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Athens: City of Wisdom
A sweeping history of Athens, telling the three-thousand-year story of the birthplace of Western civilization.
Even on the most smog-bound of days, the rocky outcrop on which the Acropolis stands is visible above the sprawling roofscape of the Greek capital. Athens presents one of the most recognizable and symbolically freighted panoramas of any of the world's cities: the pillars and pediments of the Parthenon – the temple dedicated to Athena, goddess of wisdom, that crowns the Acropolis – dominate a city whose name is synonymous for many with civilization itself.
It is hard not to feel the hand of history in such a place. The birthplace of democracy, Western philosophy and theatre, Athens' importance cannot be understated. Few cities have enjoyed a history so rich in artistic creativity and the making of ideas; or one so curiously patterned by alternating cycles of turbulence and quietness. From the legal reforms of the lawmaker Solon in the sixth century BCE to the travails of early twenty-first century Athens, as it struggles with the legacy of the economic crises of the 2000s, Clark brings the city's history to life, evoking its cultural richness and political resonance in this epic, kaleidoscopic history.
Even on the most smog-bound of days, the rocky outcrop on which the Acropolis stands is visible above the sprawling roofscape of the Greek capital. Athens presents one of the most recognizable and symbolically freighted panoramas of any of the world's cities: the pillars and pediments of the Parthenon – the temple dedicated to Athena, goddess of wisdom, that crowns the Acropolis – dominate a city whose name is synonymous for many with civilization itself.
It is hard not to feel the hand of history in such a place. The birthplace of democracy, Western philosophy and theatre, Athens' importance cannot be understated. Few cities have enjoyed a history so rich in artistic creativity and the making of ideas; or one so curiously patterned by alternating cycles of turbulence and quietness. From the legal reforms of the lawmaker Solon in the sixth century BCE to the travails of early twenty-first century Athens, as it struggles with the legacy of the economic crises of the 2000s, Clark brings the city's history to life, evoking its cultural richness and political resonance in this epic, kaleidoscopic history.
512 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews
January 15, 2022
This is a book I really looked forwards to reading, but again I struggled with the problem that I occasionally have, that the book wasn't the book I wanted it to be.
I love Athens. I love Greece. I've studied both modern and ancient Greek language and history, but I am constantly saddened that so few people care or are interested in Greek history after the classical period. Most books that are written about Athens or Greece focus on the classical period, to the extent that one may believe that Greece physically disappeared off the face of the earth until it suddenly reappeared in the mid 1800s. This may of course be a Northern European bias, as it is around that time Northern Europe begins to take interest in Greece again. But really something must have happened between the times of Alexander the Great and the Greek independence in 1821?
So on this background, I had high hopes for this book.
I'll divide the book into three parts: the classical period, the middle bit and modern Athens. The first part describes the story of Athens from the founding and earliest times of the city and through the classical and post-classical times. I found this part rather standard in the way it presents Athenian history, which I have read before. I found the latter part, post-classical and Roman as well as early Christian period, more interesting and a little less bogged down in the idea of the standard presentation of classical Athens - perhaps because it's less often written about?
The middle part, covering the period roughly between 500 and 1500, has the disadvantage (?) of being a sparely documented period in both Athenian and Greek history, which shows in the book as well. It is also in this part where the thing that grated on me on the first part became more obvious: We don't really get to know Athens. We get to know the buildings on the Acropolis, and what happens to them, and occasionally there are named people, but in the two first parts we never see the city and its inhabitants. How many people lived there? What did they do? Where there any changes in the the size? building type? There is a throwaway line about some sort of production and export of lamps. What? Please tell me more! Same with beekeepers on Hymettos - please tell me more! But no, the glimpses of normal people are few and far between, We get to hear about what happens to the buildings on the Acropolis, but not of the people who lived around them. We get the standard with view of monuments, of columns and crosses, but it's a city without people.
The third and final part of the book picks up speed, and Athens comes to life in a way I've been hoping for all the way. The early modern Greek history is, in my eyes, bogged down with political history, kings and other statesmen, but towards the latter half of the 1800 we finally, finally get to see hear about the people of Athens, and the city finally, finally comes alive on the page.
I am wondering whether the difference in content focus and style stems from the fact that Clark is journalist, and not used to writing from historical and archaeological sources, or it is simply is the daunting historiography of the Athenian history that has influenced him? Writing about Athens without writing about the buildings on the Acropolis is impossible.
That said, I still believe there is more than the story about the marble that is worth telling.
Seferis' words comes to mind:
"I woke with this marble head in my hands;
It exhausts my elbows and I don't know where to put it down."
I think my problem with non-classical Greek history is that is always described in relation and comparison to the (idea of) the classical history, and not on its own terms. Personally I would have loved to have hime describe the earlier Athens in the same way he describes the modern city. The city we both love, where the old marbles of Acropolis are a part of the city, but not the only part.
4/6 stars
I love Athens. I love Greece. I've studied both modern and ancient Greek language and history, but I am constantly saddened that so few people care or are interested in Greek history after the classical period. Most books that are written about Athens or Greece focus on the classical period, to the extent that one may believe that Greece physically disappeared off the face of the earth until it suddenly reappeared in the mid 1800s. This may of course be a Northern European bias, as it is around that time Northern Europe begins to take interest in Greece again. But really something must have happened between the times of Alexander the Great and the Greek independence in 1821?
So on this background, I had high hopes for this book.
I'll divide the book into three parts: the classical period, the middle bit and modern Athens. The first part describes the story of Athens from the founding and earliest times of the city and through the classical and post-classical times. I found this part rather standard in the way it presents Athenian history, which I have read before. I found the latter part, post-classical and Roman as well as early Christian period, more interesting and a little less bogged down in the idea of the standard presentation of classical Athens - perhaps because it's less often written about?
The middle part, covering the period roughly between 500 and 1500, has the disadvantage (?) of being a sparely documented period in both Athenian and Greek history, which shows in the book as well. It is also in this part where the thing that grated on me on the first part became more obvious: We don't really get to know Athens. We get to know the buildings on the Acropolis, and what happens to them, and occasionally there are named people, but in the two first parts we never see the city and its inhabitants. How many people lived there? What did they do? Where there any changes in the the size? building type? There is a throwaway line about some sort of production and export of lamps. What? Please tell me more! Same with beekeepers on Hymettos - please tell me more! But no, the glimpses of normal people are few and far between, We get to hear about what happens to the buildings on the Acropolis, but not of the people who lived around them. We get the standard with view of monuments, of columns and crosses, but it's a city without people.
The third and final part of the book picks up speed, and Athens comes to life in a way I've been hoping for all the way. The early modern Greek history is, in my eyes, bogged down with political history, kings and other statesmen, but towards the latter half of the 1800 we finally, finally get to see hear about the people of Athens, and the city finally, finally comes alive on the page.
