Greek Realities: Life and Thought in Ancient Greece

by Finley Hooper

"The study of the Greeks can never be a closed account. The wide variety of critical and descriptive works written about them . . . . bears witness to man's continuing preoccupation with himself. Other ages might talk of God or machines; the Greeks, from Homer to Diogenes, were fascinated with man. Plato's emphasis on the spiritual world and Diogenes' unheroic retreat may seem to be departures from the Greek way. But that would be true if there were a single Greek way. Obviously, there was not. It is the variety of ideas about man, who he is and who he hopes to be, which is the real Greek legacy . . . . This book [begins] with the rich tombs of Mycenaean kings who tried desperately to preserve what they had won. It ends with Diogenes and his fellow Cynics who say that it is better to let it all go. In between are the heroes, the art, the history which belong to the ancient Greeks. The questions they raised and the answers they offered are still the concern of us all."
―Finley Hooper

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Classics

480 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1968

About the author

Finley Allison Hooper was a historian who spent many years teaching at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan, where he was Professor Emeritus of History at the time of his death in 1993. He had earlier served as visiting assistant professor of history at the University of Michigan, where he had earned his PhD. Professor Hooper was a specialist in classical Greek and Roman civilisation. He had more than two thousand scholarly articles published during his career, as well as several books. At least one of those books ('Roman Realities') was for several years widely used as a textbook in U.S. colleges and universities.

Reviews

[Jeffrey Jude · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent text that brings ancient Greek history to life. I had the privilege of first reading this book nearly 30 yrs ago while taking a college course in ancient Greek History taught by Professor Hooper, the author.

Over the years, I lost my copy and so I just purchased another copy off eBay to read it again.

I highly recommend it.

[Jim]

Reading this book was God awful boring. I think it made me less intelligent for the 30-some odd pages I actually read. In fact reading this book causes permanent brain damage and eye damage as well...It's a gateway book to drugs, Satan and NO SEX WHATSOEVER....If ever a book should be banned or burned...this is the book...it's that frickin' bad...If boring could a person then this is your book to commit suicide with...