Children and Childhood in Classical Athens

by Mark Golden

"Mark Golden has produced a superb book, an important substantive and methodological contribution to the social history of ancient Athens and a model for comparable studies."—American Historical Review

Genres: Ancient History, Nonfiction, Greece, History

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

Reviews

[Laurel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Second edition 2015 - good updates from the first edition

Some archaeology but emphasis is history and texts

[Mathew Powers · Rating 3 out of 5]

The research is excellent in regards to his sources and detailing of how he used them. I also enjoy his approach to explain the "typical" history and "typical" analysis, then finding reasons to shoot those conventional ideas down. However, in doing so, he rarely seems to want to form a true thesis and argue it strongly. More-so, when he does, it's not much more solid than the arguments of the historians with whom he disagrees. Furthermore, the chapters are disorganized, notably chapters 4-6 and need far more subsections. At times he goes on tangents that seemingly make the reader forget the original point. Often times, he places his arguments at the beginnings of "sections" then follows up with evidence. Other times he provides pages upon pages of evidence you'd swear is his position, only to find a "however..." come out of nowhere, then a new argument. It's just written in a disjointed fashion. Then, at the end, to make one's last line "I might change my mind" after noting the inconsistent evidence that is available is a serious cop out and generally tells me there wasn't much of a thesis.

With that being said, the data presented is wonderful and his ability to bring reason to arguments that clearly ignored available data is excellent. And, with that, this book is a good source for continued research. It's a great book as "part of the discussion".

So, I gave it a 3 stars and I do think anyone who is interested in this topic or in this field will benefit mightily from reading it. There is quality information in the book, despite my criticisms.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thorough and comprehensive look at this.