I am wondering whether the difference in content focus and style stems from the fact that Clark is journalist, and not used to writing from historical and archaeological sources, or it is simply is the daunting historiography of the Athenian history that has influenced him? Writing about Athens without writing about the buildings on the Acropolis is impossible.
That said, I still believe there is more than the story about the marble that is worth telling.
Seferis' words comes to mind:
"I woke with this marble head in my hands;
It exhausts my elbows and I don't know where to put it down."
I think my problem with non-classical Greek history is that is always described in relation and comparison to the (idea of) the classical history, and not on its own terms. Personally I would have loved to have hime describe the earlier Athens in the same way he describes the modern city. The city we both love, where the old marbles of Acropolis are a part of the city, but not the only part.
4/6 stars
March 5, 2022
This is a lovely recounting of the history of one of humanity's greatest metropolises. I've been fortunate enough to have visited the city many times, and the author does a fine job of refreshing my fond memories of its people and places. I found the later chapters, dealing with post-Ottoman Athens to be particularly interesting. It really fleshed out changes I've observed in the urban landscape over the years. Fascinating stuff.
And a special shout out to my brilliant daughter for finding and gifting me this book!
And a special shout out to my brilliant daughter for finding and gifting me this book!
May 25, 2023
Bruce Clark is a longtime reporter who spent several years living in and writing about Greece. This experience is at the heart of his book, which offers a lively survey of the history of Athens from its beginnings to the early 21st century. In it he takes an idiosyncratic approach to the city’s history, which proves the source of both the book’s strengths and its greatest flaws.
This approach becomes evident early in the book, with his examination of Athens’s early history. After touching on the myths which form the legend of the city’s origins, he focuses on its emergence into one of the great city-states of the classical era. It is this period which gives Athens its relevancy to history, and Clark soon falls prey to recounting the era in detail. Over a fifth of the text is thus spent detailing less than 250 years of the city’s nearly three-millennia-long existence, which, while highlighting some of Athens’s greatest contributions to our world, can only come at the expense of his coverage of the city’s later centuries.
This becomes evident in the chapters that follow. While Clark’s coverage of the Hellenistic and Roman eras strikes a nice balance between concision and detail, by the time he reaches the medieval era his tour of Athens’s past becomes a sprint. This is in some respects a reflection of our information about these periods, as Athens declined during these years from one of Greece’s greatest city-states into first a Roman-era “theme park of old Greek glory” and then a medieval Balkans backwater. Nevertheless, the imbalance with the earlier chapters renders thirteen centuries of the city’s history and the lives of its inhabitants during those years into filler, and can distort an understanding of how these years shaped the modern city.
This imbalance is only heightened by on what Clark focuses in his chapters on Athens in the early modern era, which is less on the city than on its role in the developing Hellenism of the West. Here he might have done more to consider how this contributed to Athens’s modern revival, as there were few other reasons to move the capital of the newly-established nation of Greece from the port of Nafpilo to an isolated town of 8,000 inhabitants. It was a decision that was key into making Athens into the city it is today, however, as with it came the need to turn it into a place worthy of its new status. Clark does a good job of describing the struggles of this period, as the struggles Greeks faced to develop the town proved a microcosm of their larger issues as a nation, with great ambitions often exceeding limited resources.
This changed only slowly, and often because of larger developments dictated by outsiders. Explaining these developments requires Clark to fit Athens’s history within the history of modern Greece. His narrative is engaging, and as it gets to the present day he is able to inject the additional color provided by his personal knowledge of people and events. In the process, however, Athens itself gets crowded out behind descriptions of key politicians and dramatic national events, making the final chapters less a history of Athens than of contemporary Greece. Like his disproportionate coverage of the classical era, it’s another example of Clark’s idiosyncratic approach to his subject, one that results in an inviting read but ultimately something less than the complete history such a renowned city deserves.
This approach becomes evident early in the book, with his examination of Athens’s early history. After touching on the myths which form the legend of the city’s origins, he focuses on its emergence into one of the great city-states of the classical era. It is this period which gives Athens its relevancy to history, and Clark soon falls prey to recounting the era in detail. Over a fifth of the text is thus spent detailing less than 250 years of the city’s nearly three-millennia-long existence, which, while highlighting some of Athens’s greatest contributions to our world, can only come at the expense of his coverage of the city’s later centuries.
This becomes evident in the chapters that follow. While Clark’s coverage of the Hellenistic and Roman eras strikes a nice balance between concision and detail, by the time he reaches the medieval era his tour of Athens’s past becomes a sprint. This is in some respects a reflection of our information about these periods, as Athens declined during these years from one of Greece’s greatest city-states into first a Roman-era “theme park of old Greek glory” and then a medieval Balkans backwater. Nevertheless, the imbalance with the earlier chapters renders thirteen centuries of the city’s history and the lives of its inhabitants during those years into filler, and can distort an understanding of how these years shaped the modern city.
This imbalance is only heightened by on what Clark focuses in his chapters on Athens in the early modern era, which is less on the city than on its role in the developing Hellenism of the West. Here he might have done more to consider how this contributed to Athens’s modern revival, as there were few other reasons to move the capital of the newly-established nation of Greece from the port of Nafpilo to an isolated town of 8,000 inhabitants. It was a decision that was key into making Athens into the city it is today, however, as with it came the need to turn it into a place worthy of its new status. Clark does a good job of describing the struggles of this period, as the struggles Greeks faced to develop the town proved a microcosm of their larger issues as a nation, with great ambitions often exceeding limited resources.
This changed only slowly, and often because of larger developments dictated by outsiders. Explaining these developments requires Clark to fit Athens’s history within the history of modern Greece. His narrative is engaging, and as it gets to the present day he is able to inject the additional color provided by his personal knowledge of people and events. In the process, however, Athens itself gets crowded out behind descriptions of key politicians and dramatic national events, making the final chapters less a history of Athens than of contemporary Greece. Like his disproportionate coverage of the classical era, it’s another example of Clark’s idiosyncratic approach to his subject, one that results in an inviting read but ultimately something less than the complete history such a renowned city deserves.
January 22, 2022
Clark covers the history of Athens from its mythical origin stories to the present. The book moves quickly; obviously Clark can't cover everything in detail in one volume, so he tends to focus on a few monuments, people, and events for each period. Overall, they are well chosen and provide a good, if selective, narrative. His account of classical and late antique Athens is pretty standard. He knows the primary sources and relies on a selection of reputable scholarly works (although not always those I would select). There are the inevitable problems of glossing things over and giving a false impression. Some examples: his brief aside on Hadrian's rescript to Minucius Fundanus on prosecuting Christians oversimplifies a complex issue; his narrative rushes over Diocletian's system of four collegial emperors and leaves the impression that they were all rival usurpers (the system did work sometimes!). His treatment of the emperor Julian seems to rely heavily on Gore Vidal's novel (a more appealing Julian than the historical one) and Athanassiadi's somewhat tendentious intellectual biography, rather than the more conventional biographies by Robert Browning, Glen Bowersock, and Hans Carel Teitler.
