The Greeks: Lost Civilizations

Lost Civilizations

by Philip Matyszak

This book is a portrait of Ancient Greece—but not as we know it. Few people today appreciate that Greek civilization was spread across the Middle East, or that there were Greek cities in the foothills of the Himalayas. Philip Matyszak tells the lost stories of the Greeks outside Greece, compatriots of luminaries like Sappho, the poet from Lesbos; Archimedes, a native of Syracuse; and Herodotus, who was born in Asia Minor as a subject of the Persian Empire. Stretching from the earliest prehistoric Greek colonies around the Black Sea to Greek settlements in Spain and Italy, through the conquests of Alexander and the glories of the Hellenistic era, to the fall of Byzantium, The Greeks illuminates the lives of the Greek soldiers, statesmen, scientists, and philosophers who laid the foundations of what we call “Greek culture” today—though they seldom, if ever, set foot on the Greek mainland. Instead of following the well-worn path of examining the rise of Athenian democracy and Spartan militarism, this book offers a fresh look at what it meant to be Greek by instead telling the story of the Greeks abroad, from modern-day India to Spain.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Ancient History, Greece

208 pages, Hardcover

Published June 15, 2018

About the author

Philip Matyszak is a British nonfiction author, primarily of historical works relating to ancient Rome. Matyszak has a doctorate in Roman history from St. John's College, Oxford. In addition to being a professional author, he also teaches ancient history for Madingley Hall Institute of Continuing Education, Cambridge University.

Reviews

[Adam McPhee · Rating 2 out of 5]

In some ways this book is bit of a letdown.

Still, his War Nerd episodes are great and his book on the Athenian expedition to Sicily was fantastic. I think I'll stick to Matyszak for books on specific events for now on. Looking forward to reading his book on Sertorius later this summer, maybe.

A number of interesting ideas about what it meant to be Greek. Like how a lot of the people we think of as Greek were Greek culturally but came from outside of the area we know as Greece (Herodotus, Euclid, Archimedes). Or how most forms of what we think of as the heights of Greek civilization–with the strange exception of playwriting–flourished outside of Greece.

Did a slightly longer review of the book here

[Elentarri · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is short and informative, providing a broad, simplified, and somewhat bland, history of Greek Civilization, it's spread and influence.

[Linniegayl · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're looking for a book about classical Greece (think Pericles) this won't be for you. But if you're curious about the spread of Greek influence from Alexander onwards this may interest you.

Honestly, every chapter of this book -- sometimes even subsections -- could easily be a book that I would enjoy reading. As it stands, it's a short, readable book giving readers a general introduction to such groups as the Seleucids and the Ptolemies through to the influence of Hellinism on Rome and onward.

The book is filled with gorgeous photos of various artifacts and buildings. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

[Heik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ontzettend veel woorden en gebruiken hebben wij te danken aan de Grieken.

[Cody · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maybe I'm just spoiled from having just read two excellent accounts of Greek history, but by comparison this book felt lacking in subtlety, nuance and in-depth analysis – at some points detrimentally, even in a book that is clearly intended for the general reader. Aside from the expected glimpses of early mathematicians and philosophers, the focus is by and large on the exploits of generals and the clash of empires, giving this at times a potted great-man history feel. Given the book's primary angle of considering the "Greeks outside Greece" in the wake of Alexander's empire, it would have been nice to hear more about the mechanisms of Hellenistic colonization and the interplay of cultures amid the shifting demographics. Instead, states and empires feel like a given, and at several points I felt that loaded modern concepts were applied without context or qualification (e.g. "nationalistic uprisings" in Ptolemaic Egypt, Macedonia as the period's only "nation-state", political boundaries in the Mediterranean crossed willy-nilly by merchants whose job it was to do so, and the "refreshingly anti-racist" attitude of Greeks as to who may be defined a Hellene). Besides this, the tired characterization of other European peoples as barbarians is perpetuated and barely examined here. Not to be unfair, I stuck with the book in order to fill in gaps on the later period of Greek history and it delivered on that in readable, breezy style. But a lot of the book left me wanting something more or something else.

[Marin · Rating 4 out of 5]

An eloquent summarisation of the immense contribution the ancient Greeks brought to human civilization.
For reasons the book doesn’t discuss, unlike all the other cultures at the time, including the Egyptians, the Greeks stopped being obsessed with religion and were the first to start asking themselves questions and figuring out how the world worked.
A volume like this cannot cover in detail the philosophy schools, the first experiment in democracy, the scientific breakthroughs, the revolution in art (sculpture, drama, literature, etc), architecture, and sport but gives a lot of significant examples. I found it to be a well-written reminder and, in some instances, an eye-opener.
The book follows the historical path of the expansion of the Greek world and ideas and emphasises the fact that most of the Greek writers, inventors, and philosophers were born and lived most of their lives outside the Greek mainland without anyone – ancient or modern – questioning their Greekness.
Cities like Alexandria, Pergamon, Syracuse, and many others were almost entirely Greek.
Unfortunately, the arrival of Christianism and of another religion put a stop to this effervescent culture. The true effect of Greek culture on Western thought had to wait until the Enlightenment.

[Book Grocer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Purchase The Greeks here for just $12!

A book about Greece that focuses on those that lived outside of it, Philip Matyszak examines these people, proving that Greek-ness is as much about way of life as it is location. For those with a love of History.

Elisa, Book Grocer

[Francis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Over Grieken die eigenlijk niet uit Griekenland komen.

Alexander de Grote (Macedonië)

Herodotus (Klein-Azië)

Pythagoras (Zuid-Italië)

Allen zijn ze maar bitter weinig in Griekenland zelf geweest. Toch staan ze bekend als Grieken. Griekenland was namelijk meer dan het landje dat we nu kennen.

Van Egypte tot aan de voet van de Himalaya. Van het eerste Griekse theater in 700 voor Christus tot de val van Constantinopel in 1453. Grieken waren alomtegenwoordig.

Dankzij hun wetenschappelijke nieuwsgierigheid staan we waar we nu staan. Dit is het verhaal van álle Grieken!

[Joanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dit boek is een perfecte inleiding op de Griekse wereld, geschreven vanuit een perspectief dat niet alleen de bekendere kant van de grote steden zoals Athene, Sparta en hun kunst, cultuur en politiek aanstipt, maar vooral de wereld om het Griekenland heen die sterk werd beïnvloed door het hellenisme. Philip Matyszak verteld op chronologische wijze met een tikkeltje humor het verhaal van hoe de Grieken hun stempel hebben achtergelaten van het westen van de Middelandse Zee tot aan India in het oosten.