Ancient Greece

DK Eyewitness Books

by Anne Pearson, Nick Nicholls (Photographer)

Full-color photos. This look at the culture that most influenced Western society tells how the Greeks made war and worshiped their gods, and examines their legacy of science, medicine, philosophy and art. "While there are other titles that share the focus, age level, and general coverage of this volume, it's hard to beat the attractiveness of the layout and the beauty of the illustrations found here. This book is a worthwhile purchase, even for collections that already include other titles on the topic."-- School Library Journal.  

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Greece, Childrens, Picture Books, Reference, Art

63 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1960

About the author

Anne Pearson is a children's non-fiction author, specializing in ancient history.

Reviews

[Mloy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love reading books like these. I've always had a fondness for Greek Mythology and culture because of my family-- my sister studied it in high school and would tell me the stories she's learned from school; then there were my parent who were fortunate enough experience the culture in real life having lived in Greece for a few years (I know right? I'm so jealous). Anyhow, this book was chock full of pictures of ancient artifacts and information about Greek society, customs and lore, it was like getting a history lesson without having to go to school or taking in a museum tour without leaving the comfort of your own home; although, truthfully I would rather go to an actual museum and see the real things, but for the spend-thrift reader, I guess, this was the next best thing. Also, the language of this book was reader friendly, it does have some technical terms but not so complicated that it goes over ones' head; even a kid can appreciate this book because there's not a whole lot unusual words-- especially now-a-days with "Percy Jackson and the Olympians"-type of films and young adult books out there being read by or to third graders, almost everyone should have some familiarity with most of the contents of this book. It's a great book, a little light reading for a lazy Sunday afternoon.

[Sophie Crane · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's Very Helpful for homework on Ancient Greece And it gives all the facts.

[Duane · Rating 4 out of 5]

You just can't go wrong with the DK Eyewitness books. They feature vivid photography and amazing illustrations. Young readers will enjoy learning about Ancient Greece. A great book to add to your youth non fiction collection.

[Donal Hurley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ostensibly a book for children but was much appreciated by this Adult.
Very informative on the topic of ancient Greece and easy to digest.
I brought it with me on my recent holiday there and it was the ideal companion for the trip.

[Dan Castrigano · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pretty bad. Terrible and grammatically incorrect comma usage. Using commas with dependent clauses... So bad. Also, one misspelling and spacing issue. Learned a few things, especially about people not in Greek Philosophizin. Knew almost all of it, as I've been teaching it for 6 years and just saw Greece and tons of stuff in the book in real life.Stuff I learned: Sappho = female poet; Myth of Apollo and Daphne where Apollo loves her, she doesn't, she prays to Zeus and is turned into a laurel tree; Solon = Athenian legislator and magistrate who launched legal, economic, and political reforms; Themistocles = leader of Athens and creator of the Athenian navy during the Battle of Salamis against the Persians in 480 B.C.E.; the map on p. 63 about Alexander the Great has six Alexandrias that he founded and named after himself.

[Joshua · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will never not praise an Eyewitness Book. These things are fantastic resources, not simply because they provide overviews of topics, but because they allow readers to disappear entirely into whatever topic they are invested in. I've begun reading more and more about ancient Greece lately, and when I accidentally forgot to cancel a hold on this book at the library I decided to check it out. It was the first time I've read an Eyewitness book in years, and it actually took close to an hour to read as there was simply so much information to ingest and process.

Anne Pearson provides a bountiful wealth of information and facts about Ancient Greece, and anyone interested in the subject should take the time to read this book.

[Marianne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this one to give me more overview of my very academic read by H.F. Kitto, 'The Greeks', I took months on the first six chapters as these were based on historic civilization and harder for me to remember all the facts, but I've been putting them slowly into context and it's more understandable. I feel it may be oversimplified and not really give an entirely accurate picture, so I'm hoping Kitto helps me there. Beautiful book, lovely illustration, great simple book, designed for children and general interest.

[Cristiana Bennett · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book on Ancient Greece discusses numerous fascinating figures such as the fire-based god, Gpoloo, Athens, Gaia, Cosimo, Zeus, and Heracles.
Understanding the ancient Greek fairy tales allows us to delve deeper into Western historical heritage and its profound spiritual essence.

[PRASANNA · Rating 5 out of 5]

good book

[Belle Meade School]

938

[Joan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Somewhat interesting children's nonfiction book in the "Eyewitness" series. Covers the basics of art, war, home life, gods and goddesses.

[Indah Threez Lestari · Rating 3 out of 5]

43 - 2021

[Oviya · Rating 3 out of 5]

it is a fun read overall but it could have been researched better. some of the language was a little weird too

[Ellen Gammelgaard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great book to gain quick knowledge about ancient Greece - the culture and everything. The book is very thick and consists of a lot of photos.

[Lina.Ryadi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading Log #7
English 6 (1)
Lina Ryadi


Ancient Greece is an interesting historical book Edited by Michael Anderson. This book mostly talks about how they lived, their origins, and what they did back then. It was founded between 800 B.C. and 500 B.C. Did you know that the first Ancient Greek civilisations were formed nearly 4,000 years ago? The Ancient Greek Empire spread from Greece through Europe and in 800 BC, the Greeks started to split their land into city-states. All of the city-states had its own laws and rulers. Also, The Greeks had fears about food, some wouldn’t eat beans because they thought they contained the souls of the dead! Also, The Greeks often ate dinner while lying on their sides. The Ancient Greeks had lots of stories to help them learn about their world and culture, they had a lot of tales about their gods and monsters like Cerberus, a three-headed dog that guarded the gates to the underworld, Medusa, a monster whose look could turn people to stone, and the Cyclops who had one eye in the middle of its forehead. Also, did you know that events at the Greek’s Olympics include long jump, wrestling, javelin, boxing, discus and chariot racing, and there were hardly any rules, and they had to be completely all naked!


The best part of the book Ancient Greece was “The Achievements of the Ancient Greece”. I liked it because it told us about all the achievement and growth of Ancient Greece. Well, did you know that Ancient Greece were the ones that discovered Literature, Poetry, Drama, Tragedy, Comedy, History, Philosophy, Art, Sculpture, Painting, Architecture, Mathematics, Theatre, the Olympics, The Hippocratic Oath, Geometry, the screw, the marathon, and science! From the information of the book, the reader learns a lot about Ancient Greece and how they used to live thousands of years ago. I also learned a lot of strange facts about them and the strangest one was the fact that they didn't eat beans because they thought that they contained the souls of the dead!



The most exciting episode in the book was when I read about “The Achievements of the Ancient Greece” because it had this list of all the things that they discovered. Also, their achievement and their success. However, the most disappointing moment in this book was when this book had ended because honestly, I really enjoyed the book. It also inspired me to read more historical informational books. I would recommend this book to all the people who love history because this book showed a lot of fantastic facts about Ancient Greece and it was really interesting to read. Also, I would recommend this book to all ages because it's an informational book and it was very fun to read.

[Ivy · Rating 3 out of 5]

rating: 3 (quality) / 3,9 (enjoyment)


Growing up, I loved picking up books from DK, but I rarely had the chance to read them because you could only read them in the library, you weren’t allowed to take them home. Even years later, I still find them enjoyable and educational. They offer a fresh perspective on the lives of the Ancient Greeks. My only complaint is that I wish they weren't so repetitive and they included more explanations.

[Andrew Ives · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little repetitive in places, especially if you read the pull-out poster first before the book, but with lots of difficult-to-remember Greek words, names and places, this isn't such a bad thing. The photos are all very relevant and interesting. I learned a fair bit, such as Pythagoras not eating beans because he believed people were reincarnated as seeds, and I'm far older than the target audience, so I guess a school pupil would find lots of interest therein. Immaculately proofread too. I bought this book along with the Ancient Rome volume for 50p the pair, which is a sad indictment of modern children's phone-obsessed era.

[Jessica Rawden · Rating 4 out of 5]

This DK eyewitness book is laid out more nicely than many I have seen before. The information, while not jumbled is still pretty sophisticated, so, even if it looks like a nice picture book for kids, it is still for older readers. I enjoyed this one immensely, even though it glossed over some of the topics of Greek society that can get a little sticky. The book also comes with a cd of clip art, which would be great if the kids reading this book were doing a school Powerpoint/project. For ages 11-15.

[Ebookwormy1 · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't know why we didn't LOVE this book. It was good. I loved the primary source photographs (instead of drawings) of artifacts. But for some reason we just weren't thrilled. Was it because it was the hard (Februaryish) part of the year? or the writing just wasn't as good? or perhaps it was a bit beyond where we are at?

I don't know, all I can tell you is that we were THRILLED to read it or rediscover it and I would have been content to get it from the library and return. Nonetheless, it is a solid resource and we will keep it in our home library.

[Staci Browning · Rating 5 out of 5]

I felt this book did a great job at capturing what Greece has to offer. I did not feel like I was reading a social studies book but I was just learning about Greece and with that the history of Greece and the traditions held. I especially loved learning about the olympics and how they started. There are so many great lessons that could be taught with that subject because all students have some understanding of what the olympics are so it could be easily related to them. Overall I think this is a great book to use in the classroom.

[Lindsay Gilbert · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a neat book. It was very informative with great pictures and illustrations. I was mostly interested in the pottery because they are known for their artwork they put on the urns. I enjoyed learning about ancient Greece and I think it would be great to have in a classroom for the students to look at.

[Little Timmy · Rating 5 out of 5]

OK I know these are supposed to be kid books but they are awesome! Great pictures and just enough text to make you want to learn more. Great choices for a beginning history reader or to start an older reader out in a new area. Every time I pick one of these up and read it I learn new things. Highly Recommended

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

March 2020 update.

Really useful. It's such a shame we never got to finish this topic with our Greek feast and Olympics...
_______________________
Must-read if you're teaching Ancient Greece.

Great for subject knowledge.
I'm going to look if there's a Tudor version. Super helpful for planning.

Children loved it too!

[Trudy · Rating 5 out of 5]

These books are fabulous in that they provide so much visual information along with short clear explanations. They are a great source of inspiration and introduction to topics, a perfect starting place leading to more research, if desired.

[Isabelle Whittington · Rating 5 out of 5]

i loved hearing about them! i am a total history girl

[Corban Jordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

this book had great graphics

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

good info - accurate art - be forewarned - nude stuff.

[Eagle Watcher · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has a picture of artifacts that were recovered from ancient Greece. This book had lots about Greek jars and bowls because the Greeks made beautiful Jars/vases.

[Theresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

a break down of pictures and elements of historical greece explaining some of the facts
a good early resource

[AK · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful and clear fotographs, full of details and well written

incl clip art CD

DK's Ancient Greece is a great resource for all kind of ages.