The medieval history of Athens is not well documented; Clark makes what he can of it. I find the chronicles of French crusader brigands somewhat tedious. The high points of the chapters on early modern Athens are the accounts of travelers such as Cyriac of Ancona. Clark has a nice section on Stuart and Revett. After the revolt against the Turks, it is pretty much downhill for me. I have no interest in the convolutions of modern Greek politics, other than a soft spot for the ironically named Archbishop Makarios. My main criticism of the later chapters is that they are more about Greek politics in general than about the city. Clark does have some engaging accounts of the Anatolian refugees and the neighborhoods of modern Athens, as well as cultural developments in contemporary Athens.
Overall, Clark is knowledgeable and a good writer. Anyone looking for a good general history of Athens will be well served by it
The medieval history of Athens is not well documented; Clark makes what he can of it. I find the chronicles of French crusader brigands somewhat tedious. The high points of the chapters on early modern Athens are the accounts of travelers such as Cyriac of Ancona. Clark has a nice section on Stuart and Revett. After the revolt against the Turks, it is pretty much downhill for me. I have no interest in the convolutions of modern Greek politics, other than a soft spot for the ironically named Archbishop Makarios. My main criticism of the later chapters is that they are more about Greek politics in general than about the city. Clark does have some engaging accounts of the Anatolian refugees and the neighborhoods of modern Athens, as well as cultural developments in contemporary Athens.
Overall, Clark is knowledgeable and a good writer. Anyone looking for a good general history of Athens will be well served by it
October 29, 2022
The book is as much a history of Greece as of Athens, from the earliest times to the present day. I enjoyed it as far as the early twentieth century, but the dark days beginning in 1940 made for depressing reading.
February 20, 2023
I picked up this book in Athens after asking a store clerk for a book about the 30 Tyrants and this is the closest they had. I do have to admit I was gobsmacked when it skipped right over the 30 tyrants, but I can't be too mad as I got so much more out of this book. As a typical person interested in Greece, I loved the section on classical Greece and it gave me various lesson plan ideas and directions to go in terms of research. Alexander's conquest stepped up the geopolitical history of Athens. Still, it was so frustrating knowing that there was so much more going on through the ancient world because of his actions, but I guess that speaks to how well this book is centered on its main topic. Moving into Byzantine Greece, I was both treated to a deeper knowledge of its role in early Christianity and new knowledge on just how impactful Greek culture and school of thinking was to various cultures. So impactful that many invested time and money to prop up historical landmarks and scholarship. Though as we reached the middle ages it was painful to see more and more of Athens lost to time and war. It was modern Greece however, that was completely new to me. I had never had the opportunity or need to research anything past Byzantine Greece or its financial crisis in the 2000s. I didn't realize Greece's struggle to become a unified country. It was fascinating and made me want to delve deeper into it.
To sum it up I found it an excellent study of such a long period of time that was well-focused and enjoyably written. I especially appreciated the notes and looks into his research process. I just want to read more and more!
To sum it up I found it an excellent study of such a long period of time that was well-focused and enjoyably written. I especially appreciated the notes and looks into his research process. I just want to read more and more!
December 14, 2024
A brick of a book with 614 pages -- a bit more than I wanted to read in its entirety. Did like the maps of which there are a list in the Table of Contents, and the Contents also serves as a timeline covering 600 BCE - 2018. Probably would be interesting to read if I had nothing else on my TBR list.
November 21, 2022
An excellent history of the famous city that doesn’t ignore medieval or modern history. This book was the perfect complement to my recent (and first) visit to the story.
April 28, 2022
This is an assessable and good history of Athens. Gets a bit rushed at the end, but as a single volume edition of Athenian history it is worth the time.
February 14, 2024
4.5 Stars
Written by award-winning writer and journalist Bruce Clark, this near 600-page book contains a sweeping account of Athenian history from its mythological origins through to the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. Writing in a linear style and with a focus on the impacts of historic keystone events, Clark weaves a comprehensive high-level tapestry of one of the world’s most compelling and impactful cities.
Despite the challenges involved in writing about a topic as popular, multi-faceted and well-tread as Greek history, Clark strikes a good balance between conciseness, originality, and thoroughness. The book itself is geared more towards academics than casual readers; it’s a great starting point for students of Greek history and includes a diverse list of sources for further reading. He still makes a concerted effort to provide context as needed and interprets facts and events in a way that is approachable and digestible to the everyday reader. His anecdotes are further complimented by a set of maps and photographs that bring major topics to life.
Due to the enormity of the timeline within which he was working, Clark’s undertaking carries the risk of including too much or too little, and some readers may be quick to condemn him for what he chooses to include or not include in his account. However, I do feel that Clark largely succeeds in providing a general overview of the city and its history. He touches on, among many topics, Athens’ mysterious origins in 600 - 500 BCE and the importance of the matron goddess Athena; the tumultuous rise, fall, and rise again of the principles of democracy; wars against and alongside Sparta and Persia; the architectural history of historic buildings and monuments within the city and its neighbour Piraeus; famous leaders and thinkers like Pericles, Socrates, Plato, Hadrian, Venizelos, and Papandreau; the Apostle Paul and the emergence of Christianity; the siege and bombardment of Athens in 1687; life under the Ottoman empire; the creation of an independent state and the root causes of Greece’s financial woes; the impacts of World Wars I and II; and the state of Athens in the wake of COVID-19. There is truly a topic for everyone in Clark’s account, even if he doesn’t always dive deep into the nitty gritty details.
Seeing the passion and care with which Clark approaches the topic of Athenian history, I was a little disappointed when he finished his account without any real conclusion or send-off. The writing simply stops and is followed by notes on sources. It was an abrupt end to what was otherwise a meticulous, thought-provoking summarization, and I was left wondering if a page or chapter was lost in the process of publication. Endings are just as important as beginnings, and I felt that not enough attention was paid to this book’s conclusion.
Despite this small criticism, I fully recommend this book to anyone who is interested in Greek history. The writing can be a bit dry to those who are interested in more popular topics like mythology and culture, but for readers interested in historic events, major players, and architectural origin stories, Athens, City of Wisdom would make a great addition to your library.
Written by award-winning writer and journalist Bruce Clark, this near 600-page book contains a sweeping account of Athenian history from its mythological origins through to the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. Writing in a linear style and with a focus on the impacts of historic keystone events, Clark weaves a comprehensive high-level tapestry of one of the world’s most compelling and impactful cities.
Despite the challenges involved in writing about a topic as popular, multi-faceted and well-tread as Greek history, Clark strikes a good balance between conciseness, originality, and thoroughness. The book itself is geared more towards academics than casual readers; it’s a great starting point for students of Greek history and includes a diverse list of sources for further reading. He still makes a concerted effort to provide context as needed and interprets facts and events in a way that is approachable and digestible to the everyday reader. His anecdotes are further complimented by a set of maps and photographs that bring major topics to life.
Due to the enormity of the timeline within which he was working, Clark’s undertaking carries the risk of including too much or too little, and some readers may be quick to condemn him for what he chooses to include or not include in his account. However, I do feel that Clark largely succeeds in providing a general overview of the city and its history. He touches on, among many topics, Athens’ mysterious origins in 600 - 500 BCE and the importance of the matron goddess Athena; the tumultuous rise, fall, and rise again of the principles of democracy; wars against and alongside Sparta and Persia; the architectural history of historic buildings and monuments within the city and its neighbour Piraeus; famous leaders and thinkers like Pericles, Socrates, Plato, Hadrian, Venizelos, and Papandreau; the Apostle Paul and the emergence of Christianity; the siege and bombardment of Athens in 1687; life under the Ottoman empire; the creation of an independent state and the root causes of Greece’s financial woes; the impacts of World Wars I and II; and the state of Athens in the wake of COVID-19. There is truly a topic for everyone in Clark’s account, even if he doesn’t always dive deep into the nitty gritty details.
Seeing the passion and care with which Clark approaches the topic of Athenian history, I was a little disappointed when he finished his account without any real conclusion or send-off. The writing simply stops and is followed by notes on sources. It was an abrupt end to what was otherwise a meticulous, thought-provoking summarization, and I was left wondering if a page or chapter was lost in the process of publication. Endings are just as important as beginnings, and I felt that not enough attention was paid to this book’s conclusion.
Despite this small criticism, I fully recommend this book to anyone who is interested in Greek history. The writing can be a bit dry to those who are interested in more popular topics like mythology and culture, but for readers interested in historic events, major players, and architectural origin stories, Athens, City of Wisdom would make a great addition to your library.
February 26, 2022
This is an extremely impressive book, for several reasons.
Firstly, its scope. It tells the story of Athens from the very beginning of its recorded history (around the 8th century BCE) right up until the present day. The lengthy Notes on Sources at the end of the book indicate how thoroughly the author has done the groundwork on all the material covered, consulting sources in several languages, not least both ancient and modern Greek. Though the mediaeval centuries before the Ottoman takeover - when various Western European adventurers (Franks, Catalans and others) fought over the exploitation of Attica and other parts of Greece - do not make for very arresting reading, the narrative never flags. Though it would take a historian approaching Clark's encyclopaedic knowledge to judge the soundness of his particular judgements, I was certainly impressed by the detailed analysis of the few areas of Greek history which I have previously looked at. For example, his treatment of World War One suggests that King Constantine's policy of neutrality, his rejection of British attempts to persuade him to enter the war as their ally, was not on account of a sentimental attachment to his German background, but rather a realistic assessment (prompted by the advice of his military chief Metaxas) of the damage which could ensue to the country should he enter into an alliance which would put him at war with the adjacent Ottoman empire – and of course, the ultimate failure of the Megali Idea and the disaster of the expulsion of Greeks from Asia Minor were a belated indication of how well-judged the king's caution had been.
Clark draws some convincing historical parallels between different eras: indeed, his narrative shows how the punitive treatment of Greece by the troika during the recent years of the Syriza government was very much a repetition of previous incursions into Greece by Western European powers, who have only ever conceded independence to Greece, the power to manage its own affairs, strictly on terms dictated to it from outside. And despite its meticulous citation of historical sources, this never becomes a dry factual narrative: Clark really develops a thorough, factually based but still vividly realised sense of the actual experience of living in modern Athens and traces particular aspects of the city to their historical roots. For example, he made me see how much the physical environment of modern Athens, and its supporting institutions, are very much dependent on the decisions taken in the early 1920s to accommodate the vast influx of people from Asia Minor.
Above all, this book conveys a real sense of the excitement in a journey of discovery into the past of Athens, and how it is still manifest in its various monuments.Turning the final page made me want to get on the next flight to Athens, where I lived for close on 30 years, to continue an exploration which is still far from complete.
Firstly, its scope. It tells the story of Athens from the very beginning of its recorded history (around the 8th century BCE) right up until the present day. The lengthy Notes on Sources at the end of the book indicate how thoroughly the author has done the groundwork on all the material covered, consulting sources in several languages, not least both ancient and modern Greek. Though the mediaeval centuries before the Ottoman takeover - when various Western European adventurers (Franks, Catalans and others) fought over the exploitation of Attica and other parts of Greece - do not make for very arresting reading, the narrative never flags. Though it would take a historian approaching Clark's encyclopaedic knowledge to judge the soundness of his particular judgements, I was certainly impressed by the detailed analysis of the few areas of Greek history which I have previously looked at. For example, his treatment of World War One suggests that King Constantine's policy of neutrality, his rejection of British attempts to persuade him to enter the war as their ally, was not on account of a sentimental attachment to his German background, but rather a realistic assessment (prompted by the advice of his military chief Metaxas) of the damage which could ensue to the country should he enter into an alliance which would put him at war with the adjacent Ottoman empire – and of course, the ultimate failure of the Megali Idea and the disaster of the expulsion of Greeks from Asia Minor were a belated indication of how well-judged the king's caution had been.
Clark draws some convincing historical parallels between different eras: indeed, his narrative shows how the punitive treatment of Greece by the troika during the recent years of the Syriza government was very much a repetition of previous incursions into Greece by Western European powers, who have only ever conceded independence to Greece, the power to manage its own affairs, strictly on terms dictated to it from outside. And despite its meticulous citation of historical sources, this never becomes a dry factual narrative: Clark really develops a thorough, factually based but still vividly realised sense of the actual experience of living in modern Athens and traces particular aspects of the city to their historical roots. For example, he made me see how much the physical environment of modern Athens, and its supporting institutions, are very much dependent on the decisions taken in the early 1920s to accommodate the vast influx of people from Asia Minor.
Above all, this book conveys a real sense of the excitement in a journey of discovery into the past of Athens, and how it is still manifest in its various monuments.Turning the final page made me want to get on the next flight to Athens, where I lived for close on 30 years, to continue an exploration which is still far from complete.
January 26, 2023
An extremely well-researched (and massive!) book that spans the history of a city from antiquity to modern times. While I thoroughly enjoyed most of the book, I think it could be improved if the author skipped the last quarter or so of the book, where he provides tedious intricate details on Greek politics and persona, and sprawling amenities of the city --not sure how many of the readers would be interested in these topics.
The author does well to “demystify” some of the common misconceptions: that ancient Athens was not a merely strictly secular society composed of self-critical minds upholding the virtues of reason and having open democratic debates on Pnyx. It was also a highly spiritual society with Parthenon (a temple, and not a parliament in Acropolis!) was at its heart, and where humans and deities lived side-by-side, in constant negotiation over matters of life.
I have learned a great deal of interesting information in this book.
About origins: the origin of the Aegean Sea (Aegeus, an Athenian king), the origin of Ionia (Ion, a semi-God character in mythology, and incidentally why Greeks are referred to as Yunan by Turkish speakers, a derivation of Ionians), finally the origin of Athens (arguably, by its protector Goddess Athena).
About the development of how the city was ruled: archons, the majestic role of Solon (how he abolished the system that used human bondage as surety for debts, stratified society based on 4-way division of citizenship, allowed political participation of the humblest through assemblies and as jurors, created appeal court with the principle of isonomia, encouraging economic stimulation through export and importing skilled-labour and thereby establishing it as a soft (economic) power, three constraints against emergence of a tyrant (assembly of free male citizens, judicial system, and ostracism)
About various characters that played a role in the ebb and flow of city’s politics (Kleisthenes, Kleomenes, Isagors, Hippias, Peisistratus, etc.), and generals (Miltiades, Themistocles, Pericles, Alcibiades etc.)
I especially enjoyed Clark’s tongue-in-cheek comparisons of ancient characters, states, and policies (like the use of nomos and psephisma to rules/constitution and amendments, or the aversion to wealth accumulation in Sparta to Communist states) to modern counterparts –and justifiably so: Lincoln evoked Pericles in his Gettysburg address as the author notes himself.
Other topics that piqued my interest are the ongoing timeless fascination with the soft power Athens has wielded – Romans, Brits, and Americans all looked up to ancient Greeks’ search for wisdom and thirst for education, and the competition that British aristocracy in the 18th century had in getting their hands on anything physical from ancient Greece, the fractions among Greeks even as they warred with the Ottomans for independence (a significant percentage of Greeks living in Ottoman empire were even for some sort of convergence of states!).
I found the coverage of certain periods, roughly from 300BC to 1200s a bit sparse, but I cannot fault Clark for that. It surely is due to lack of documents, monuments that can be attributed to that era.
One short excerpt: “Happiness in the loftiest sense does not consist of merely living enjoyably, but dying nobly, ideally by giving one’s departure from the earth some meaning or purpose. How well we die is something that cannot be determined until it actually happens. Hence, ‘call no man happy until he be dead.” (Solon)
The author does well to “demystify” some of the common misconceptions: that ancient Athens was not a merely strictly secular society composed of self-critical minds upholding the virtues of reason and having open democratic debates on Pnyx. It was also a highly spiritual society with Parthenon (a temple, and not a parliament in Acropolis!) was at its heart, and where humans and deities lived side-by-side, in constant negotiation over matters of life.
I have learned a great deal of interesting information in this book.
About origins: the origin of the Aegean Sea (Aegeus, an Athenian king), the origin of Ionia (Ion, a semi-God character in mythology, and incidentally why Greeks are referred to as Yunan by Turkish speakers, a derivation of Ionians), finally the origin of Athens (arguably, by its protector Goddess Athena).
About the development of how the city was ruled: archons, the majestic role of Solon (how he abolished the system that used human bondage as surety for debts, stratified society based on 4-way division of citizenship, allowed political participation of the humblest through assemblies and as jurors, created appeal court with the principle of isonomia, encouraging economic stimulation through export and importing skilled-labour and thereby establishing it as a soft (economic) power, three constraints against emergence of a tyrant (assembly of free male citizens, judicial system, and ostracism)
About various characters that played a role in the ebb and flow of city’s politics (Kleisthenes, Kleomenes, Isagors, Hippias, Peisistratus, etc.), and generals (Miltiades, Themistocles, Pericles, Alcibiades etc.)
I especially enjoyed Clark’s tongue-in-cheek comparisons of ancient characters, states, and policies (like the use of nomos and psephisma to rules/constitution and amendments, or the aversion to wealth accumulation in Sparta to Communist states) to modern counterparts –and justifiably so: Lincoln evoked Pericles in his Gettysburg address as the author notes himself.
Other topics that piqued my interest are the ongoing timeless fascination with the soft power Athens has wielded – Romans, Brits, and Americans all looked up to ancient Greeks’ search for wisdom and thirst for education, and the competition that British aristocracy in the 18th century had in getting their hands on anything physical from ancient Greece, the fractions among Greeks even as they warred with the Ottomans for independence (a significant percentage of Greeks living in Ottoman empire were even for some sort of convergence of states!).
I found the coverage of certain periods, roughly from 300BC to 1200s a bit sparse, but I cannot fault Clark for that. It surely is due to lack of documents, monuments that can be attributed to that era.
One short excerpt: “Happiness in the loftiest sense does not consist of merely living enjoyably, but dying nobly, ideally by giving one’s departure from the earth some meaning or purpose. How well we die is something that cannot be determined until it actually happens. Hence, ‘call no man happy until he be dead.” (Solon)
November 1, 2025
Clark is not Greek, but he is certainly a Philhellene: he has visited Athens many times, spent much time there, has many friends there. For this history of the city he delves into Athens’ deep past (600 BCE) with enthusiasm, and moves forward from there constantly drawing threads together, teasing out patterns, showing the reader a complete tapestry. His tone is chatty, his prose is light, his approach witty, his learning (which is compendious) lightly worn. This is not a short book at some 700 pages, but it is a consistently entertaining one.
As an overview of Athens in the Classical Age, it is very accessible. When it moves forward into the modern era it describes the complexities of modern Hellenism very clearly. The final chapter encompasses the EU imposed austerity crisis, Covid, the left-leaning Syriza government and its successor, amongst other challenges, and brings the story right up to 2021.
Clark is as good at the minutiae as he is at historical sweeps. He quotes widely from well-known sources, but also from the less well-known, and personal friends. It is a shame that there is no index to this whopper of a book. But there is a substantial section, “Notes on Sources”, which shares his thought processes and where he looked for information, both ancient and modern. This is actually one of the most fascinating sections of the book.
I read the book on Kindle, which has advantages: it enables you easily to look up earlier mentions of people, places etc and look out of the volume to Wikipedia for additional glosses. And my old wrists complain these days about holding a paper book of this length (and weight).
The disadvantage of the Kindle read, of course, is that the maps and diagrams – of which there are a goodly number – are illegibly small.
You pays your money and takes your choice.
If you are interested in Athens, ancient and/or modern, I recommend this very readable single volume history of the city to you unreservedly.
Coincidently, I read Athens alongside The Shortest History of Greece by James Heneage. The latter is a much shorter work (obviously) but also a light, knowledgeable read. The two complement each other very well. I’ll review Heneage’s book separately.
As an overview of Athens in the Classical Age, it is very accessible. When it moves forward into the modern era it describes the complexities of modern Hellenism very clearly. The final chapter encompasses the EU imposed austerity crisis, Covid, the left-leaning Syriza government and its successor, amongst other challenges, and brings the story right up to 2021.
Clark is as good at the minutiae as he is at historical sweeps. He quotes widely from well-known sources, but also from the less well-known, and personal friends. It is a shame that there is no index to this whopper of a book. But there is a substantial section, “Notes on Sources”, which shares his thought processes and where he looked for information, both ancient and modern. This is actually one of the most fascinating sections of the book.
I read the book on Kindle, which has advantages: it enables you easily to look up earlier mentions of people, places etc and look out of the volume to Wikipedia for additional glosses. And my old wrists complain these days about holding a paper book of this length (and weight).
The disadvantage of the Kindle read, of course, is that the maps and diagrams – of which there are a goodly number – are illegibly small.
You pays your money and takes your choice.
If you are interested in Athens, ancient and/or modern, I recommend this very readable single volume history of the city to you unreservedly.
Coincidently, I read Athens alongside The Shortest History of Greece by James Heneage. The latter is a much shorter work (obviously) but also a light, knowledgeable read. The two complement each other very well. I’ll review Heneage’s book separately.
April 18, 2023
The Washington Independent Review of Books
A detailed if not altogether necessary new history.
Enduring fascination with Athens is evinced by the myriad books about it. This raises the question of whether we really need one more. In the case of Bruce Clark’s Athens: City of Wisdom, the answer is: maybe.
While Clark may do a service by detailing often-overlooked aspects of Athenian history (e.g., medieval times), his book is a bit of a lift: very long on description, and short on telling us why it all matters.
At the outset, Clark leaves unanswered the most important question about ancient Athens: how it came to reject the model of authoritarian monarchy that prevailed at that time and opt for democracy instead.
This development was nothing short of miraculous, but Clark simply observes that Athens, from an early stage, “had robust institutions designed to accommodate the interests of several parties,” and moves on.
The author’s nods to interpretation consist primarily of one-sentence comparisons — e.g., ancient Greek dynasties being akin to the Kennedys or Bushes; ancient Athens being similar to today’s Gulf states; the year 431 BCE (when the Peloponnesian War broke out) being like 1914, and so on.
These are not particularly illuminating.
.....
Clark often appears unable to find something to say about this period in which the Greek world shrinks, as evidenced by the number of pages devoted to Athenian urban planning.
He forges on, nevertheless, through the rise of communism, the plight of Greece during WWII, dictatorship from 1967 to 1974, the 2004 Athens Olympics, and the Eurozone crisis.
The book also lacks a definitive conclusion, with Clark seeming to cite openings of new boutique hotels, fusion restaurants, edgy art galleries, and airport upgrades as signs that the city is back.
Or perhaps, in putting so much emphasis on tourist facilities, he is acknowledging that Athens will continue to get by as it has for millennia: by letting outsiders partake of its past glories.
Elizabeth J. Moore
October 13, 2024
This was exactly the book I was looking for, covering the history of Athens as a city and a cultural centre of Hellenism from its foundation to the modern day. Overall, I think the writer achieved this quite well, keeping it interesting and engaging, linking events from different periods of its history, and covering cultural, societal and political histories.
I'm not sure if this book works as well for people who are not already somewhat familiar with general Greek history. This is especially true for the chapters covering ca. 1800 - modern times where the book starts shifting more into general Greek history and away from more Athens focused storytelling (logically, as Athens is by that point no longer a city-state or smth similar). I can, for example, imagine that the setup of the chapter One wedding and four funerals would be confusing for people who know next to nothing about that time interval.
As a modern Greek, I am obv most familiar with the things spoken about in the last 2-3 chapters (esp the last two) so this is also where (similar to other books like Beaton's The Greeks) I have the most instances of finding over-simplifications or things I disagree with. Overall, the writer does a pretty good job of remaining relatively neutral. I couldn't tell for sure what his own political/economic leanings are. I did however get the feeling in the last 2 chapters that key events and evaluations were left out and that in many ways the story was told very much from an outsider's perspective. Though again, the author did try to give both sides of the coin (e.g. AirBnB) whenever possible.
I think this book is best for people with a general interest in the city of Athens who do have some more knowledge about Greece as a whole. Total beginners in the subject may feel lost though and while it can also provide an overview/introduction to the history of Greece, for the modern parts in particular additional reading is def. required.
December 2, 2022
In Athens: City of Wisdom, Bruce Clark takes us on a whirlwind tour of the history of the titular city from circa 3000 B.C.E. all the way up through 2021 and the COVID-19 pandemic. Naturally, in attempting to cover such a vast swath of history in just ~600 pages, a lot has been omitted. Alexander The Great is practically a footnote in this book. As we careen between eras in history, Clark takes some time to zoom in on particular people and events of note. Specifically, he highlights important figures and moments in politics, war, culture, and archaeology. In spite of the break-neck speed at which we traverse time, Clark manages to paint a fascinating image of a city that has had its fair share of turmoil. Athens is a city that was a major player in the history of Ancient Greece, which brought it widespread notoriety and almost a kind of reverence in the eyes of many visiting dignitaries and conquerors. And even through all of the conflicts and pillaging, Athens and its inhabitants have often taken moments to look back at their own history and attempted to hold on to it. Today, Athens is a very difference place than it was even 100 years ago, but in many ways it continues to embrace its rich heritage, both ancient and more recent.
As much as I enjoyed this book, I think that having a deeper knowledge of the history of Greece through the ages would help a reader have a clearer idea of the importance of particular events and people. The ~600 pages contained within are hardly sufficient to build an effective, unifying narrative thread, though Clark certainly tried. Still, I think the book was successful enough to recommend.
As much as I enjoyed this book, I think that having a deeper knowledge of the history of Greece through the ages would help a reader have a clearer idea of the importance of particular events and people. The ~600 pages contained within are hardly sufficient to build an effective, unifying narrative thread, though Clark certainly tried. Still, I think the book was successful enough to recommend.
February 20, 2023
I picked up this book in Athens after asking a store clerk for a book about the 30 Tyrants and this is the closest they had. I do have to admit I was gobsmacked when it skipped right over the 30 tyrants, but I can't be too mad as I got so much more out of this book. As a typical person interested in Greece, I loved the section on classical Greece and it gave me various lesson plan ideas and directions to go in terms of research. Alexander's conquest stepped up the geopolitical history of Athens. Still, it was so frustrating knowing that there was so much more going on through the ancient world because of his actions, but I guess that speaks to how well this book is centered on its main topic. Moving into Byzantine Greece, I was both treated to a deeper knowledge of its role in early Christianity and new knowledge on just how impactful Greek culture and school of thinking was to various cultures. So impactful that many invested time and money to prop up historical landmarks and scholarship. Though as we reached the middle ages it was painful to see more and more of Athens lost to time and war. It was modern Greece however, that was completely new to me. I had never had the opportunity or need to research anything past Byzantine Greece or its financial crisis in the 2000s. I didn't realize Greece's struggle to become a unified country. It was fascinating and made me want to delve deeper into it.
To sum it up I found it an excellent study of such a long period of time that was well-focused and enjoyably written. I especially appreciated the notes and looks into his research process. I just want to read more and more!
To sum it up I found it an excellent study of such a long period of time that was well-focused and enjoyably written. I especially appreciated the notes and looks into his research process. I just want to read more and more!
July 4, 2022
A good friend of mine sent me this doorstop of a book for Christmas, and I have finally made my way through it.
As a former resident of Athens, I found “Athens: City of Wisdom” to be a fascinating read, that taught me a lot about the city that I never knew.
Bruce Clark has done an excellent job of research, marshaling a large quantity of factual information to tell the reader the full story of this fascinating city. His affection for Athens comes off the page, and his telling insights into the Greek character were striking.
If I have a criticism of this book, it is in the portion of the book that deals with modern Athens, i.e., since the Greece achieved independence in the 1820s. From this point onward, it is unclear if the author is writing a history of Athens or of the Greek state. Notwithstanding this criticism, I still found the section on post-1830 Greece to be quite colorful and informative.
This book is not for everyone, and perhaps its resonance in my case lies in the fact that (a) I lived in Athens, and (b) while reading this book I was actually in Athens itself. A reader who has not visited the city could find the book’s post-classical-era sections to be slow going.
As a former resident of Athens, I found “Athens: City of Wisdom” to be a fascinating read, that taught me a lot about the city that I never knew.
Bruce Clark has done an excellent job of research, marshaling a large quantity of factual information to tell the reader the full story of this fascinating city. His affection for Athens comes off the page, and his telling insights into the Greek character were striking.
If I have a criticism of this book, it is in the portion of the book that deals with modern Athens, i.e., since the Greece achieved independence in the 1820s. From this point onward, it is unclear if the author is writing a history of Athens or of the Greek state. Notwithstanding this criticism, I still found the section on post-1830 Greece to be quite colorful and informative.
This book is not for everyone, and perhaps its resonance in my case lies in the fact that (a) I lived in Athens, and (b) while reading this book I was actually in Athens itself. A reader who has not visited the city could find the book’s post-classical-era sections to be slow going.
November 19, 2022
I was fortunate to spend three nights in Athens in Oct.2022 and I loved it. It is a fascinating and amazing city for long walks, the food was close to (if not the best) that I have ever eaten, and the ancient buildings one sees from everywhere left me in awe. I wish I had read Bruce Clark's book before I visited, but having read it I am determined to return and spend days or weeks exploring Athens and Greece.
Athens (and Greece) have a long history, glorius at times and troubled at others. The ancient Athenian art (especially schulptures and architecture), literature, and government were years ahead of their time. But Greece and Athens have, through their history, experienced many forms of government, existed with different dominant religions, and seen all economic states from near bankruptcy to extravagent boom times. Bruce Clark does a very good job documenting these period in Hellenic history, and in providing well written biographical pages about the important figures in Greek and Athenian history. There is alot here, but for a broad overview of Greek and Athenian history, I highly recommend this book as a great place to start. I may well read it again when a visit to Greece is in my near future.
Athens (and Greece) have a long history, glorius at times and troubled at others. The ancient Athenian art (especially schulptures and architecture), literature, and government were years ahead of their time. But Greece and Athens have, through their history, experienced many forms of government, existed with different dominant religions, and seen all economic states from near bankruptcy to extravagent boom times. Bruce Clark does a very good job documenting these period in Hellenic history, and in providing well written biographical pages about the important figures in Greek and Athenian history. There is alot here, but for a broad overview of Greek and Athenian history, I highly recommend this book as a great place to start. I may well read it again when a visit to Greece is in my near future.
December 4, 2022
Places remember events, but if the only line you can can draw between two events in a unified narrative is the place they happened (here be the cave where Pericles orated), then it isn't optimized for insight. I'm unlikely to read another book on Athens so I suppose it's a serendipitous release so recent, so up to date, and so comprehensive. Still, I'm disappointed by the lazy reduction of the writer's 'tell a story' mandate to simply picking interesting anecdotes that provide color but no substrate. The level of detail in the book also makes it easy to forget this isn’t a history of Athens but a history of the records kept about Athens, where the sins of omission (like the Dark Ages) are clear and understandable but the sins of commission (like the total lack of Ottoman perspective) much less so. That makes the entire second half of the book a very wary enterprise, an unfortunate perpetuation of the gulf in engagement and interest between Ancient Greece and Modern Greece, the only gulf that the modern Greeks detest, and one that I am appalled but also resignedly unsurprised to find I share with Heinrich Himmler.
March 14, 2023
The definitive history of Athens for this generation. Beautifully written with colorful anecdotes and sly humor, Clark does an exhaustive job delving back into Athens’ mythological past and summarizing the current woes jt faces nearly 3000 years later.
One of the major themes in the book is how Athens has been like a magnet, attracting people with a variety of talents and skills from the begging of its history. Another theme has been the city’s perseverance and ability to adapt to changing circumstances be they invasion, war, occupation, natural disasters or disease.
Clark is able to deftly blend both primary and secondary sources in his research in order to make the case for Athens as a place where ideas have been discussed, debated, and analyzed throughout its entire history. Who is Athens for exactly? How and where should the current city expand to exactly? How can it address issues such as climate change and immigration? These are the questions which will continue to dominate Athens for the foreseeable future. A love letter to one of the world’s great historical cities, this book is both educational and entertaining.
One of the major themes in the book is how Athens has been like a magnet, attracting people with a variety of talents and skills from the begging of its history. Another theme has been the city’s perseverance and ability to adapt to changing circumstances be they invasion, war, occupation, natural disasters or disease.
Clark is able to deftly blend both primary and secondary sources in his research in order to make the case for Athens as a place where ideas have been discussed, debated, and analyzed throughout its entire history. Who is Athens for exactly? How and where should the current city expand to exactly? How can it address issues such as climate change and immigration? These are the questions which will continue to dominate Athens for the foreseeable future. A love letter to one of the world’s great historical cities, this book is both educational and entertaining.
August 23, 2022
This book was an enjoyable read through the vast sweep of Athen's history as only a seasoned journalist can tell it. And that is what it is - a journalistic account, not a Donald Kagan-type blow-by-blow historical narrative. The book's connective thread is Athen's cultural, political, and intellectual development and transformation over the course of the centuries, most of it quite fascinating if you have not been exposed to both ancient and modern Athenian history before. One wishes there was more discussion on Athen's actual physical and geographical development over time but there's enough to provide a sense of how Athens changed to meet the exigencies of the moment. And what was daily life for the average, ordinary Athenian? There are bits here and there on vernacular Athenian cultural and social life but more would have complimented the broader discussion. All in all, you can tell the author enjoyed writing it. It is an enthralling journey through time in a great city of life and culture.
