The Greek Achievement: The Foundation of the Western World

by Charles Freeman

Charles Freeman 's The Greek Achievement traces the entire course of ancient Greek history across thousands of years--from the Mycenaean and Minoan civilizations of the Bronze Age through the Archaic, Classical, Hellenistic, and Roman periods. This brilliant account celebrates the incredible range of Greek the architectural marvels of the Athenian Acropolis; the birth of drama and the timeless tragedies of Aeschylus, Euripides , and Sophocles ; Homer 's epics; the philosophical revolutions of Plato and Aristotle ; and the conquests of Alexander the Great . Lavishly illustrated with photographs and maps, The Greek Achievement paints a sweeping panorama of the ancient Greeks' world and provides a rich, contemporary overview of their enduring contribution to world civilization.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Ancient History, Greece, Cultural, Philosophy, Ancient

494 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Charles Freeman is a freelance academic historian with wide interests in the history of European culture and thought. He is the author of the highly acclaimed Egypt, Greece and Rome, Civilizations of the Ancient Mediterranean. He has followed this up with The Greek Achievement (Penguin 1999), The Legacy of Ancient Egypt (Facts on File, 1997) and The Closing of the Western Mind, a study of the relationship between Greek philosophy and Christianity in the fourth century and beyond. His The Horses of St. Mark’s (Little Brown, 2004) is a study of these famous works of art in their historical contexts over the centuries. In 2003, Charles Freeman was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.

Reviews

[Michael Huang · Rating 4 out of 5]

There’s a lot of enthusiasm about Ancient Greece: the mythology, the (political) history, the culture (esp. the philosophy. It’s not an easy subject to write about: what do you emphasize and what to leave out, how do you order the narrative, by subject or chronology? This book started from the Minoan and Mycenaean civilization, continued through to the Roman time. You get a review of the major political events: the Persian Wars, the Peloponnesian war, Alexander’s conquest and the Hellenistic world, the rise of Rome and Caesars, and pretty much ends when Octavian defeated Mark Anthony. Outside (political) history, there’re lots of chapters discussing life and culture: spiritual life, drama festivals, philosophy, medicine, math, and science.

Although a tad long, it’s nonetheless a pretty good summary of the Greek achievement.

[Lauren Hopkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actually a really interesting take on the history of ancient Greece. Fun to read, unlike many of its kind. Goes somewhat briefly into prehistoric Greece, but really kicks into gear with the Archaic period and also covers the Classical and Hellenistic periods really well. Freeman does a good job of not lumping history into time periods, however, and mentions on several occasions the overlap from each era into the next. He does this especially well in terms of putting an end date on Greek civilization; whereas many would say it disappeared with the Roman invasion, Freeman lists a bunch of possible "endings," going as far into the first centuries of the common era, so he's not a stickler for definitive start and end points, which is great. An excellent source for those already knowledgeable of ancient Greece, but it's a perfect guide for beginners as well.

[Lauren Albert · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm starting to think that I need to stop reading general histories. I found this ho-hum. It may not be the fault of the book though. As I said earlier, I would have given the last third of the book a "4." It got more interesting to me when he began discussing the Greek affect on the Romans.

[Tracy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this in preparation for a trip to Greece - and it's a good survey that pays equal attention to straight history along with examination of various aspects of cultural history, including drama, philosophy, mathematics and medicine. I'm not a big fan of military history, so I found some of the chapters focused on the various wars a little slow, but I loved the discussion of Greek theatre and philosophy - Freeman makes me want to revisit Sophocles! Recommended as a good overall introduction to the Greeks and an examination of why they remain influential today. On a side note, I have to say that the cover art completely loses the title and makes the book look incredibly boring and dry - it's not!

[Paige McLoughlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid history of the Greeks through the classical era. Pretty mainstream narrative but one needs that and revise off of if one wishes to revise. Not bad.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

In preparation for our upcoming trip to Greece, this resource provided a chronology of the region and the accomplishments per era.
Acropolis: "high city" is the hill upon which the Parthenon, temple to Athena, was built in the fifth century B.C. Pericles was the man responsible for getting the wonder built.

