The Hellenistic Age: A Short History (Modern Library Chronicles) [Paperback]

Peter Green (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0812967402 | ISBN-13: 978-0812967401 | Publication Date: May 13, 2008

The Hellenistic Age chronicles the years 336 to 30 BCE, a period that witnessed the overlap of two of antiquity’s great civilizations, the Greek and the Roman. Peter Green’s remarkably far-ranging study covers the prevalent themes and events of those centuries: the Hellenization, by Alexander’s conquests, of an immense swath of the known world; the lengthy and chaotic partition of this empire by rival Macedonian bands; the decline of the city-state as the predominant political institution; and, finally, Rome’s moment of transition from republican to imperial rule. It is a story of war and power-politics, and of the developing fortunes of art, science, and statecraft, spun by an accomplished classicist with an uncanny knack for infusing life into the distant past, and applying fresh insights that make ancient history seem alarmingly relevant to our own times.

“Spectacular . . . [filled with] Mr. Green’s critical acumen.”
–The Wall Street Journal

“Green draws upon a lifetime of scholarship to brilliantly sum up the three-hundred-year Hellenistic age. . . . Happily, this book’s brevity–admirable in itself, and in its concision, elegance, and authority–isn’t achieved at the expense of subtlety and complexity.”
–The Atlantic Monthly

“An interesting and well-written overview . . . Students of world history are in Green’s debt.”
–The Philadelphia Inquirer

“Marvelous . . . splendid . . . a brilliant introduction to this crucial transitional period.”
–Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Although the Hellenistic Age flourished for barely 300 years, its contributions to world history are countless. Eminent historian Green—whose classic Alexander to Actium remains the most expansive and thorough introduction to the period—offers a marvelous survey of the key people, places and events of the years from 337 B.C., when Alexander came to power, to the death of Cleopatra in 30 B.C. Nimbly weaving history and cultural insights, Green chronicles how Alexander led Macedonia through heroism and canny political alliances. After Alexander's death, power was divided between the Ptolemies, who ruled Egypt, and the Seleucids, who ruled Greece, marking the beginning of the end of the Greek city-states that had been the hallmark of the classical Greek age. The civic masculine bonding so pervasive in Alexander's day was replaced by the familial bonding of husband and wife. Science replaced poetry and comedy replaced tragedy as the cultural hallmarks of society. Yet much remained the same: aristocratic rulers still used slaves to do their fighting for them, and monarchs still defied attempts to bring democracy into government. Green's splendid little study (a new entry in Modern Library's Chronicles series) provides a brilliant introduction to this crucial transitional period. (Apr. 10)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

The arbitrary dates usually given for the Hellenistic Age--323 BCE to 31 BCE--encompass the period from the death of Alexander the Great to the defeat of the last independent Hellenistic ruler, Cleopatra of Egypt. The age saw an explosion of Greek culture and political domination across the vast empire conquered by Alexander. Professor Green has written a valuable survey of a violent, confusing, but culturally rich era. As Green makes clear, Alexander's hope for a politically united empire based on a cultural fusion between Greek and Persian traditions was dashed. Instead, his empire quickly disintegrated and was replaced by a series of kingdoms, most ruled by his former generals and their descendants. Culturally, these kingdoms could best be described as possessing a veneer of Greek language and traditions adhered to by the top levels of society, while the masses below remained wedded to their native languages and customs. Although Green essentially uses a chronological approach, he also concentrates on several common themes, including the evolution of the polis and the constant tension and forms of interaction between Greek and non-Greek. Jay Freeman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Modern Library (May 13, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812967402
• ISBN-13: 978-0812967401
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 0.6 x 5.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #481,081 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Concise Rendition of a Transitional Age, August 5, 2007

By 

Michael A. Anderson "reads at random" (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Hellenistic Age: A Short History (Modern Library Chronicles) (Hardcover)

As the title suggests ("A Short History") this treatment of the period sacrifices depth for brevity. Not being familiar with the subject I enjoyed this well-written introduction. Not only is the book a good first overview, it has plenty of notes geared towards further study and a short guide to further reading indicating what the author considers current best texts--as well as the usual bibliography.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good, easy read; awesome appendices, February 7, 2009

By 

Kirialax (Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Hellenistic Age: A Short History (Modern Library Chronicles) (Paperback)

Peter Green has crafted a very readable and well-rounded history of the Hellenistic Age in the eastern Mediterranean, from the death of Alexander to Rome's conquest of the squabbling Greek kingdoms. It is nice to see such an accessible, cheap volume put out by a major historian in the field. The reason that I don't give it 5 stars is because at times it feels extremely rushed. A lot of detail is sacrificed, and trying to follow some events is mind boggling.

While the book itself is good, the real reason to own this volume is for the appendices. There are some excellent tables depicting the very convoluted family trees of the various Hellenistic dynasties. The Ptolemy tree is an especially welcome addition. The maps are nothing terribly special, but there are a number of them and they're crisp, clear and easy to read. (The Aegean one is a little squished, but it is well-labeled.) The chronological table is also wonderful for making sense of this fast-paced era.

This book is more than worth its price tag for an introduction into the era. More advanced students will want to look at Dr. Green's 'Alexander to Actium', but this little book has a lot of good stuff inside.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not for the uninitiated, November 4, 2011

By 

C. Hogan - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Hellenistic Age: A Short History (Modern Library Chronicles) (Paperback)

This book is definitely a "Short History" and not an introduction to the Hellenistic Age, because it takes a lot of prior knowledge for granted. A Western Civilization college instructor, I was looking up terms like "Argeads" by the second page. Moreover, if you thought that last sentence was awkwardly constructed check out the 3rd sentence of the first chapter: "The bridegroom, to begin with, was the bride's uncle - in fact, the brother of Philip's powerful but repudiated wife, Olympias, till recently an exile in Epirus, plotting revengeful mischief, but now back in Aegea as mother of the bride." If you have time to slog through nonsense like that then God bless you - buy the book. If, however, you value readability (which few classical scholars are able to provide, because they spend time reading those incredibly long complex sentences in Latin and Greek) keep looking. One last note, this is most definitely "history," which is the interpretation of past events; there will always be some sort of bias.