Ancient Greece: A History From Beginning to End

by Hourly History

Ancient Greece * * *Download for FREE on Kindle Unlimited + Free BONUS Inside!* * * Read On Your Computer, MAC, Smartphone, Kindle Reader, iPad, or Tablet. Ancient Greece was the birthplace of advances in government, art, philosophy, science, and architecture—all of which continue to influence the world today. Warriors and diplomats, scientists, artists, and the first comedians; the achievements of this ancient society have formed a strong foundation to be built upon by later cultures. Inside you will read about... ✓ Mount Olympus ✓ Polis ✓ Athens and Sparta ✓ Literature ✓ Philosophy ✓ Art and Architecture ✓ Science And much more! From the ancient origins of the Olympic Games through to art, architecture, language, and even the very way we view and investigate the world around us, the legacy of the culture and civilization of ancient Greece still burns brightly in the modern world.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Ancient History, Ebooks, Historical, European History

102 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 30, 2017

About the author

At Hourly History, we focus on publishing history books that are concise, straightforward and take no longer than one hour to read.

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Reviews

[Michael Grenier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ancient Greece

A great primer for the students of ancient history.
Filled with facts and novelties.
Enjoyed this book.
Read it during the Olympics, I give it a bronze. ;)

[LR · Rating 4 out of 5]

A simple and small guide to the impact Ancient Greece has had on our society. Also, another book added to my reading challenge! 11/12 completed!

[Dr.J.G. · Rating 3 out of 5]

One expects to find more of Greek history when opening this book to read. But it's do far from that, author omits mention of even Alexander, the most famous Greek, and his exploits and conquests. Excusing this by calling him Macedonian is about as reasonable as omitting George Bernard Shaw from list of great authors in English literature and giving the technical excuse of his Irish origin.

Instead, there's a smorgasbord of summing up of everything known and thought about the Greek heritage of Western knowledge, thought, literature, art, philosophy et al.

There are some obvious mistakes, too, such as crediting "looking a gift horse in the mouth" to Homer's account of Trojan War and Trojan Horse.

And there are serious lapses, too, such as failure in explaining why the Greek symbol of "the snake-entwined staff of Asclepius" represents the discipline of medicine or healing.

Or presumptions, such as concluding that the reports about Colossus straddling the harbour, or Hanging Gardens, must have been untrue.

Author fails to explore the obvious connection of thought, philosophy and science of Greeks with the richest culture of antiquity, India, via Silk Road trade and via seafaring Levant through Indian Ocean to Southwest coast of India.

But then, author never mentions the Egyptian heritage of Greece either.

So - an excellent effort by, say, a high school student from the bible belt, but if the author is any better than that, seriously this volume deserved a better effort by a better author.
***

"The Greek vision of the afterlife saw a dark river barring the crossing of lost souls. The place of punishment for the evil spirits was known as Tartarus. One spirit in Tartarus was said to have been set the task of rolling a large boulder to the top of a hill. At the end of his strenuous effort, as success seems within reach, the rock tumbles inexorably back to the base of the hill. Another tortured soul must endure constant thirst and hunger while standing in water and surrounded by grape vines, both of which are just beyond his desperate grasp. Lessons in futility harshly taught by gods as flawed as their worshippers."

Said by church followers, because being born guilty is a flawless doctrine, of course?
***

"Their ruse resulted in the use of the term “Trojan Horse” to mean any subterfuge where a seemingly innocuous and even beneficial package is used to conceal an attack. This is standard terminology involving viral attacks on computer systems that occur all too often in today’s world. Similar exhortations have survived in pieces of common wisdom such as “beware of Greeks bearing gifts,” and “look a gift horse in the mouth.” They encourage us to think twice when something appears too good to be true."

Actually, the last mentioned is from the more mundane cheating experienced at old style horse markets in old days, when looking at teeth would give a better estimate of the horse's age, and doing so was routine.
***

" ... Faced with the ruined walls of this city, historians were also confronted with a question; what else in these fantastic tales, passed down like a legacy for centuries, had been built on a foundation of truth?"

