Greek to Us: The Fascinating Ancient Greek That Shapes Our World

by John Davie, Harry Mount - foreword

Bloomsbury presents Greek To The Fascinating Ancient Greek That Shapes Our World, written and read by John Davie

Ancient Greek lives on in our culture in surprising ways. Sometimes funny - the word for an actor, hupokrites, gives us ‘hypocrite’; sometimes beautiful - an astronaut is literally a sailor of the skies. And that’s before we get to the myths which gave us our Achilles heel or our Midas Touch. And what about crocodile tears, which comes from the Greek’s belief that crocodiles cried while eating their victims!

This is a learned but always entertaining journey through the world of the Ancient Greeks, their extraordinary language and how it has shaped our own understanding of the world today. After all, what is language but the frame through which we understand the world? Davie aims to bring more than just humour, he seeks to trace the thread of ancient Greek thought that runs through our own civilization, always with the lightness of touch and fascinating etymology. We meet Eros and Aphrodite, Alexander the Great and Oscar Wilde, the stoics, Epicurus and Sparta.

While this is a book about language and the touching and illuminating presence of the ancient Greeks in our current words, it’s also about how Ancient Greece shapes our culture today.

Genres: History

Audible Audio

Published November 6, 2025

Reviews

[Gerald Matzke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having studied Greek as part of my seminary training, I was fascinated by the premise of this book. The subtitle suggests a look at Greek and how it has shaped our world. The author starts with a look at Greek philosophy which just about caused me to set this book aside but after that he moved on to other more practical topics that actually did play a role in shaping our attitudes and vocabulary. I particularly enjoyed the section on the beginnings of the Olympic Games and the concluding sections on Greek architecture and sculpture. This was an interesting book that I would recommend to anyone who is interested in ancient cultures and the Greek language and its history.

[Kel · Rating 2 out of 5]

What I wanted: A language-focused look at how Ancient Greek has left its traces in contemporary Western culture.

What I got: A general history of ancient Greece that only briefly nods towards language on occasion, has that "written 50 years ago" flavor, and made me perceive with my own eyes the sentence "Sappho is associated with lesbianism . . . but was married to a man . . . by whom she had a daughter" in a work of the humanities in the year of our lord 2026. My tone-deaf sibling in Christ, go read some Adrienne Rich; I'm outta here.

[Margo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Organized by topics, this has a wealth of Greek word origins, but also delves into how the Greeks lived. The author does a solid job of showing how many of the concepts of Greek life still reverberate today. An interesting book for those interested in learning about ancient Greek culture and language.

[Sabrina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some interesting facts but not so sure about some of the pronunciations.

[Payton Slobodzian · Rating 2 out of 5]

Man had the same profound takes on the roots behind words as I did when I was 8 years old and learning about prefixes and suffixes for the first time.