Thalassa

by Fik Meijer

374 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 2, 2026

About the author

Fredericus Joannes Antonius Maria "Fik" Meijer is a Dutch historian and author. He studied classics and ancient history at Leiden University and graduated in 1973. Meijer is an emeritus professor of ancient history at the University of Amsterdam.

He has written numerous non-fiction books on the ancient world for a broad audience, a number of which have been translated into multiple languages. He has also published several translations of classic works into Dutch.

Reviews

[Merijn Backx · Rating 4 out of 5]

I very much enjoyed reading Fik Meijer’s book where he says his goodbyes to the Mediterranean Thalassa that has meant to much to him, his wife, his friends and family. I loved how the different roles of the sea came out. Transport of slaves, of wine, of oil, of animals (at shocking scale), of art, of navies, of armies, of explorers (even beyond the columns of Heracles. The environmental changes described of the sea life are a bit sad but real. Wonderful to read through the historic references, facts and stories. You can imagine how busy it must have been in the ports. A book of memories but also one of resilience after disaster struck. Thank you for writing such a personal story. I was touched by the closing sentence.