Far more than West is willing to contemplate, especially in case of ancient literature of India.
***

"His most famous existing work is a trilogy known collectively as The Oresteia. The three plays were; Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers, and The Eumenides. Each of the three stories detailed a compelling story of sorrowful fate, and combined to form an overarching tragic vision. Aeschylus’s play, The Persians is unique, in that the author fought in the battle of Salamis, the battle described in the story. It is also interesting that it is told from the viewpoint of the defeated Persians, rather than the Athenians in the original audience. This structure made the play a study in how we handle both victory and defeat."

It's only hubris that made West label Homer's work as imaginary, rather than documented history, despite two separate authors having created works of literature around the character of Agamemnon.
***

"Traditionally, there has been a desire for a life of rational thought. This desire to make sense out of the world in a way that was more comprehensible and predictable than the whims of the gods would eventually lead to the scientific discoveries of today. For example, Democritus believed in the existence of the atom as the invisible building block of the material world, thousands of years before modern scientists developed linear particle accelerators to explore subatomic particles. ... "

Actually, Greeks received works from India via manuscripts copied by Arab traders, who valued them, and were in a position to do so, as thry were plying the Silk Road and, too, seafaring to Southwest coast of India for trade.


" ... Socrates brought a debate about what entailed a good life, and the purpose of our lives. Plato’s Atlantis was a vision of an advanced society that once had existed; a lost world of prosperity and enlightenment, swallowed by the sea as punishment for prideful behavior. Explorers are still searching for the site of the mythic drowned civilization in waters around the world."

Again, it's hubris labelling it myth, while being credulous regarding everything preached on weekly basis from a pulpit is evidence of a mindset terrified by inquisition into accepting everything despite evidence and logic to the contrary.
***

"The other foreign wonder to make the list was the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, supposedly built by King Nebuchadnezzar for his young wife. Scholars today are uncertain as to the actual location of the hanging gardens, and it is argued that they may never have actually existed. ... "

Why not use that logic regarding a man whose tomb isn't located in two millennia, but instead believe that he was seen rising with body to heaven, just because accounts approved by church say so?

Do the manuscripts discovered in recent decades, preserved by desert for two millennia and thus saved destruction by church, say so?
***

"The Colossus of Rhodes was the tallest statue the world had ever seen to this point and reached as high as the Statue of Liberty. It was supposed in legend to have stood straddling the harbor at Rhodes. This pose was the inspiration for Shakespeare’s description of Julius Caesar as bestriding the world like a colossus. Most scholars agree that this would not have been possible structurally and suggest instead that the Colossus was built standing to one side of the harbor entrance. ... "

Did those scholars know and understand everything about seas rising as a result of oceans warming, for example?
***

"The Mausoleum of Halicarnassus was the inspiration for the funereal monuments of this name. The site of the mausoleum, Halikarnassos, was on the coast of the Mediterranean, in what is now Turkey. This enormous and extravagant tomb was built by King Mausolus and his sister Artemisia II of Caria. The two would spare no expense and hired imaginative architects, Satyros and Pythius, to design the structure. The tomb was multiple stories tall, with the burial chamber in the base. Every bit of it was decorated with carved friezes and ornate statues of the royal couple, along with figures of gods and heroes of myth. At the top was a full-size statue of Mausolus and Artemisia driving a chariot and team of four horses. The tomb stood intact for over a thousand years and is the second longest lasting of the original seven wonders. It was eventually destroyed when, in 1522, the knights of St. John used the stones from the tomb to reinforce their own castle at Bodrum, and ground down the irreplaceable ancient marble statues to make plaster."

Does one need any other evidence, of which there are plenty, to know that this and later abrahmic creeds are destructive of culture and knowledge?
***

"Antipater was not the only one impressed. Pilgrims traveled from all over the Mediterranean area to worship the goddess in her prize temple. The famous writer, Pliny the Elder, also praised the great temple. He recorded the temple as 425 feet in length and 225 feet high. The roof, he wrote, was held by 125 marble columns that were themselves 60 feet tall. It was built entirely of marble, but the wooden roof supports would be the temple’s literal downfall when they were purposefully set aflame, and the temple was destroyed in 268 CE."

Why does author refrain from mentioning the identity of exactly who was it that "temple was destroyed" by?
***

"The Greeks were skilled healers. Their medical knowledge and technology were advanced. The healing art was celebrated as a gift from the gods. The Greek god of healing, Asclepius, was worshiped in shrines all around Greece. People suffering from ills of injury would journey to these shrines in hopes of being healed. It was believed that a night spent sleeping in the temple would bring the healing presence of the god in a dream. Of course, skilled human physicians also served at these shrines, and tended to the worshippers. Ritual offerings have been discovered of stone-carved body parts that were dedicated to the god, in hopes of receiving specific healing. ... "

Surely patients and their families did not wait for carvings in stone before seeking help? Those must have been offerings in gratitude by the cured, if they could afford the extra bit.
***

" ... The caduceus, the snake-entwined staff of Asclepius, is a symbol associated with medicine today."

Why West does not question that very concept, "the snake-entwined staff of Asclepius" as symbol for medicine, can only be due to church seeking yo obliterate knowledge.

Church, with its theology and thought received from an earlier abrahmic culture, sees serpents and snakes as symbol of evil manipulation. But that, precisely, makes no sense in relation with this concept of healing.

India on the other hand has very different thinking and understanding of both - serpent or snake on one hand, and matters related to human bring on the other.

And the said Greek symbol of "the snake-entwined staff of Asclepius" is immediately obvious if - and only if - one is conversant with Indian philosophy and more, but makes no sense whatsoever in context of a biblical culture on the other hand.
***

"One of the most influential medical scholars of ancient times was Galen of Pergamum. Aelius Galenus or Claudius Galenus was born in 129 AD, in Pergamum. He was to become a prominent Greek physician, surgeon, and philosopher in the Roman Empire. Galen was perhaps the most accomplished of all medical practitioners of the ancient world. ... "

Read that "western ancient world", since the author seems ignorant about the rest.
***

"The son of a wealthy architect, Galen received a comprehensive education that prepared him for a successful career as a physician and philosopher. Galen traveled around the Mediterranean, studying a broad range of the medical theories and discoveries of the day. Galen settled for a time in Rome, where he served prominent members of Roman society and eventually was given the honored position of private physician to several emperors."

Hence the fame.
***

"Galen's understanding of structure and medicine was primarily influenced by the then-current theory of humorism. People believed that a surplus or lack of these vital bodily fluids, or humors, were the cause of most illness. The humors included black bile, yellow bile, blood, and phlegm.... "

It does seem to stem from Aayurveda of India, albeit he changes it to four and deletes Vaata.
***

"Although Galen is the most famous of the medical theorists in the ancient world, one man was working years before him. Herophilus is known as the Father of Anatomy. He was working in Alexandria, Egypt when the great Library of Alexandria was the center for learning in the known world. Egypt, with its ancient practice of mummification, did not outlaw the dissection of human corpses at this time, and Herophilus was able to study the human body more intimately than Galen was ever able to do. If the treatises he is known to have written had not been lost when the library was burned, the science of medicine might have advanced more quickly, and modern physicians might have even greater innovations available in the treatment of their patients."

Wasn't the said library destroyed by Christians, seeking to impose their creed as the only thing to be respected, and shunning of all knowledge?
****

[Alyssa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Woowww. Just WOW😍😍

[Thom Swennes · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Painting is silent poetry, and poetry is paintings that speak.” -Plutarch-
This book takes you to a place that dreams and fantasies flourish. It takes you back to a time gods such as Zeus, the goddess Hera were revered and worshiped; to a time that the human body and athletic prowess were venerated. Countless gods and goddesses called Mt. Olympus, the highest mountain in Greece (2917 meters from sea level) their home. One can’t study ancient Greece without taking these mythological beings into account, as they formed such an intricate part of primordial Greek life. Even later civilizations, such as the Romans, took these Greek gods, giving them Roman names and continuing the practices of their Greek neighbors, as they brought a deep level of anthropomorphism to their spiritual beliefs.
Ancient Greece wasn’t a united country as it is today, but rather made up of a number of city-states, some ruled by kings and others controlled by oligarchies. Conflicts occasionally broke out between these city-states such as the war waged between Athens and their neighbor Sparta. The world has much to be thankful for in regards to ancient Greece. Most medicine and medical terminology, as well as literature, philosophy, art, architecture, geography, and geology, can be attributed to early Greece, as also can the concept of democracy.
I found this book fascinating on many levels. As with other books in this series, this chronicle provides the reader with a taste of what could be learned through a more complete and in-depth investigation of primeval Greece. Like all of the books I highly recommend it for readers of all ages.

[Mark Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Useful Overview

This is meant to be a bird’s-eye view of Ancient Greece, and it fulfills that role adequately. The writing is sometimes stilted, and seems to have been carved piece-by-piece out of some larger and more-detailed work, but it does the job.
I wanted a quick overview to get myself oriented before diving into a more in-depth history, and I think this will do the trick.
And it’s short enough that if you want to review a particular aspect of the time (such as Philosophy, or Literature) you can easily re-read the appropriate chapter in a short while.

[Tom Cross · Rating 1 out of 5]

Terrible book. Contains very little of actual history. Mostly talks about gods, architecture and philosophy. Very little worthwhile. Disappointing.

[Anirudh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Greece is fascinating – it is nearly impossible to completely avoid Greek influence in various things you read, watch or do – if you are a sports enthusiast, there is the Olympic Games influenced by Greek tradition, mathematics is full of Greek symbols owing to the early discoveries by Greeks in the subject, literature has a lot of ancient Greek influences, among various other things as the list goes on. This is a short compilation of some of the important aspects of Ancient Greece by Hourly history.

The first thing that the book started with was describing the various characters of the Greek mythology and their importance to the locals. The next the book tried and established was that Greece back then was no a homogenous unit as it is today, and the city states (Athens, Sparta, etc.) were often hostile to each other and united only in case of facing a common enemy – Darius and Xerxes of Persia. Followed by that, there were elaborate descriptions of the two most famous cities, being Athens and Sparta, followed by Literature, philosophy, art and architecture and science, in Ancient Greece.

I liked how the book was structured, that it had a short five page focus on all the major aspects. It also established how ancient Greece was run and the various types of Governments that were present throughout – some with tyrants and some being democracies (a word whose etymology has Greek origins). I am also glad that the focus was not entirely on mythology, for that has been highly popularised by Hollywood and in my case, by games (Age of Mythology was my first encounter with Ancient Greece). The book touches upon most of the famous aspects of ancient Greece, being the Colossus of Rhodes, Archimedes, the war against Persia, etc and thus, they chose the right topics.

I don’t have any major flaws to pick, with this book, maybe they could have made a passing mention of Alexander of Macedonia, perhaps the most famous emperor of Ancient Greece but then, that would probably be a biography of its own from Hourly History.

I would award the book a rating of four on five.

[Jerry Jares · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book tried to touch on everything that the Greeks have given us - from the Olympic Games to democracy - plus a quick summary of their history and wars. I learned a great deal about different aspects of Greek culture. One thing I learned was that the Olympic Games started in 775 BCE with a single footrace.
  
This book didn't tell why the games stopped and why they were reinstituted.  I found out that the games became less important as the Romans gained power and influence in Greece.  Scholars indicate that the most often listed date for their end was 393 AD when (Roman) Emperor Theodosius I eliminated all pagan cults and practices.

Baron Pierre de Caubertin created the International Olympic Committee in 1894, with the idea of reinstating the games in 1986.  At that time, the Committee decided that the games should be moved every 4 years.

This book makes an interesting statement that the Romans adopted the Greek mythology and their vision of the afterlife "wholesale."  This book makes an interesting observation that even today, we routinely make movies of Greek history (they mention the recent movies, Troy, Wrath of the Titans, and 300).

 While discussing Greek wars, the book gave a great explanation of Greek warships "triremes" -- with  3 banks of oars.  Because they did not have guns, they rammed other ships, in order to capsize, ground or sink them.

It is hard to imagine that the Greeks were so accomplished, considering how long ago they lived.  This book talks about the great Greek healer, Galen; Strabo, the Greek geographer and geologist; and Archimedes (of Syracuse) the accomplished mathematician who was even famous in his own time.  They taught the basic principles of their sciences and other cultures have been able to build on the firm basis they established. 


 

[Laura Uphold · Rating 5 out of 5]

Matty is the best!

He brings the ancient world to life. In his works about the lives of every day people he builds an amazingly detailed picture. His book "A year in ancient Athens" is an intimate look into that world. The people are fictional, but they are based on detailed research. The end of the story for these people that I've come to know and care about is not death, but an uncertain though optimistic future. All of Matty's books and stories are like that. Thank you Sir, for your hard work and wonderful glimpses into our past.

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

For me, this was basically a refresher course of topics I'd learned in school many years ago. Well organized and easy to read. Had it been a little longer, I'd have appreciated more history of the cities and Greek Islands. A light, reintroduction in to ancient Greek history, the gods and philosophers. This short read doesn't get bogged down in details or terminology that might overwhelm some readers

[Molly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was so amazing and so cool that I wish I could rate it higher. I certainly learned more from this small, basic volume, than I did from the syllabus at school. Thank you Hourly History. What an amazing journey. Can't wait for Ancient Egypt.

[Randolph Rossi · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Greatness of Ancient Greece

In my studies of many years ago, I had learned a great deal about this civilization, so this book was a refresher of that knowledge. A very compact and concise study of Ancient Greece.

[All the King's Books · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I am familiar with the idea behind Hourly History, the Greek history is so vast and wide, that trying to cram it in such a short little book, is a feat best not attempted. It deserves more attention than this.

[Tia · Rating 3 out of 5]

The section on the gods was a little underwhelming but given that this is an intro to Ancient Greece as a whole, not just the mythology, I can’t really fault it too much.

I did learn some fun new things though so I’m glad I picked it up!

[Robert · Rating 2 out of 5]

I felt this was one of the worst of the Hourly History books.

It pretty much just gives a brief and shallow paragraphs on random ancient Greece related topics, but there is no common thread or attempt to tie things together.

[Vera Mottino · Rating 5 out of 5]

ANCIENT GREECE IN A NUTSHELL

A brief compendium of the history of classical Greece and its contribution to the history and mindset of the Western world.

[Abhishek · Rating 5 out of 5]

Its nice !

[Gary L. Blodgett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written. As always, the history without all the detail.

[Javier Coronel Baracaldo · Rating 5 out of 5]

For being a light read, it's full of interesting details. I loved the book and all the references to things we say/know in modern times and that are from greek origin.

[Barry · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't expect much from Hourly History but this one is really . . . something

[Gadi Nissim · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good appetizer


This is a nice book if you don't have much time and you want to have an appetizer to ancient Greece.

[Robin Dix · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful learning new things about such a great country!

[Jean Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was interesting, telling me some things I didn't know or had forgotten. Makes me want to read more about Greece.

[x x x · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good

Fairly current with good references to popular and new discoveries. Nice description of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

[Gary Norberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

These make nice intro books that can be read in a short time. This one has inspired me to learn more about ancient Greece. The playwrights, philosophers, scientists, and anything I can learn about it

[Barbara J · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great info

Could not put these books down. I absolutely loved them and found the information very interesting and amazing all at the same time.

[Kel loves books]

This one was really informative!

[Julie Browning · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good synopsis of Greece's contributions to Western Civilization.

[Gabby · Rating 4 out of 5]

informative!

Concise and interesting look at many areas of Ancient Greece from the philosophy, art and culture to war. It is a good basic look into all areas that allows you to find parts and areas of the world that you enjoy or want to learn more about.