Customer Reviews

The Greek Achievement: 1550 BC to 600 AD from Mycenea to the Byzantine Empire

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Charles Freeman in the Greek Achievement (The Foundations of the Western World) will take the reader through 1,500 years of history that is fascinating, entertaining, and enlightening. The information will prove familiar for those who have studied this period but the author throws in opinions at many points to keep his version fresh. This book, though, is perfect for the beginner. It is more than a survey yet not at all bogged down with scholarly detritus. One of the most pleasant discoveries is that this book is not a form of idol worship posing as history (as the subtitle threatens) but a balanced account with examinations of how past historians have looked into the material and how new research changes the interpretations. An easy and satisfying read.

Confession time. I expected this book to really put me to sleep. So why did I buy it? Well.... the recent release of the movie "Troy" peaked my interest in the classical world, so here I am.

But surprise, I found myself captivated with this discussion of the Greek world. If you have any interest in the classical world, this would be a great place to start.

Now I know a little something about boring history books. I majored in history and even taught it at the high school level for a short time. Trust me, I have shelves full of stinky, boring required reading from my college days and from later attempts to look deaper into specific historical topics. This was a breath of fresh air.

If you have ever had to read some of the other required classic reading (IE: Homer, Sophocles, Euripides, etc.) this will serve as an excellent work to enhance what you got out of those folks. And lets be honest, anyone who has actually read all of Euripides has got to admit that having something like this work to gain better understanding is a good thing!

Now, lets get it in perspective. This work covers a monumental period of time. If your looking for indepth works on the hellenistic period or any other particular period of Greek/Classical history - this is likely not for you.

However, if what your looking for is something to cover all the key waypoints of Greek civilization, this is the place to be.

Freemen's The Greek Achievement is a nice survey of the history of the Greek world from the Mycenaean to the Hellenistic periods. Although it concentrates heavily on the Athenian contribution to history, it does not stop with the end of the classical period as if nothing of importance had happened after the end of the Peloponnesian War. From notes by professional reviewers I had understood that Charles Freeman was a British professor, so I found most unusual his use of translations of Greek and Latin texts by other authors, even of quotes of translations quoted by other secondary sources (p. 189). This left me with a feeling that the author's credentials might be a little weak. He definitely offers little that is new with respect to the interpretation of historic events, art, architecture, etc, but he does offer insight into the history of the West's concept of Greek achievement. I had already learned of the painted surfaces and crowded display of statuary that we now see as pristine white marble displayed with great care, individually in our museums world wide. What I hadn't quite understood was the degree to which the character of ancient Greek culture, even of the notion of "Greece" and "Greek," had been filtered through the prism of the 19th Century psyche, particularly those of scholar Robert Wood, art historian Johann Winkelmann, and financier and adventurer Heinrich Schliemann. For anyone wanting to find out about the overall events of the period this is a good place to start. There is an excellent date list with summary of events and artistic examples on pages 445 to 462, which might help the survey student study for exams, and a list of books on various topics (with publication dates from the mid 80's to the mid 90's) with which to follow up on selected subjects. The material is clearly presented and would be fully comprehended by senior high students and even interested junior high students, and would thus make a good addition to a school library.

I'm 16 and before i read this book i had no knowledge of greek civilization other than the History channel. I really enjoyed this book, despite my ignorance of that time period. It was very educational while providiing interesting facts that made it seem less like a text book. It took me quite a while to finish it, but it was definitly worth it.

At first, when I started reading this book, I thought I was going to be disappointed with its non-academic purpose. I've seen many works destined to the general reader which lack depth or are simply too plain on their approach. No footnotes, not even mention to the exact passages of ancient authors; I was prepared not to like it.

Mr. Freeman's book surprised me. Most of all, his writing style flows with ease and is extremely enjoyable to read. I finished its almost 500 pages in three days... Unlike many books about ancient Greece, it has a good space for discussion of Roman influence on the Greek world (going further until the end of Antiquity), as well as up-to-date information on the new historiography trends of gender and approach to slavery. It also includes information from recent archaeology discoveries, and the discussions on Greek architecture and art are very interesting.

On the whole, despite a couple of almost annoying repetitions of the same examples over the text, this book is a refreshing approach not only for the general reader, but also as a relief from some heavy, opinionated schorlarly texts on the same subject.

I traveled to Greece recently, and have read over a dozen books, both recent & 'classic' histories, books about Greek culture, military, art, poetry etc. Freeman is in a class by himself. His book is the most thorough, well written and fascinating. I loved his attitude. He is almost unique in his honest and fair appraisal of ancient Greek culture, the good, the bad, all of it. That seems to have made some reviewers unhappy. I loved it. The discussion of 18 and 19th century European discovery of the ancient Greeks and how they santized things they couldn't respect was especially interesting - in itself, and because of our culture wars today. Much of classical over-idealization of ancient Greece (which tended to idealize itself, too!) grew out of the work of homosexual and antisemitic GErman scholars, and a British elite that admired the aristocratic, anti-democratic strands they could pull out of Greek culture - it's a very interesting piece of intellectual history. The Greeks were masters of beauty and thought, but they were moral midgets. That bothers some people. I loved being told the truth.

Charles Freeman's "The Greek Achievement" is a solid survey of the culture and achievements of ancient Greece. It is packed with information and may, at times, be a little overwhelming for those not familiar with the subject...especially as it does not pull together and develop any one aspect of Greek history. But, as to its purpose, Freeman does a commendable job and this book should be read by anyone interested in ancient Greece. My only arguments with Freeman are that he doesn't develop the rise of independent agriculture to explain the change in culture that took place at the end of the Greek Dark Age, and that he somewhat misses the boat on the relationships between men and women. During the Greek Dark Age, for example, he reveals that women of the higher classes "have a status of their own, as acceptable marriage partners...and also as overseerers of the domestic arrangements of the household, the oikos, but often there is found something more, the adulation of a woman for herself...." Women were often viewed as goddesses in ancient Greece. But, in his chapter on relationships between the sexes, Freeman never seems quite sure just what the real situation is. He seems to imply that this situation changed dramatically somehow and that the status of women declined. Then he acknowledges that "as so often, the Athenian evidence may not be typical of women's lives in Greece as a whole." The chapter, as a whole, is very weak and gives far too much credence to the absurd views of the radical feminist writer Eva Keul. One should start learning about this subject by reading Thornton's "Eros: The Myth of Ancient Greek Sexuality." All in all, however, Freeman does a nice job and is to be commended for his summation of a vast amount of material despite little originality.

If you are looking for just one book to do a solid job in surveying the history and contributions of the Ancient Greeks this would probably be the one to buy.

Freeman's narrative skills are very good, and he makes reading "dry history" a treat. It is written for the general reader who has an interest in learning more about these Greeks who set the table for our western civilization.

Note: This will probably be of little use to a scholar. It contains no footnotes, references nor an extensive bibliography.

I read this book as a sort of companion to some personal studies I was doing while reading Plutarch's lives. It was interesting to understand the cultural aspects of ancient Greek civilisation and their relevance in the Great Lives. I was particularly impressed with the outline of the Greek Cosmology and Freeman's descriptions of practised rites and how the Oracle was actually consulted. Fascinating stuff... I found it honestly a whole lot more interesting to read than Kitto's book (which still remains the authoratative source on the cultural aspects of Ancient Greece), but I realise that there are some faults as well: the military history was not covered to my liking and there was a lot about the economic nature of the empire that remains conjecture. Although these criticisms of mine are probably just personal qualms.

All in all a good read and my pick for a good overview of Ancient Greek civilisation. A good one for the plane whilst on your way to the Ageaen.

I knew nothing about ancient Greece before this book, but now I have a real non-idealistic picture of Ancient Greek life. Why? Because this book treats you like a laymen and not a scholar. You see it sucks you in by addressing more contemporary curiosities (like what's up the the man on boy love?) rather than seeming more like second period history class. I really enjoyed it, but like you I wanted to make sure I picked the right introduction into Ancient Greece. Yes the names, dates, and places are there; but mixed in a sea of interesting stories difficult not to enjoy. Only obvious flaw (due to the number of pages) is that the book is very thorough. But if you were getting married, wouldn't you want to know everything about your partner? That's how I feel about my Greek History! Enjoy