The Greeks
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Description
'Magisterial . . . remarkable.' Guardian
'Erudite and highly readable . . . An authoritative guide to the countless ways in which Greek words and ideas have shaped the modern world.' Financial Times
The Greeks is a story which takes us from the archaeological treasures of the Bronze Age Aegean and myths of gods and heroes, to the politics of the European Union today. It is a story of inventions, such as the alphabet, philosophy and science, but also of reinvention: of cultures which merged and multiplied, and adapted to catastrophic change. It is the epic, revelatory history of the Greek-speaking people and their global impact told as never before.
Book Information
Posts
Insightful and over-arching
'The Greeks' was not an easy read per se which of course makes sense as it is non-fiction. I get the impression that there was thorough research and there are abundant sources for everybody who still wants to dig deeper and know more. I myself am really terrible with geography which made it at times hard to understand all the connections and wars between different factions of Greek-speaking people, but I imagine this is a me-problem (and there are also maps for each chapter. I am just lazy.) That being said: The red line of a shared culture and language as what makes one Greek and not so much the feeling of being a Nation made it still worth to keep on reading. I think I understand something more fundamentale about 'Being Greek' now. How this developed and still influences modern Hellenes is very interesting and goes beyond the understanding of geographical borders. In my opinion, it would help some of our modern states and nations to remember that life isn't clear-cut and some borders are entirely self-made and arbitrary, it hasn't always "been this way" and it will not always be this way forever. Change is a part of life and nations and states are going through journeys just as much as a people and individuals.
Description
'Magisterial . . . remarkable.' Guardian
'Erudite and highly readable . . . An authoritative guide to the countless ways in which Greek words and ideas have shaped the modern world.' Financial Times
The Greeks is a story which takes us from the archaeological treasures of the Bronze Age Aegean and myths of gods and heroes, to the politics of the European Union today. It is a story of inventions, such as the alphabet, philosophy and science, but also of reinvention: of cultures which merged and multiplied, and adapted to catastrophic change. It is the epic, revelatory history of the Greek-speaking people and their global impact told as never before.
Book Information
Posts
Insightful and over-arching
'The Greeks' was not an easy read per se which of course makes sense as it is non-fiction. I get the impression that there was thorough research and there are abundant sources for everybody who still wants to dig deeper and know more. I myself am really terrible with geography which made it at times hard to understand all the connections and wars between different factions of Greek-speaking people, but I imagine this is a me-problem (and there are also maps for each chapter. I am just lazy.) That being said: The red line of a shared culture and language as what makes one Greek and not so much the feeling of being a Nation made it still worth to keep on reading. I think I understand something more fundamentale about 'Being Greek' now. How this developed and still influences modern Hellenes is very interesting and goes beyond the understanding of geographical borders. In my opinion, it would help some of our modern states and nations to remember that life isn't clear-cut and some borders are entirely self-made and arbitrary, it hasn't always "been this way" and it will not always be this way forever. Change is a part of life and nations and states are going through journeys just as much as a people and individuals.