destructive one, and perpetuating it is deeply problematic. As it accomplished it’s aims in all other respects, this would be a 4.5-5 star book otherwise. It accomplishes the task it sets out to do, and that’s what a five star breezy history looks like. But with that flaw? I may be too generous giving it four.
Structurally, the book is well paced and has fine workmanship in the invisible world of publishing details. The pictures presented in-line are well selected, and render well on e-ink screens. People who wish to know the latest scholarship about daily life in these times and places should look elsewhere; this book is primarily concerned with the affairs of the polis & states around the Mediterranean, how they influenced Greek and, subsequently, European history, and the actions of the consequential leaders in state and thought in those periods. This is not a flaw, just a focus, though I love to read about the daily life stuff personally. Regarding focus, the author’s table at Aeon History has a clear love of ancient battles, and the parts that cover battles have the most detail and love put into them.
In order to provide value in a world filled with histories of this region, you have to engage with some new scholarship. And so, I was very disappointed to find that the text treated Homer as a person, rather than as a tradition. Or, better put, a method of finding the most agreed upon version of a story and promulgating that one, blindly and without additions. This newer idea flatly solves the curious case of the man with no history in an ancient world that just loved to put down the bibliographical details of significant people. But then, after hundreds of pages of ascribing this and that to Homer, they do eventually mention this scholarship. I can understand sorting this information into the time period in which the Homeric versions of the tales were being gathered, but it is necessary to allude to major, surprising ideas like this earlier in the text. Similarly, the treatment of Epicurus as the originator of a philosophy rather than the person who wrote it down is a common practice, but not really accurate. In every way, the ‘epicurean’ philosophy and approach to life reached way back into the Dorian period, albeit (obviously) without that name. These are structural flaws, in my opinion. But, on to another matter of opinion.
I have to object to one idea that is presented in here, even though it is very much in the realm of debate, because I can make my point with evidence you present yourself. In regard to writing during the post Myicinian ‘dark age’ period, I must stress that absence of evidence is NOT evidence of absence… unless it comes with some other hallmarks. For instance, whatever happened to the Minoan civilization around 1500bce caused a full break in their language within 50 years. That’s what a dark age (everyone stopping entirely with the writing) looks like. The Dorian period, even though it was ten times that long, did not result in a loss of written language. To the contrary, it was actually fairly well retained for such a period; this is the reason back-translating from the Phoenician letters that were later adopted is even possible. This suggests that they didn’t stop writing, but rather that there was a fashion to write on things that do not preserve well. Not vases, carvings and statues, in other words.
Now, if there were a Chinese archeologist in the room, they might pipe up at this point and say ‘Oh, paper. We’ve had paper for at least that long, and we were trading with the Mediterranean in that period. We might have shown them how, and the Dorians just had posters up all over the place!’ At which point I would have to tell them to shush because western archeologists have convinced themselves that the Egyptians invented paper way later and they will not be convinced otherwise. They get very emotional, I would explain, before pulling the Chinese scholar aside to have an interesting talk between ourselves about the countless obvious ways the west borrowed things from the east, and then forgot they had done so. But there is another answer that we can see from accepted sources and later examples that (just barely) survived; pyrography on thin boards.
Both character types are well suited, bronze stylus work so well for pyrography that they are still used today, and the boards last long enough. There are some surviving examples, from centuries later, of things like tables of family relations that survived on that medium. But not many. Once they get ragged, thin boards are tempting as kindling. Even if they didn’t end up as kindling, slips of wood simply do not last more than a thousand years in the alternating humidity and dryness of that region. And there you go; no centuries long ‘dark age’ at all, just a fairly durable fashion to not write on pottery or stone. This is all up for debate, and I deduct no stars for it, even though there are clear logical problems with the ‘dark age’ theory IMO.
What I will deduct a star for is perpetuating the myth that the Spartans killed their disabled young, when the translations were pretty clearly mangled on that one until the last few decades. I will say with some authority they almost always exiled those young into the slave classes that had no political power. That’s not fantastic, but… Murdering fully born babies is very wasteful, and every warrior they had required half a dozen other people to keep them swinging. Every ancient people understood this, even the often pig-headed Spartans.
This also answers an obvious discrepancy in the tale of the battle of Thermopylae. Many versions of that tale recount how a relative of a warrior (perhaps Leonidas himself) who was variously described as disabled and thus relegated to support, betrayed them in his resentment to the Persians. It’s kind of hard for someone to be infanticided and also fully grown enough to betray their countrymen, is it not?
A relatively recent film adaptation of these events was done by some people who were also very fond of this outdated theory, but they wanted to keep that character AND the infanticide, so they just made a weird exception for this one pivotal character. Oh, they also made him extra ugly, I guess to try and prove the rule with an illogical exception to it. That was pretty stupid, but this book comes out more than 15 years later! It’s inexcusable that you don’t even present this myth as being up for debate.
And here I am, a lover of Athens, defending Sparta. What a world.
Look, the rest of the book works well, and the other flaws I found were minor quibbles compared to that one. The scholarship is generally sound and modern; for instance, Alexander is accurately portrayed as sort of a drunken slutty disaster bisexual. But that Spartan infanticide thing is not only a myth, but a rather destructive one, and perpetuating it is deeply problematic. As it accomplished it’s aims in all other respects, this would be a 4.5-5 star book otherwise. It accomplishes the task it sets out to do, and that’s what a five star breezy history looks like. But with that flaw? I may be too generous giving it four.
December 25, 2023
Now I want to visit Greece
Beginning with a connection to words that end in “logy”, the author explains the Greek origin that roughly translates to logos and is related to ideas on reason, order, logic, and word power, and this becomes the central guide for the narrative.
This book is a simple source for Ancient Greece.
This book is for non-specialist readers interested in Greece and history.
It begins with a brief history of Greece throughout the ages, talking about different civilizations and their contributions.
The book talks about the struggles of archaeology such as the difficulty in translating earlier writings, and the pioneering efforts in academia to break through such barriers, giving the reader an appreciation for what has been learned thus far.
I appreciated the context for many of the stories I grew up with, such as which age they existed in (like Troy, Thermopylae, Alexander The Great etc)…and I think that is the magic of this book…the author takes what many of us could and would find fascinating, and captures those elements in a comprehensive, giving Greece a full blossom of richness.
The author didn’t only discuss the history of Greece, but also the history of the archaeological efforts, giving this book a well-researched appeal.
One of the interesting discussion points in this book includes the rise of Polis, because that is an origin of interest. The author talks about this concept in a simple language, making it easy to understand.
There were so many interesting details that came to light, like, what gave Xerxes I the edge to defeat the Greeks at Thermopylae? I found myself speaking out loud a lot saying such things as “no kidding!”
I enjoyed this book so much I bought a hardback for my personal library. If I could, I’d give this book 6 out of 5 stars.
Beginning with a connection to words that end in “logy”, the author explains the Greek origin that roughly translates to logos and is related to ideas on reason, order, logic, and word power, and this becomes the central guide for the narrative.
This book is a simple source for Ancient Greece.
This book is for non-specialist readers interested in Greece and history.
It begins with a brief history of Greece throughout the ages, talking about different civilizations and their contributions.
The book talks about the struggles of archaeology such as the difficulty in translating earlier writings, and the pioneering efforts in academia to break through such barriers, giving the reader an appreciation for what has been learned thus far.
I appreciated the context for many of the stories I grew up with, such as which age they existed in (like Troy, Thermopylae, Alexander The Great etc)…and I think that is the magic of this book…the author takes what many of us could and would find fascinating, and captures those elements in a comprehensive, giving Greece a full blossom of richness.
The author didn’t only discuss the history of Greece, but also the history of the archaeological efforts, giving this book a well-researched appeal.
One of the interesting discussion points in this book includes the rise of Polis, because that is an origin of interest. The author talks about this concept in a simple language, making it easy to understand.
There were so many interesting details that came to light, like, what gave Xerxes I the edge to defeat the Greeks at Thermopylae? I found myself speaking out loud a lot saying such things as “no kidding!”
I enjoyed this book so much I bought a hardback for my personal library. If I could, I’d give this book 6 out of 5 stars.
February 22, 2024
Excellent read of Greek History
If my teacher tought history like this I would've had better grades at school. Aeon History does an excellent job and giving us some fantastic ancient Greek history. The gems in Greek history I never knew such as their culture, food, extra details on certain warfare. Very well written, easy to understand and follow.
If my teacher tought history like this I would've had better grades at school. Aeon History does an excellent job and giving us some fantastic ancient Greek history. The gems in Greek history I never knew such as their culture, food, extra details on certain warfare. Very well written, easy to understand and follow.
May 22, 2024
Totally Love
I totally love this book ! My undergrad was in history , so this topic is close and near to my heart . It’s been many decades since my college years and this book brought it all back in an interesting format . It is totally thorough and an easy read without the dense scholarly language. Really enjoyed this . A+
I totally love this book ! My undergrad was in history , so this topic is close and near to my heart . It’s been many decades since my college years and this book brought it all back in an interesting format . It is totally thorough and an easy read without the dense scholarly language. Really enjoyed this . A+
May 25, 2024
Discover the influence of Ancient Greece in the modern world
Gain a deeper understanding of how Ancient Greece influenced art, architecture, and academia. I especially enjoyed learning more about the rise and fall of the Bronze Age, Crete, Homer, and philosophy. Recommended read for those desiring a deeper understanding of Ancient Greece.
Gain a deeper understanding of how Ancient Greece influenced art, architecture, and academia. I especially enjoyed learning more about the rise and fall of the Bronze Age, Crete, Homer, and philosophy. Recommended read for those desiring a deeper understanding of Ancient Greece.
March 22, 2024
Organized and beautiful
This was a beautifully researched and organized history book. It was easy to read with an easy-to-follow flow. The amount of research and depth given to each period made Mr confident in its accuracy. Highly recommend for those who love history!
This was a beautifully researched and organized history book. It was easy to read with an easy-to-follow flow. The amount of research and depth given to each period made Mr confident in its accuracy. Highly recommend for those who love history!
March 7, 2024
Fun to read
I love history, and it's always fun to read new information or new perspectives and ideas. This book is very straightforward and concise on information. Loved it <3
I love history, and it's always fun to read new information or new perspectives and ideas. This book is very straightforward and concise on information. Loved it <3
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews