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The Classical Greeks
The Golden Age of ancient Greek city-state civilization lasted from 490 to 336 B.C., the period between the first wars against Persia and Carthage and the ascension of Alexander the Great. Never has there been such a multiplication of talents and genius within so limited a period. An astonishing period caught at the height of its powers by an eminent historian. "Michael Grant never fails to be lively and well informed and he has done more, single-handedly, to blow the dust of the classical world than any comparable populariser."--Sunday Times. "Grant is a unique figure among the classical scholars of our time."--Spectator.
337 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 1989
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206 people want to read
About the author
Michael Grant
166 books158 followersMichael Grant was an English classisist, numismatist, and author of numerous popular books on ancient history. His 1956 translation of Tacitus’s Annals of Imperial Rome remains a standard of the work. He once described himself as "one of the very few freelances in the field of ancient history: a rare phenomenon". As a popularizer, his hallmarks were his prolific output and his unwillingness to oversimplify or talk down to his readership.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
March 14, 2019
A visualization of the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus (** below). It soared above the ruins of the city for sixteen centuries before being brought down by a succession of earthquakes from the 12th to the 14th centuries. One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
the author
Michael Grant, the author of this book, was an English classicist. His original research field, by which he obtained his graduate degree, was “academic numismatics”, the study of ancient coins. After WW II, while writing several books on both ancient coinage and ancient history, he held various academic and educational positions at Cambridge, the University of Edinburgh, and the University of Khartoum, culminating in the position of vice-chancellor of Queen's University in Belfast from 1959 to 1966. He then retired from academe to pursue writing full time
His 1956 translation of Tacitus's Annals of Imperial Rome remains a standard of the work, and he translated several works of Cicero. He wrote biographies of Julius Caesar, Herod the Great, Cleopatra, Nero, Jesus, St. Peter and St. Paul. His publishing specialty eventually became popular history, in which he produced many works on ancient Greece and Rome which were very popular. (This book is one.)
As a popularizer, it is said that one of his hallmarks was “his unwillingness to oversimplify or talk down to his readership.”
ages of Greek history
The history of ancient Greece is generally divided into three periods: the Archaic (800-480 BC), the Classical (480-323 BC) and the Hellenistic (323-146 BC). The year 800 BC is chosen just because it’s a nice round number (for reference, Homer lived before this date, and the first Olympic Games are thought to have occurred in 776). The other boundaries are delineated by the battle of Thermopylae in 480, the death of Alexander the Great in 323, and the final conquest of the heart of Greece by the Romans in 146 – though scholars debate the appropriate ending of this period.
Grant’s “classical Greece” period is pretty close to the above dates. He goes a little further back, to around 500 BC, and (at least in the “stories” he relates) one year further forward, to 322, when both Demosthenes and Aristotle died.
narrative form
Grant chooses an interesting way of presenting the history of this era of ancient Greece. Instead of presenting a chronological narrative, he focuses on telling the stories of 37 men (one per chapter) who lived in, or at least were connected to, Greece at this time, and whose contributions were seminal in defining and bringing about the Classical era and the events in it. As Grant says in his introduction, this approach runs the risk of leaving out much that was important beyond these few men; but on the other hand, he argues, “if you subtracted the achievements of these almost forty persons there would not be a great deal of the classical world left.”
Once I understood where Grant was going to take me, by concentrating on some three dozen “great men”, I immediately thought of Plutarch’s Lives. I expected to find a great deal of overlap between the characters in Grant’s book and Plutarch’s. But, first, Plutarch covers a greater period of time than the less than two centuries of this book. Even so, when I made a list of Grant’s characters and found only six that were treated by Plutarch, I was surprised. But during the exercise I had already seen why this was. Grant treats not only the military leaders and politicians of the Greeks, but much more so the artists (poets, dramatists, painters, sculptors, architects) and the philosophers who flourished in the Classical age. This has a great deal to do with the rating I’ve given the book.
more on the design and features of the narrative
Grant divides the book into seven sections. I was just going to list them, but decided without listing all the characters in his story of the Classical Greeks, I’d be doing a disservice to any readers who might be drawn to the book if only they’d known … So, here’s the whole contents:
The seven sections are in chronological order, though the characters’ lives and periods of influence often overlap sections. In each section Grant supplies a List of Events, which provides an overview of the occurrences which are the common backdrop to the individual stories (and in many cases are integral parts of some).
