The Greeks: History, Culture, and Society

by Ian Morris, Barry B. Powell

Organized chronologically, this text presents a complete picture of Greek civilization as a history and features sections on the art, architecture, literature, and thought of each period.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, College, Historical

576 pages, Paperback

First published March 21, 2005

Reviews

[Mija · Rating 4 out of 5]

Again, it feels weird reviewing a textbook, but this was a really good one. I put off the last chapter of it because it was an overview of Roman history and that is (mainly) such a bore. Now I'm just waiting for my final marks back!

Although it was at times repetitive and had a couple minor issues, I enjoyed it a lot, mainly because I love (always have loved) Ancient Greek history. in the course of reading this textbook and doing this class, I feel like I learned a lot which has only served to justify my love for it even more. Perhaps it's something that can't entirely be justified, but learning about these people (in all their tragic flaws and shortcomings, as well as their triumphs) will always be so satisfying. I'm looking forward to approaching classical literature as well as fiction inspired by the classical era with a much deeper understanding.

A list of my favourite things that I came to realize:
-concepts of Greekness and how they developed, as well as the relations between the city-states
-migration and colonization and just how big the "Greek world" really was
-the notion that history really is not simply a progression because it consistently includes steps backwards (or, more accurately, some things improve and others don't)
-a basic chronology that always seemed to be lacking in my knowledge of this era (Homer, composing his epics, was already so very far removed from the period in which they took place; to Alexander the Great, the Iliad was already a well-established classic for many centuries; etc.)

[Izzy Lashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I know this is a textbook but this is the first one I could actually read.

[Sandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Topp 1 drepe meg selv bok🔥

[Scum · Rating 1 out of 5]

The most basic and rudimentary introduction to Ancient Greek history, and would barely serve a lower high school class.

The textbook is interested in maintaining the gross norms in classical studies, no interest in a post-colonial approach.

The only reason you would pick this up is for required reading, and seriously save yourself the bother and use Wikipedia to supplement your in class learning.

[Boris · Rating 3 out of 5]

very basic, sticking close to the source material, but hardly ever questioning it thoroughly. Also, Caesar is portrayed way too positively.

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Obviously I read this textbook for a class in the spring—but I really did want to review it because I’ve found this to be one of the easiest textbooks to follow. It’s very informative and heavy in detail, but it flows with narrative so well that it truly was never hassle to read for class. In the end I was really glad I bought the physical text of this one to keep and it was genuinely good enough that, if someone asked me for recommendations on Greek culture/society informative texts, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this even outside of typical academic settings. Very accessible in the way the information is presented.

[Julianne]

Read this as a textbook for an undergraduate course. Language was a little simplistic, explaining things like what starvation means and such, but very readable.

[Catherine Woodman · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book started off stronger than it finished--which may have more to do with the Greeks themselves than the authors. The fact is that it appears that they blew it. A fight that could not be resolved between Sparta and Athens led to centuries of war that could have been quite different. And amidst it all democracy and literature were nurtured (and then crushed on occasion). Aristotle and other Greeks in Ionia changed the world of science, and there is a lot of wonder to be had here amidst all the gloom of mercenaries and war.

[Adelheid · Rating 1 out of 5]

The authors are obviously confused about who their audience is. This book has a high lexile level, yet the authors manage to think their audience are either pre-high school or imbeciles. They go so far as to define the words oligarchy and monarchy. It is not a smooth read or overly enlightening. Worse, my biggest thoughts on it were 'This needs to be killed with fire'. Now that I no longer have to use it for a graduate level class, that is exactly what I will be doing.

[Wendelle]

nice and comprehensive textbook on Greeks, but on certain chapters the authors quote so heavily and lengthily on single sources (Herodotus and Thucydides, for instance) to augment the main text, that one might as well read the primary sources themselves