While the main text was reader-friendly enough, I preferred the Date List pages in the back of the book, which is an overview that begins with the Bronze Age 2000-1600 (when the palace civilizations of Crete become established).
My takeaway is that over the course of history, this region was being constantly fought over, and my head can't process how buildings, art, and sculptures created 2500 years ago still exist today.
Can't wait to see it for myself. Again!

[Banbury · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned a tremendous amount about Ancient Greek history from this book: dates and events, important persons, literature, art, society, etc. Moreover, this book was a joy to read. It sets forth complex and interwoven themes in a clear and engaging manner. Interesting and memorable details are provided, but do not overwhelm the narrative. The sentences and paragraphs flow beautifully. This is just a wonderful book.

[Martin Willoughby · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very readable account of the influence Ancient Greece still has on the west, from its politics through architecture to religion and culture.

[Socraticgadfly · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is my fourth Freeman book to read. The first two were great, but the third was a clunker and so is this.

It's OK on the big picture stuff overall and does get decent, though no more than that, on Greek influence on Rome, but it's got several factual and interpretative errors. Here's the biggies.

Contra Freeman, Olympic winners were crowned with much more than glory and honor in their homeland city states. From Plutarch, we know that cash payments were being made as early as 600 BCE. Other authors report things like free food for life or, what some moderns have called “pension plans” of some sort. Because of this, we know of Olympic cheating by the early 300s BCE. It’s like Freeman is, and willingly, regurgitating a 19th century European myth about Greek athletics even tho his book is ostensibly about refuting such myth from that era. I know that Freeman SHOULD know this, so it’s willfully wrong.

Socrates? The impiety against the gods wasn’t out of the air, but was almost certainly based on his support for the two coups against the democracy. Yes, the judges pronounced a death sentence, but Socrates had the right to pronounce reasonable, non-waggish alternatives, like exile, and chose not to. Socrates was otherwise an elitist. I think Freeman knows that. I know that he SHOULD, as with the Olympics.

No, geocentrism was not “conventional wisdom” at this time, contra Freeman’s talk about Aristotle on astronomy. Some Hellenists proposed a modified geocentrism, where some or all planets orbited the Sun, which then orbited the early. Aristarchus was first known Greek to postulate full heliocentrism. Pythagoreans, before Aristotle, postulated a central fire at center, with Sun, Moon, Earth and other planets all revolving around it.

Finally, no, drama is not an art form unique to the West. Japanese Noh came immediately to mind as a counter-example. While only going back to the 14th century CE, nonetheless, it, contra Freeman, is not copied from Greek or Greek-derived Western forms.

Oh, and per that dating? As in the other 3-star book — and I know Freeman isn't alone here, it's an issue with British historians academic and non-academic alike — please; it's BCE and CE, not BC and AD.

==

Oh, it gets worse, and this is what I get for posting the review before quite done, but yet determined to push the book through to the end.

The chapter on Hellenistic religion and philosophy is pretty horrible.

First, Freeman claims that a codex is more "effective" for storing parchment writing than a scroll. How does he mean more "effective," as he doesn't explain this and offers no evidence.

Second, "imperturbability" is a MUCH better translation of ataxaria than "peacefulness." In addition, contra to his indication by putting ataxaria under discussion of Stoicism, all four of the main Hellenistic philosophies — Cynicism, Epicureanism and Skepticism as well as Stoicism — had ataxaria as a focus and goal.

Third, contra his phrasing, the Torah was part of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) not something separate.

Fourth, per the recent magnum opus of Yonatan Adler, it was NOT "traditional Judaism" that survived the Seleucid Empire via the Maccabean revolt. Rather, it was but a small minority of Jews, even in Palestine, who observed dietary, ritual purity and other mitzvoth enshrined in the Torah. Now, one can arguably give Freeman half a pass on this one, as he wrote more than 20 years before Adler. However, questions about degrees of observance before the Hasmonean kingdom were already in the air back then, so, not a full pass, at minimum.

Finally (I think), while it is true that not all pre-Ptolmaic pharaohs practiced brother-sister or other family member incestuous marriage, some of them did, contra Freeman

With all that, I cut my rating to two stars.

[Piker7977 · Rating 4 out of 5]

From the Bronze Age to Hellenistic time, Charles Freeman answers the key questions about the Ancient Greeks.

Who were they?
Where did they exert their presence?
When were they most influential?
How did they enhance their civilization?
What did they contribute to the West?
Why were they so important to the World?

Instead of delving into a technical and overly academic treatise, Freeman provides an accessible narrative that covers the main events, periods, and figures of the Greeks. The general format is chronological with topics ranging from military history, sociology, science, mathematics, politics, and philosophy. Freeman often incorporates factoids to help illustrate his thesis that the Greeks were the genesis of modern thought and society. Without their contributions and influence, there would have been a weaker Roman Empire, less enlightened Christian philosophy, and a watered down scientific community. Bold propositions but the author is successful in conveying his argument.

[Bernard English · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a solid overview of ancient Greece. However, there are several points at which Freeman makes sweeping statements when comparing the Greek achievement with other cultures, which though they may be true, seem inappropriate simply because he doesn't cite any sources or provide any arguments. For example, "drama is a cultural form which is unique to the West, though copied elsewhere." Maybe--but he doesn't try to convince the reader. Another example comes in the first paragraph of the concluding chapter: " All mathematics everywhere work within a framework whose foundations are Greek." All? Everywhere? Again, maybe, but since he doesn't spend any time examining other scientific traditions, I don't think it is necessary to make such a claim. For a far better appraisal of Greek culture with respect to Near Eastern and Indian culture see The Shape of Ancient Thought. Incidentally, Freeman's other book, The Closing of the Western Mind is far superior to this one, in my view.

[Chris McCloud · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fair account of Greek achievements in politics, philosophy, medicine, mathematics, art/drama, military strategy and pretty much anything else we value in the Western world. Freeman was objective in his analysis by recognizing that Greek culture fell short in establishing the human rights we are familiar with in the 21st century. If you’re looking to understand consequential events and key Greek figures of antiquity, this book is for you.

[Kenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book on the contributions of the Greeks to the western tradition.

[Elli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great survey of a 3000 year civilization. Quite surface level but the further reading section is a great supplement.

[Dan Sotirios Kostopulos · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great overview of the Greeks and how they became THE GREEKS through the birth of Classicism in Enlightenment Germany in the 18th century. I particularly like Freeman’s continuous refusal to idealize the Ancient Greeks as anything other than what they appear to be: war-loving, slave-owning, exceptionalist,misogynistic, and brutal.

[Edward · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good overview of the Greek culture from the Bronze Age to the fall 0f Alexandria in 642 A.D. Sufficient information (maps, chronology, and references) was provided by the author to permit a reader not steeped in Greek history and geography to follow the historical narrative and appreciate the contributions that were made by this culture.

The overview of Athenian "democracy" was a sufficient reminder that it was restricted in its application but unique in contrast to Spartan rule. Treatment of the festivals was in the context of the social functions in maintaining cohesion of the polis was clearly presented. Topics such as the impact that Egyptian culture had on Greece architecture and mythology made the story even more readable. One of the most interesting topics was the impact of the language structure of Greek had on the development of thought and the pursuit of knowledge in comparison to Latin.

A good summary of battles of Marathon and Salmis are provided along with interesting side stories such as Herodotus' historical documentation of it and Aeschylus' participation in it and his subsequent account of the battle in his play "The Persians." The economic and political motivations behind the war with the Persians, the Peloponnesian wars and other conflicts among the Greek city states leading to the rise and demise of Alexander the Great covered at lot of territory and leaders but the maps provided clearly identified the locals where action took place. The historical account of the Greek empire upon Alexander’s death was thoroughly engaging. There were points in the narrative at which the philosophy of Socrates & Plato were elaborated on too extensively for my taste; however the author does a good job in integrating the impact these two philosophers had on subsequent Western science and religion.

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book when I took my upper division level Greek History way back in another lifetime of completing my BS. I kept this book and have referred to it from time to time. One of the best texts for a class that I have read and actually enjoyed outside of novels.

[Mel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A masterful and engaging examination of "what the Greeks did for us" (to misquote Monty Python). Freeman's passion for his work shines through.

[Christopher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book for those looking to brush up on the Greeks.

[Jerry-Book]

An overview of Greek culture.