Each story (chapter) generally follows a similar outline. First Grant discusses briefly the prior history of the particular part of Greece which is the setting of the story, and how it led up to and influenced or produced the culture and political milieu in which his character lived, and the problems which he faced. Then there’s a short bio of the character (where and when he lived), followed by the main part of the story, his description of the significant contributions he produced over the course of his life; and usually an assessment and summary of the man’s importance. (But to summarize the format in this way makes it sound a bit more formulaic, even tiresome, than it actually is.)
extra stuff in the book
The CONTENTS pages show, preceding the main text:
List of Illustrations
List of Maps
Introduction
After the list of sections and chapters (as shown in the spoiler above), CONTENTS shows an EPILOGUE [a must read wrapup] and these other items:
ted-awards for extra material
Grant’s style and voice
Throughout all of this Grant conveys a sense of an author in perfect command of his material. Presumably this command came from a combination of having read much (if not all) of the primary Greek and Latin source material, as well as secondary modern sources.
I’ll end this overlong review with some quotations.
On Euripedes’ Orestes
… his most melodramatic and exuberant tour de force, replete with novel theatrical effects and, in its later scenes, crammed with violence and crime. In antiquity it surpassed all other tragedies in popular esteem. Traditional mythology is stood on its head to display an all too human world steeped in venality and pitiless malice, where the interplay between one degenerate individual and another, and between their competitive wickednesses and demented loyalties, creates a debased squalor from which only divine intervention can bring release.
On Aristophanes’ The Clouds
What is particularly interesting about the play is the attack on Socrates, who is blamed for all the faults of the new education launched by the sophists and detested by Aristophanes as constituting an irresponsible threat to traditional religion and social morality … It is Socrates whom the comic dramatists singled out as the scapegoat because he alone was known to the ordinary people who could be relied upon to distrust and ridicule intellectuals. The dispute between the Just and Unjust Cause is the most brilliant of the ‘contests’ characteristic of Aristophanes’ theatrical construction, and the choruses contain some of his finest poetry.
On Thucydides
Although fifth-century Athens produced one of the most important civilizations the world has even known, for large chunks of its story we are almost solely dependent on very personal, and uncheckable, judgements and selections: those offered us, so potently, by Thucydides … despite his giant steps forward and his unique cleverness, he was not, as Macauley believed, the ‘greatest historian who ever lived’, since he is too insistent upon giving his own views of what happened – upon telling us, that is, what we have to believe.
** On the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus
… even though it was not really a ‘hero’s shrine’, as has been suggested, Lucian was right to point out that it exalted the ruler to an extent that had never been seen before. Gleaming with white marble and stucco veneering, this building was the visual center of the waterfront of Halicarnassus, and dominated the entire city; it was subsequently acclaimed as one of the Seven Wonders of the World … a rectangular structure, with a height of 140 feet … its roof was another pyramid … and upon its apex stood an enormous marble four-horse chariot, driven by Apollo as the sun-god Helios – a symbol of the passing of the dead …
On Aristotle
His devotion to individual facts … began, at long last, to free the sciences from the domination of philosophy … the debts owed to his work by Stoics and Epicureans have now been shown to be more substantial than was previously believed. An Aristotelian element also found its way into subsequent versions of Platonism, and this influenced early Christian thought …
Aristotle was the man who established the major and still accepted divisions of philosophy … it is from him that philosophers and scientists, of one generation after another, have derived their philosophical terminology which has entered into the inherited vocabulary of educated men and women, so that we employ these terms continually without any longer recalling their source.
He has been seen throughout the ages as the supreme scholar pursuing the life of the intellect for its own sake; and his posthumous prestige has been more enduring than any other thinker’s … It is impossible to think of any [classical Greek] whose contribution to the world was greater than Aristotle’s.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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December 15, 2017
The Classical Greeks is the middle book in a historical trilogy by Michael Grant. I started with this one because it covers the time period of most interest to me and I already owned it.
Each chapter in The Classical Greeks is divided into 7 periods and told through the stories of 37 key figures. The wars, large and small, as well as times of relative peace, determine the various ages which Grant has chosen. His prominent players come from all walks of life: philosophers, warriors, politicians, artists, doctors, historians, builders, poets, rulers, playwrights, orators, sculptors, teachers, etc. They each impacted Greek history significantly; their individual stories became part of the larger collective story.
Due to the individual chapter biographies, it lacks flow; the offset being, it allows focus on just one individual if desired.
Although I listened to the book, I found it frequently necessary to go back and reread or re-listen to large sections as there was so much information to take in. This is one of those books I would not recommend in the audio unless you also have a copy of the text. That said, it was so good and so packed with information, I already want to start over and listen to it again.
Grant is an excellent historian!
Each chapter in The Classical Greeks is divided into 7 periods and told through the stories of 37 key figures. The wars, large and small, as well as times of relative peace, determine the various ages which Grant has chosen. His prominent players come from all walks of life: philosophers, warriors, politicians, artists, doctors, historians, builders, poets, rulers, playwrights, orators, sculptors, teachers, etc. They each impacted Greek history significantly; their individual stories became part of the larger collective story.
Due to the individual chapter biographies, it lacks flow; the offset being, it allows focus on just one individual if desired.
Although I listened to the book, I found it frequently necessary to go back and reread or re-listen to large sections as there was so much information to take in. This is one of those books I would not recommend in the audio unless you also have a copy of the text. That said, it was so good and so packed with information, I already want to start over and listen to it again.
Grant is an excellent historian!
July 3, 2016
In this book, Michael Grant describes the culture and achievements of the classical Greeks by focusing each chapter on a particular philosopher, dramatist, artist, historian, or political leader - each being one of the best that Greece produced - as being exemplary of a particular accomplishment or development in Greek history. The book leaves the reader wanting to delve more deeply into the lives and accomplishments of the persons discussed, which is perhaps the best proof possible that a general overview of this sort has been successful. On the whole, I give the book four stars.
October 27, 2016
Fred asked me why I keep reading Grant's books when I am always disappointed. I can't tell you. I found this blah. Each chapter was about an individual who Grant felt was important. I didn't particularly like that strategy or the outcome.
January 28, 2025
A fine introduction to the Greeks. It's really logically organised, and I've a lot of respect for the way Grant's managed to condense so much information into such a neat little package. There's a huge scope here, but Grant handles it really well, providing a good introductory piece to a huge variety of topics about the period. I've a few minor contentions with dates, and it is a touch outdated- I can't say I'm too fond in the manner he speaks about Egyptian magical practices, and the fact the conclusion feels a need to explain why the Classical Greeks didn't develop that way because of their race is a unique choice - but for a beginner there's a lot of really useful information that could be used to get into the field as a whole. It balances a lot of information really well and explains everything in a concise, comprehensive way despite its flaws.
August 4, 2017
Beginning with Miltiades and the Battle of Marathon (490 BCE) – or perhaps Pythagoras, discussed in one of the appendices – the eminent Antiquities scholar Michael Grant has taken a rather unique approach to telling the stories of the Greek intellects, artists, politicians, and generals of the 5th century BCE ending just prior to the ascension of the future Macedonian emperor, Alexander (336 BCE). Each chapter – and there are 37 of them – runs around 5 pages long, is chock full of historical details, discusses suppositions where needed, but is lacking any narrative niceties. Therefore, in many ways, one could consider this book a collection of historical figure sketches and you would not be half wrong. You could just flip the book open to a given chapter, read it, and generally not feel any the worse for missing previous chapters. Instead, I did read it from cover-to-cover, including the 5 interesting, albeit also brief appendices labeled Women, Metics, Between Free Men and Slaves, Slave and the aforementioned Pythagoras. Grant approaches that 160+ years by grouping the chapters chronologically into parts. Therefore we have Wars Against External Enemies, The Periclean Age, The Peloponnesian War, The End of Classical Greece, etc. Under those sections each chapter is devoted to a general (Themistocles, Epaminondas), a politician or tyrant (Cimon, Dionysus), a historian (Herodotus, Thucydides), a dramatist or poet (Aeschylus, Euripides), an artist or architect (Polygnotus, Phidias), or a philosopher or scientist (Hippocrites, Socrates).
This methodology in writing about those Classical Greece years may not provide a fluid and dynamic narrative (it doesn’t) but Grant does pack a lot of information in the book and though one may be inclined to dismiss it as being a form of Grecian Cliff Notes, don’t. Instead, I look at the The Classical Greeks as a reference piece. When reading more detailed narratives focused on one event or series of events (an all-too-frequent war, for instance) I find myself pulling this book off the shelf and re-reading the relevant, personality-centric chapter(s) that is Grant’s synopsis. His language is both spare and even, which suits this sort of book. Where the historical ‘facts’ as detailed by Herodotus or Xenophon (for instance), are suspect – or at least open for discussion – Grant does so and his conclusions seem both logical and likely; marks of a good modern historian. The book is also filled with maps – not beautiful ones but certainly adequate – as well as notes, references and a bibliography at the end; all part and parcel of good historical writing.
If you don’t mind a survey approach to the Classical Greek Age that is long on information but short on narrative drama, then this is the book for you.
This methodology in writing about those Classical Greece years may not provide a fluid and dynamic narrative (it doesn’t) but Grant does pack a lot of information in the book and though one may be inclined to dismiss it as being a form of Grecian Cliff Notes, don’t. Instead, I look at the The Classical Greeks as a reference piece. When reading more detailed narratives focused on one event or series of events (an all-too-frequent war, for instance) I find myself pulling this book off the shelf and re-reading the relevant, personality-centric chapter(s) that is Grant’s synopsis. His language is both spare and even, which suits this sort of book. Where the historical ‘facts’ as detailed by Herodotus or Xenophon (for instance), are suspect – or at least open for discussion – Grant does so and his conclusions seem both logical and likely; marks of a good modern historian. The book is also filled with maps – not beautiful ones but certainly adequate – as well as notes, references and a bibliography at the end; all part and parcel of good historical writing.
If you don’t mind a survey approach to the Classical Greek Age that is long on information but short on narrative drama, then this is the book for you.
October 29, 2025
I read this book to get me back into reading after a lull for about a month and a half. I had burned out from an overly ambitious quest to read a ton on the Persians. Turns out I should probably mix in a few other topics!
When I was younger I read a few of Grants books, and I found this at the used bookstore and figured, why not, maybe this will get me back on track!
To my surprise: 1) this is book 2 in a 3 part series on the ancient Greeks, and I’ve already read book 3 years ago. 2) the way Grant writes this book, is by highlighting just under 40 great men of the Classical Era, in chronological fashion.
I really enjoyed it, though I will be honest, I couldn’t care less about the characters involved with art, philosophy or writings (except history) but I managed to get through it. I did really like the chapters on the political and military men, I think Grant does a great job of giving the reader a good introduction into each one.
All in all I would recommend this book as an alternative way to be introduced to the topic of Classical Greece. Grant does an excellent job of telling the story through the eyes of its many characters in the period of 500BC-322BC. Along with this book I would get a more mainstream introduction to Classical Greece as well to compare and contrast, which there are many out there both academic and contemporary with maps, pictures etc
I’d also recommend this to a young student, in fact any of Grants works I’d recommend as he is great at conveying his vast academic knowledge into a common sense reading style!
When I was younger I read a few of Grants books, and I found this at the used bookstore and figured, why not, maybe this will get me back on track!
To my surprise: 1) this is book 2 in a 3 part series on the ancient Greeks, and I’ve already read book 3 years ago. 2) the way Grant writes this book, is by highlighting just under 40 great men of the Classical Era, in chronological fashion.
I really enjoyed it, though I will be honest, I couldn’t care less about the characters involved with art, philosophy or writings (except history) but I managed to get through it. I did really like the chapters on the political and military men, I think Grant does a great job of giving the reader a good introduction into each one.
All in all I would recommend this book as an alternative way to be introduced to the topic of Classical Greece. Grant does an excellent job of telling the story through the eyes of its many characters in the period of 500BC-322BC. Along with this book I would get a more mainstream introduction to Classical Greece as well to compare and contrast, which there are many out there both academic and contemporary with maps, pictures etc
I’d also recommend this to a young student, in fact any of Grants works I’d recommend as he is great at conveying his vast academic knowledge into a common sense reading style!
April 6, 2025
No objections to the so-called 'historical workshop' of Michael Grant, however it was and still is hard to tell for me what the idea behind this book really was. The title says it all: it is a book about the most famous (and some less-so) Greeks of hte classical period and their achievements. In case of some ancient authors, such as Demosthenes, Herodotus or Socrates it gives summaries of their works, which seem a bit pointless, for it is much better to read them on your own accord instead. In other chapters it gives too much detail to some structures and/or objects with the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus recieving a huge ammount of detail unlike other mentioned structures, political events, art, ancient literature. My version of the book is 337 pages long but the actual content minus appendixes and bibliography is 260. Overall - in case of history, the book is good, but the style and intention reamins somewhat confusing.
September 29, 2021
Dry overview of Classical Greece via 40 personalities. Largely emotion-free statements of facts, names, dates. Interesting with respect to providing a survey.
May 21, 2024
4.0 / 5.0
I liked format of mini biographies. Reviewed lots of secondary persoalities and players not limited to Athens.
I liked format of mini biographies. Reviewed lots of secondary persoalities and players not limited to Athens.
May 30, 2009
Lots of interesting history and analysis, well-balanced. But the unusual organization does nothing to promote insight or readability. Finding places and dates of events is far too hard.
July 15, 2015
Very interesting book that concisely covers this period of history and the prominent leaders of that period some of whom Were new to me.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews