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Griegos de la antiguedad, los
Barcelona. 20 cm. 194 p., 2 h. grab. Encuadernación en tapa blanda de editorial ilustrada. Colección 'Nueva Colección Labor', numero coleccion(v. 7). Finley, M. I. 1912-1986. The ancient Greeks. Traducción de J. M. García de la Mora. Prólogo de José Alsina. Civilización griega .. Este libro es de segunda mano y tiene o puede tener marcas y señales de su anterior propietario. 8433593633
Hardcover
First published January 1, 1963
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
January 11, 2012
I would recommend this for people who already have a decent knowledge of Ancient Greece.
The book had great organization - a nice survey of all aspects of ancient Greek life.
However, I only took one basic course in Western Civilization, about 6 years ago in college, and I had a hard time reading the sections of this book that discussed politics and warfare among Greece and other civilizations in the region. The author has a nice writing style, but he often makes casual references, without much explanation, to historical events or people or geography that I sadly cannot recall from my slim prior historical reading.
That being said, the book was a good level of reading for me in the subject areas that I had read more about previously, like theater, poetry, the visual arts, and philosophy. It offered more advanced historical analysis into those areas that I already had a basic foundation in, which I really enjoyed.
The book had great organization - a nice survey of all aspects of ancient Greek life.
However, I only took one basic course in Western Civilization, about 6 years ago in college, and I had a hard time reading the sections of this book that discussed politics and warfare among Greece and other civilizations in the region. The author has a nice writing style, but he often makes casual references, without much explanation, to historical events or people or geography that I sadly cannot recall from my slim prior historical reading.
That being said, the book was a good level of reading for me in the subject areas that I had read more about previously, like theater, poetry, the visual arts, and philosophy. It offered more advanced historical analysis into those areas that I already had a basic foundation in, which I really enjoyed.
May 26, 2017
Impressively concise but solid review of Greek history until the Macedonian conquest. For me, having read quite a bit on the subject, this was a refresher as regards the basic facts and interesting as regards Finley's informed but cautious takes on those facts. I think, however, that it would also serve as a readable introduction to the topic.
November 26, 2023
High readable and a comprehensive account of the Ancient Greeks.
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January 11, 2025An opinionated yet scholarly, brisk yet thorough overview of ancient Greek culture, focusing primarily on the history, politics, and intellectual culture of Athens. Maybe too focused on that one city-state, but for the space allotted, sufficient in recognizing the key distinctions of the West’s most lasting wellspring of thought.
March 18, 2025
4.1/5
Está muy interesante, breve y bien redactado, algunas cosas ya las conocía y otras no, me pareció un buen trabajo de un historiador que ha dedicado parte de su trabajo a la antigua Grecia
Está muy interesante, breve y bien redactado, algunas cosas ya las conocía y otras no, me pareció un buen trabajo de un historiador que ha dedicado parte de su trabajo a la antigua Grecia
April 13, 2015
From the absurd attitude that took ancient Greece as some kind of harmonious "ideal," some have shifted to the attitude that it was a rather worthless and uninteresting period, because of slavery, for example. Few stop to consider whether slavery of some kind isn't part of today's social system, and whether today's intellectuals aren't just as "aristocratic" as those of ancient Athens (without being on the philosophical level of a Plato or an Aristotle, obviously).
In any case, abhorrent as some of ancient Greece's institutions and values were, there's no denying it was a fascinating time and that for a brief moment the autonomous poleis, with their assemblies, councils and magistrates invented a curious way of life, one that did not quite do away with typical Greek "stasis" or civil strife between "the few" and "the many," the upper and lower classes, but did find strange, contradictory balances, and in the process produced political, cultural and intellectual forms that remain impressive.
Finley does his best to interpret the paradoxes and fill in the many gaps in knowledge. From archaic Greece to the Hellenistic period, he hits the highlights and his explanations seem mostly sound.
In any case, abhorrent as some of ancient Greece's institutions and values were, there's no denying it was a fascinating time and that for a brief moment the autonomous poleis, with their assemblies, councils and magistrates invented a curious way of life, one that did not quite do away with typical Greek "stasis" or civil strife between "the few" and "the many," the upper and lower classes, but did find strange, contradictory balances, and in the process produced political, cultural and intellectual forms that remain impressive.
Finley does his best to interpret the paradoxes and fill in the many gaps in knowledge. From archaic Greece to the Hellenistic period, he hits the highlights and his explanations seem mostly sound.
May 25, 2023
This book worked for me very very nicely and I'm grateful to the tradition of second-hand book trading which allowed me to discover this book and get it for 2 EURs.
Finley, an outstanding scholar of ancient world who introduced novel approaches in our understanding of the era, seems like to have pursued a goal in this book not only to introduce the ancient Greek world to the lay reader in the most concise sense but also doing that in an almost personal level so that he very kindly (of him) connects with the reader on variety of curiosities which may occur to the novice reader, like, the importance of religion, handling of slavery issue, progression of arts, etc. He not only knows his stuff well, which he conveys in a very intelligible manner but he's fully aware of what matters most and he extends this part of discussion.
For sure it's a dated book, especially (and naturally) missing the recent developments in ancient studies, like the sources of inspiration for the Greek civilization, which in many subjects he claims to be without precedent. However, recent studies show non-negligible influence of near East cultures on Greek ideas, which looked without precedent when Finley was authoring. Still, it's a very valuable book. Normally I would give 4 stars but due to its poor rating here, I'm giving 5 just to tip the balance a bit.
Finley, an outstanding scholar of ancient world who introduced novel approaches in our understanding of the era, seems like to have pursued a goal in this book not only to introduce the ancient Greek world to the lay reader in the most concise sense but also doing that in an almost personal level so that he very kindly (of him) connects with the reader on variety of curiosities which may occur to the novice reader, like, the importance of religion, handling of slavery issue, progression of arts, etc. He not only knows his stuff well, which he conveys in a very intelligible manner but he's fully aware of what matters most and he extends this part of discussion.
For sure it's a dated book, especially (and naturally) missing the recent developments in ancient studies, like the sources of inspiration for the Greek civilization, which in many subjects he claims to be without precedent. However, recent studies show non-negligible influence of near East cultures on Greek ideas, which looked without precedent when Finley was authoring. Still, it's a very valuable book. Normally I would give 4 stars but due to its poor rating here, I'm giving 5 just to tip the balance a bit.
June 5, 2023
Unremarkable, learned and rather dry, survey of the Ancient Greeks covering their history, arts, science, Literature and politics. Its short - about 180 pages. There are no footnotes. The 1977 edition, which I read, has a bibliography made up books mainly published from 1960 to 1973. Since Findley was a Leftist, and possible communist**, some of his pronoucements on certain subjects should be met with skepticism.
** - Findley was fired from Rutgers University in early 50s for refusing to testify before a Congressional committee. He had been identifed by others as a member of CPUSA, and admitted he had numerous CPUSA members as Friends and associates. When seeking a job at Oxford, he told Trevor-Roper he was hard-Left but not a communist, although how much stock we can put in that is open to question.
** - Findley was fired from Rutgers University in early 50s for refusing to testify before a Congressional committee. He had been identifed by others as a member of CPUSA, and admitted he had numerous CPUSA members as Friends and associates. When seeking a job at Oxford, he told Trevor-Roper he was hard-Left but not a communist, although how much stock we can put in that is open to question.
January 3, 2021
De oude Grieken, een klassieker
July 5, 2023
Conciso y cumple lo que promete en la intro pero me parece que ahonda mucho en partes irrelevantes y no enfoca en cosas necesarias. Tengo que releerlo.
February 16, 2024
A little dated, but a great survey covering a little bit of everything Ancient Greece.
April 15, 2024
Quiero aclarar que no me lei todo el libro, solo la mitad del mismo, ya que me lo pidieron para mi carrera.
June 20, 2024
Fue de mucha ayuda para una materia del instituto.
April 11, 2025
Essential synthesis from a master of Ancient Greek studies.
July 26, 2010
Picked this up in a market on a whim but glad I did. My knowledge of ancient Greece is sketchy to say the least, restricted to philosophy and plays. This is a short, punchy book, intertwining themes rather than giving linear chunks of facts. I'm pleasantly surprised that a scholar of ancient Greece is not s dry writer, but quuite pithy, witty at times, and not averse to idiomatic asides comparing ancient Greeks with modern westerners.
About half way through this short book, only reading a short section at a time. The first half ends with the decline of the polis, then goes on to look in subsequent chapters at specifics such as literature, philosophy, science, popular attitudes, concluding with an overview of the conventionally termed Hellenistic Age.
About half way through this short book, only reading a short section at a time. The first half ends with the decline of the polis, then goes on to look in subsequent chapters at specifics such as literature, philosophy, science, popular attitudes, concluding with an overview of the conventionally termed Hellenistic Age.
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July 26, 2012A Forced Read for a Class...it was the most hideously boring book I've have had the horror of casting my eyes upon. This book is so fucking bad, I would recommend Captain Smackass to read it for a laugh.
May 15, 2016
Finley finds a nice balance between detail and significance in this short little introduction. It really filled in a few contextual gaps for me being more familiar with Ancient Greek Philosophy than Ancient Greek History or sociology.
April 5, 2017
An excellence source for me.
February 28, 2014
An accessible and engaging introduction to ancient Greece.
September 13, 2015
A good, basic introduction to Greek culture, a nice review.
April 18, 2017
Zeer helder overzicht in een vlotte stijl.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews