Ancient Greece: A Concise History

by Peter Green

Discusses the intellectual and political developments that distinguished the country's history from the beginnings of Minoan culture to the death of Alexander

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Ancient History, Greece

192 pages, Paperback

Published September 14, 2005

About the author

There is more than one author by this name in the database.

Peter Morris Green was a British classical scholar and novelist noted for his works on the Greco-Persian Wars, Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic Age of ancient history, generally regarded as spanning the era from the death of Alexander in 323 BC up to either the date of the Battle of Actium or the death of Augustus in 14 AD.

Reviews

[Lloyd Downey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had thought that this book might be an easily digested summary of ancient Greek History....suitable for my son who will be studying ancient history next year. However, after reading it, I must say that I have changed my mind. I have read another book by the author, Peter Green, which was titled "The Year of Salamis" but re-printings have been titled "the Greco-Persian Wars" and I found this superb. The current book is also good and has lots of B&W photos to illustrate it. However, it is a big subject to cover in a short book and inevitably things get either short shrift (eg Marathon and Thermopylae) or else one gets lost in a series of power struggles where leadership changes hands a bit too fast to follow. I did learn quite a lot, however, from reading the book. For example, Green makes the point that "throughout the Aegean world there existed an international and often intermarried networks of upper-class elitists, who had far more in common with each other than any of them did with their own democratic governments". The other thing that Green reports on ...sometimes to the extent of it becoming rather tiresome and hard to follow.....is that there tended to be a constant see-sawing of control between the aristocrats and the yeoman farmers and citizens. Certainly, there appeared to be very few periods of real peace. And a constant string of talented leaders seemed to find themselves being banished. This often seemed to be counterproductive as these talented banished (ostracized) individuals often seemed to take up with the enemy.
Green covers a vast expanse of Greek history from around 2000 BC to Alexander the Great's death in 323 BC. He manages to interweave the poets and dramatists into the narrative...linking their writings with the political events of the moment. But I did find it interesting that the major events in received Greek History such as the Battle of Marathon, the Naval battles at Salamis, the contributions of Plato and Aristotle and Alexander the Great are covered-off rather briefly. And maybe this is really a strength of the book that it keeps a sense of perspective.
Another thing that impressed me was the difficulty of getting agreement on just about anything by the polis.....there always seemed to be a powerful opposing body with a different viewpoint. Certainly, the democracy that we know today is rather different to the democracy that operated in Athens about 400 BC.
All in all, a good overview of ancient greek history....but probably not all that great for a 15 year old. I give it four stars.

[Eugene Kernes · Rating 3 out of 5]

A history book of ancient Greece told mainly through art. Art found in the growth of cities, development of political units, authoritarianism, democracy, and back to authoritarianism. Much like every early people, the environment shaped the way Greek society evolved. As the Greeks became masters of their environment, their god’s lost prominence as their omnipotence was less needed. When they could not economically support the populous within their borders, the cities started to trade with others or conquered colonies to provide the needed resources.

Different philosophies and explanations were welcome as they competed on merit rather than theological expressions. Reason became a prominent factor as it allowed people to conquer nature. The rise of political offices gave rise to who should take office. Experimentation with voting in members on a temporary basis, while those who were favored but not voted in were considered tyrants. Problems within the democratic decision making created the catalysts to many tyrants. When a centralized tyrant divided the lands and tribes, the new tribes created a council which became the de facto governing body brining with it a matured democracy. The wars with Persians were the impetus for centralized governing body which brought back authoritarian rule.

The book is generally well written but with poor transitions between ideas. Being a concise history means that many ideas are given only a brief explanation. Although Greek culture and philosophy did and does influence much of the world, the author avoids referencing external cultural influences that Greece had thereby continuing many myths of Greek originality and superiority during those times. Events and actions done by the Greeks is mainly seen only in positive and beneficiary terminology, while the costs of those events and actions are neglected.

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant introduction to Ancient Greece, with lots of illustrations well matched to the text. Written with passion and wit, it covers the early times to the classical, the myths and religion, politics and war, and the rise of philosophy and rationalism. Highly recommended.

[Jonah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found the beginning to be a bit dry, and to assume a decent amount of pre-existing knowledge. I enjoyed the latter half more (Persian Wars onwards, especially the segment on the development of democracy in Athens) - overall, this book provides an informative though cursory introduction to Greek history before the Hellenistic period.

[Banbury · Rating 4 out of 5]

This small book provides a concise historical narrative, as well as context, insight, and compelling analysis of historical forces and human motives. The illustrations match the text, and the maps, although not quite as detailed as one might like, are better than most maps that appear in other books.

[Stephen Selbst · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is based on Professor Green's survey course on Greek history. It covers a broad span of ancient history, from prehistoric times to Alexander the Great. It is thus necessarily short on depth. But it is a useful way for non-academic readers to get an overview of the times covered.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very concise and accessible (if slightly dated) history of the major civilizations of the Greek world. The descriptions of the Minoan culture were especially interesting to me; I didn't know much about them besides the name and the legend of the Labyrinth, but they had such an apparently unique society that now I'm curious to learn more.

[James S. · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good basic overview of Greek history from Minoan Crete to Alexander. Peter Green has a flexible, highly readable prose style that complements his vast learning. I especially appreciated his rather ironic treatment of the "glories" of Periclean Athens.

My only negative comment would be that overall, like most such surveys, I felt that this book suffered somewhat from a rushed pace.

[Brian Bojo]

Concise overview of Greek history from the Minoan civilization through Alexander the Great. The best feature were the illustrations of artifacts that have been unearthed and that pertain to the period of history being described.

[Hancock · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book contains 170 pages with 208 illustrations and maps. It covers about 1300 years of Greek history. All of this is to say that a great number of years were covered in very few highly illustrated pages.

[Albie]

Ancient Greece: A Concise History by Peter Green (1979)

[Alisha Brook · Rating 3 out of 5]

Title: Ancient Greece: A Concise History
Series: -
Author: Peter Green
Genre: Educational
Rating: 3 stars

Review to come.

[Diocletian · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable though concise overview of Ancient Greek history. They should have named this book "Ancient Greece in a nutshell."

[probably · Rating 3 out of 5]

If only the author could offer clarity and accessibility to match his knowledge and insights.

[Aneece · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent. Concise.