Books on Ancient Greece

[Sasaki Kojiro]

I skip around a lot in what I read, but generally go back to Ancient Greece when I don't have anything particular to read. Over the past 8 months or so I've read Homer, Herodotus, some of Aeschylus and Sophocles, some of Plato and Aristotle, and just finished Thucydides. Anyway, I think it's pretty easy to get an idea of what ancient books to read, but I have a harder time figuring out what more recent books on the subject are worthwhile. The only one I've read so far is "Shame and Necessity" by Bernard Williams, which was more philosophical, quite good.

I like military history but generally want more than just battles. Any recommendations?

[CBR]

Maybe "Soldiers and ghosts: A History of Battle in Classical Antiquity" by J.E. Lendon. Although it does involve the Romans too I found it an illuminating read about the impact cultural tradition had on warfare.

[Montmorency]

Peter Green, Donald Kagan, and Adrian Goldsworthy are three well-regarded authors.

Maybe Victor Davis Hanson - occasionally (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?56778-New-Peloponnesian-War-Book-by-Victor-Davis-Hanson&highlight=victor+hanson).

[Kralizec]

Donald Kagan

I absolutely loved his work The Peloponnesian War (2003). Long, but worth the time.

It's about a war of course, but it also gives a perspective of the differences between Athenian and Spartan societies.

Beforehand I would never have imagined that the threat of executing a 100 or so POW's could be a credible reason for a major power to agree to peace. This only makes sense when you realise how few "Spartiates" there actually were.

It also led me to the conclusion that anyone who admires Spartan society is either ignorant or a closet-fascist.

[Montmorency]

Oh shoot, I misread the title here as. Ignore Goldsworthy.

[Arjos]

For archaic and classical periods:

"Greek Warfare: Myths and Realities" by Hans van Wees

"The Western Way of War" by Victor Davis Hanson

For the hellenistic period:

"Hellenistic and Roman Sparta" by Paul Cartledge and Antony Spawforth

"The Cambridge companion to the Hellenistic world" by Glenn Richard Bugh; this one is a collection of articles, so its topics are very broad, hope you fine what you were looking for :)

[Reenk Roink]

Maybe "Soldiers and ghosts: A History of Battle in Classical Antiquity" by J.E. Lendon. Although it does involve the Romans too I found it an illuminating read about the impact cultural tradition had on warfare.

Seconded. This is one of the "more than battles" books. It will tie in your previous reading of the Homeric epics nicely, and is a very fluid read, not at all academic.

[Sasaki Kojiro]

Thanks for the suggestions :2thumbsup: I just finished Soldiers and Ghosts, which was excellent, and I have Donald Kagan's "The Peloponnesian war" waiting. Although I can't predict whether I will read it next or something else.

I read a "guide to the roman world" oxford book just after I finished thucydides that was a series of articles, it was good but I'd rather read full books on the various topics.

I'm also going to need a book on Alexander, any recommendations?

[Reenk Roink]

Of what I've read, Peter Green has the best general biography of Alexander, and Robin Lane Fox has a very good one too. I like Green because he happens to share my own critical perspective, however, I would say Fox is more neutral to his subject and importantly, doesn't moralize as much. In many cases his book is superior, especially if you haven't read so much about Alexander yet. Green seems to have a low opinion of the Hellenistic age in general.

Getting past just biography or battles, I think Alexander the Great and the Logistics of the Macedonian Army is just great because it's such a unique book. Might want to skim through it to see if it's your cup of tea though.

Lastly, I have always been fascinated with the Alexander Romances. There is a translation of the Greek Alexander Romance out there. If you want to see how people in late antiquity saw Alexander, this will be very interesting.

[phonicsmonkey]

I enjoyed Alexander by Theodore Ayrault Dodge

[BasharCaptWill]

I enjoyed Alexander by Theodore Ayrault Dodge

I second that. By far one of the most detailed and most procifiently written books on that matter.

Most of his books were published between 1890 and 1907, so keep this in mind because you will find few dated informations (very few thought).

[Catiline]

With Ancient Greece it's almost impossible to separate military and civilian history, and it makes it much less interesting to try and do so IMO. If
I had to recommend a recent publication to start for someone who's not read about the period in too much depth I think i might start with Tom Holland's Persian Fire (http://www.amazon.co.uk/product-reviews/0349117179/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1). Very readable, with a strong narrative, and solid research behind it. It obviously contains a good deal about the Persians, but covers the Greek perspective and background well.

Anyhting by Cartledge is a bit patchy IMO, he does tend to be guilty of Goldsworthy's major fault, ie writing the same book over and over - probably best to go with The Greeks- A portait of Self and Others (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Greeks-Portrait-Self-Others-Opus/dp/0192803883/ref=sr_tc_2_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1315551180&sr=1-2-ent)

For the life of Athens go with with Courtesans and Fishcakes (http://www.amazon.co.uk/product-reviews/0006863434/ref=sr_cr_hist_5?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=0&filterBy=addFiveStar) which is genuinely superb, well written, funny, and full of sex and booze. little on military histroy, but this will put you inthe head of the Greeks far more than anything else.

Finally, it would be remiss of me not to mention PJ Rhodes, seeing as he was my tutor on all things Greek. Can be a little dry, but you can't beat the scholar ship.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/History-Classical-Greek-World-CourseSmart/dp/1405192860/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1315551720&sr=1-1

[Catiline]

Oh and take Victor Davis Hanson with a good pinch of salt, and if in your reading you go further down the time line to Romans, and someone suggests you read any thing by Stephen Dando Collins (for anything other than a dose gaping mouthed astonishment and laughter) then you need to question your friendship with them most severely, they're not to be trusted.

[Reenk Roink]

I enjoyed Alexander by Theodore Ayrault Dodge

Dodge brings the military man perspective instead of just a academic but I feel his books fall too much into hero worship. Same with historians Tarn and Hammond. I especially respect Hammond, but could not help bu rolling my eyes at some arguments in The Genius of Alexander the Great. Don't get me wrong, if you're interested in the topic Hammond's book should be read, and who knows, maybe you fall in the camp of Hammond (this is history, almost anything can go), but I guess I was too jaded when I read it to be convinced.

[Reenk Roink]

Oh and take Victor Davis Hanson with a good pinch of salt

I cannot stand the right wing crap peddled by him. Arguing for strong cultural influences is nice, but I guess I wasn't the only one turned off by Hanson. Kagan is a republican too I think, but his history is much better than his politics (sorry for bringing in politics here but I did it to warn against authors who bring too much politics in their writings).

[Beirut]

I skip around a lot in what I read, but generally go back to Ancient Greece when I don't have anything particular to read. Over the past 8 months or so I've read Homer, Herodotus, some of Aeschylus and Sophocles, some of Plato and Aristotle, and just finished Thucydides. Anyway, I think it's pretty easy to get an idea of what ancient books to read, but I have a harder time figuring out what more recent books on the subject are worthwhile. The only one I've read so far is "Shame and Necessity" by Bernard Williams, which was more philosophical, quite good.

I like military history but generally want more than just battles. Any recommendations?

That's a great list of books. :book:

I would suggest the plays of Aristophanes. I think he inspired Monty Python. Brilliant social commentary on ancient Greece and laugh out loud funny. "Lysistrata" is fantastic. The play "Antigone" by Sophocles, though I'm sure you've read it, is also one of my favorites.

"Plutarch's Lives" is also a must have.

[ShadesWolf]

My only suggestion would be two Roman works...
Virgil - The Aenid
Ovid - Metamorphoses

Both are Roman, but very Greek in nature.

Aenid is the Story of a Trojan who has a journey like Homers works and ends up founding Rome.
Metamorph is a Roman work on Mythhology, and includes a very good breakdown of all Myths, mainly with a total Greek slant on things, even though they used the Roman Gods names and not the Greek one, but you can easily pick up who they are talking about. ie Jupiter, Jove and Zeus.....

[SoFarSoGood]

The 'Hellenica Oxyrhynchia', some papyrus fragments found in Egypt, give a contemporary account (though we don't know who wrote them) of some areas of the latter part of the Peloponnesian War.