Customer Reviews

A History of Greece to 322 B.C.

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There are some books which merit a far wider recognition and respect than they will ever receive. Admittedly, the subject matter of Hammond's book is not only daunting, but downright unfashionable. To my mind, this only contributes more to its already tremendous value. As histories of Classical Greece go, Hammond's 'History of Greece' is a marvel of clear, authoritative writing, compelling scholarship, and overall mastery of a difficult and still intriguing topic.

While one could perhaps make the case that the book is now some fifteen years old, and therefore somewhat in need of revision, the overwhelming detail and clarity of the work must mitigate that concern. Hammond has presented what may fairly be called a masterpiece of Classical Greek history. His coverage of subjects ranging from politics to the arts, from the Persian to the Peloponnesian wars, or from Alcibiades to Xenophon (although biographical details are, perhaps of necessity, somewhat lacking) all combine to form a coherent, thorough accounting of the rise of Greece.

Enhanced by black&white photographs and an assortment of excellent maps, Hammond's 'History of Greece to 322 B.C.' should be considered an essential volume not only for the shelves of the Classical scholar, but for anyone who wishes a better understanding of one of the founding nations of the Western world.

Though this is a 650+ page history book, Hammond does a great job of telling the tale of ancient Greece with excitement in addition to providing detailed information. If you need a one-book history of Greece from its beginnings to the death of Alexander the Great, this will probably suit your needs. There are some pictures and maps, but if you actually want to know what's going on, an atlas of ancient Greece might help.

Interestingly, Hammond is especially thorough where battles are concerned and sometimes includes maps to illustrate the placement of ships or soldiers in a given battle. He is also adept at describing the intellectual and artistic achievement of the Greeks and fitting them into the narrative of events. The book is well organized and the table of contents show clearly what each segment of the book is about.

This is, simply put, the definitive single volume history of Greece up to the death of Alexander the Great. If you are looking for an in depth look at the political and military history of the Greek cities, this is exactly what you are looking for. Also includes excellent maps.

Really Fine Book. A very thoughtful and insightful reading of the historical resources and lively in the presentation - like how I imagine 19th Century historians write. A welcome change from the two-page topics now fashionable in coffee table histories.

Great chapter titles like "The character of early warfare" (That's the way he capitalizes them) and the "The political problems of the period".

Sets a high-water-mark for me in what ancient history ought to read like. Daunting at 650 pages but he happily breaks the Main Chapters into one-to-six page topic chapters that are manageable and provoking enough to be worth taking slow.

He sets out with Crete like everybody else but he made me aware for the first time that Crete was a major-way station between ancient Greece and Egypt to the south which seems obvious now but had eluded me. (I was hung up on the waves of Indo-European nomads sweeping down from the north.) Ancient Greece was very much influenced by the changing states of the Eastern Mediterranean seaboard, which were themselves at the Western end of trade routes to Babylon, Assyria, and eventually India.

The rigid military discipline of Sparta made sense for the first time. Sparta had overwhelmed the neighboring district of Messene, reducing the Messenians to slaves of the state, and the Spartans were desperate to hold it together with a ratio of one Spartan soldier to ten Messenian slaves.

Ancient Greek warfare was not about conquest. It was about stature and standing among the city-states. Battles were set pieces performed on flat ground and resembled a rugby scrum with one side trying to push the other off the field or force them to drop their shields and run, which, excepting Sparta, was totally OK. A soldier could lament losing a good shield but not be at all disgraced to save his life. It was two sides running at each other full force and banging shield to shield. The weapon of choice was not the sword but was a thrusting spear with which the infantryman thrust overarm, over his shield into the face of his opponent, while the opponent did the same at you. Not as glamorous as the heros of Troy fighting one on one, face to face with a known opponent, but more effective.

The maps were tedious and difficult to work with but they are no worse than maps in other history books of the fifties. Not nearly enough of them. Having a good atlas of ancient Greece at hand would be very welcome.

Dealing with Alexander at the end of the book, I began to flag but so did he and the history becomes more factual and less insightful. I had the feeling that he was less interested in the Hellenic period than the archaic so both of us slighted the material.

Overall great writing, substantial scholarship and perspective.

This book would make an excellent graduate school textbook. A good general reference work that is readable. I especially liked the coverage given to the Greek Archaic Period as well as to the Greek colonial expansion into the Black Sea region and into Italy.

Thank you for the book it made it to me just as you said. I appreciate the quick response time. Have a great day!