August 20, 2023
U poslednjih nekoliko godina dosta sam čitao o periodu antike; i dalje mi je neshvatljiv broj genija s kojima i danas možemo da se družimo, a koji su živeli među tih par stotina hiljada ljudi, u vreme od nekoliko decenija. Manje više mi je poznata istorija Atine do početka rimske vladavine, možda i do početka hrišćanstva.
Ova knjiga trebalo je da popuni tu moju rupu od 1600-1700 godina.
Nije ovo neka naročita istoriografija (knjigu je napisao novinar), tako da je samo donekle uspela. Da nisam očekivao da o antičkoj Atini čujem nešto novo, i da sam taj deo preskočio, verovatno bi i krajnji utisak bio bolji. Opet, Klark mi je pobudio interes za grčku istoriju devetnaestog (oslobođenje od Otomana) i dvadesetog veka (Balkanski ratovi, katastrofa u Turskoj, državni udar, građanski rat). Zainteresovala me za Bajrona dovoljno da krenem da tražim njegova dela i njegovu biografiju, a podsetila me i zašto volim rembetiku (Markos Vamvarakis, nakon što je izbegao iz Smirne u Atinu i prvi put čuo buzuki: "Ili ću savladati ovaj instrument, ili ću si odseći ruku.")
Ova knjiga trebalo je da popuni tu moju rupu od 1600-1700 godina.
Nije ovo neka naročita istoriografija (knjigu je napisao novinar), tako da je samo donekle uspela. Da nisam očekivao da o antičkoj Atini čujem nešto novo, i da sam taj deo preskočio, verovatno bi i krajnji utisak bio bolji. Opet, Klark mi je pobudio interes za grčku istoriju devetnaestog (oslobođenje od Otomana) i dvadesetog veka (Balkanski ratovi, katastrofa u Turskoj, državni udar, građanski rat). Zainteresovala me za Bajrona dovoljno da krenem da tražim njegova dela i njegovu biografiju, a podsetila me i zašto volim rembetiku (Markos Vamvarakis, nakon što je izbegao iz Smirne u Atinu i prvi put čuo buzuki: "Ili ću savladati ovaj instrument, ili ću si odseći ruku.")
February 14, 2022
An outstanding book. The author manages to make 3,000 years of Greek history accessible and enjoyable to even the pedestrian reader like me. The book is so well researched that it will likely please the academic as well as the amateur historian. He kept my attention with great pacing and the effective reinforcing of themes, names, geography. With Clark as a guide I was able to reconcile my mottled grasp of various eras and empires of European and Asian history through his clear storytelling and focus on important personalities and events. I emerged with a better appreciation of the turbulent and rich history of Athens and Greece as well as the key figures that authored its storyline the city’s influence on the rest of the world.
January 4, 2023
Not a bad book by any means, but it's less a book on the history of Athens and more a collection of historical anecdotes that happen to have some connection to Athens. You still get some sense of a timeline of Athenian history, but not to the extent that I wanted from the book.
I found that Athens: A History, From Ancient Ideal to Modern City does a better job at actually being a history of Athens, though it's not as up-to-date and stops at the 2004 Olympics. I'd also take that recommendation with a grain of salt, as I read Waterfield's book back in 2015.
I found that Athens: A History, From Ancient Ideal to Modern City does a better job at actually being a history of Athens, though it's not as up-to-date and stops at the 2004 Olympics. I'd also take that recommendation with a grain of salt, as I read Waterfield's book back in 2015.
August 4, 2024
This was a great read about Athens. It was a rare history book where I wanted to keep reading to learn more about the city. I gave the book a (rare for me) rating of 4.
I bought the book from Books Plus, a bookstore in Athens during my visit to the city in the spring of 2024. Having visited the city, it was a treat to recognize some of the places mentioned in the book.
Usually, I do not like books whose authors used quotes liberally. Even though quotes were used throughout the book, at times quite copiously, I found that the quotes did not annoy me as much.
I recommend this book. As a result of liking the author’s work in this book, I bought another one about the population exchanges between Greece and Turkey.
I bought the book from Books Plus, a bookstore in Athens during my visit to the city in the spring of 2024. Having visited the city, it was a treat to recognize some of the places mentioned in the book.
Usually, I do not like books whose authors used quotes liberally. Even though quotes were used throughout the book, at times quite copiously, I found that the quotes did not annoy me as much.
I recommend this book. As a result of liking the author’s work in this book, I bought another one about the population exchanges between Greece and Turkey.
July 12, 2022
Excellent, well-written and colorful summary. Athens: a messy, complicated and amazing town... Rome's sister who didn't graduate high school, got into drugs for a while and had some dysfunctional relationships, but is a lot of fun and now runs an ambiguously successful small business.
Sometimes this book, of necessity, blended into "History of Greece with Athens as Proxy", which I tended to enjoy less (although it was useful), and I wish there was a bit more detailed content on Athens itself: development of different neighborhoods, urban economics, demographic trends, etc. But for a survey of this scope, Clark did an excellent job and riffed quite well on the city at the end!
Sometimes this book, of necessity, blended into "History of Greece with Athens as Proxy", which I tended to enjoy less (although it was useful), and I wish there was a bit more detailed content on Athens itself: development of different neighborhoods, urban economics, demographic trends, etc. But for a survey of this scope, Clark did an excellent job and riffed quite well on the city at the end!
December 15, 2022
At once sweeping but engaging with the right level of detail, the book runs through a few thousand years of history. The book connects ancient events and systems with modern concepts, given them context and making clear how much of an echo of the past the modern times are.
The book does a fine job of the tall task of explaining Athens history till the present moment (2022), including its unceasing interactions with other city states and empires while never losing sight of the task of putting Athens front and center.
An enjoyable read for anyone that wants to learn about where much of today’s civilization and societal systems come from.
The book does a fine job of the tall task of explaining Athens history till the present moment (2022), including its unceasing interactions with other city states and empires while never losing sight of the task of putting Athens front and center.
An enjoyable read for anyone that wants to learn about where much of today’s civilization and societal systems come from.
September 6, 2022
This book was a fantastic biography on one of the world’s greatest cities. Have visited Athens on many occasions, but the book has given me new insights on a city. The role of Hadrian, the role of Herod Atticus, previously just names. Now I have a more complete understanding of their impact. Next time I’m up on the sacred rock I will make sure I spend sometime looking at Salamis.
To the author thanks for another fantastic book. By the way your endnotes and bibliography was fantastic. I read every page.
To the author thanks for another fantastic book. By the way your endnotes and bibliography was fantastic. I read every page.
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February 5, 2023A clear overview of Athenian history. I especially liked the description of the battles, rough, but very real to me, when Marathon and Salamis had mostly been names to me before. 'The Greeks with broken oars and bits of wreck smashed and shattered the men in the water like tunny, like gaffed fish. One great scream filled up all the sea's surface with lament. Until the eye of darkness took it all.' Socrates death is the anomaly that it was. And the ostracism made me think about this counter-action against privilege. Harsh for a person, but perhaps good for the group?
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