The World of the Ancient Greeks [Hardcover]

John Camp (Author), Elizabeth Fisher (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0500051127 | ISBN-13: 978-0500051122 | Publication Date: December 2002 | Edition: First American Edition

This volume tells the story of the Ancient Greeks within its historical and cultural framework. Their world is presented here in chronological order, from the Bronze Age to the Christian era, a span of some 3500 years. Athens plays a large role, but other Greek cities are given much closer attention than in other standard accounts. Individual chapters look at the Greeks and their gods, and Greek art and architecture. The result is an authoritative study of a culture that made an unparalleled contribution to the rise of Western civilization.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

John Camp is the director of the Agora excavations in Athens, where he has worked for 35 years. He is the author of The Athenian Agora, also published by Thames & Hudson. Elizabeth Fisher is Professor of both Classics and Art History at Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, Virginia, and has conducted many excavations in Greece and Italy.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Thames & Hudson; First American Edition edition (December 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0500051127
• ISBN-13: 978-0500051122
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 7.6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #755,530 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A concise look at the Ancient Greeks with great details and illustrations, August 23, 2005

By 

Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The World of the Ancient Greeks (Hardcover)

"The World of the Ancient Greeks" covers their history from the Paleolithic and Neolithic era, which is actually before the "Greeks" first showed by circa 2000 B.C., to the fall of Constantinople in 1453, when Greece became part of the Ottoman Empire. With the fall of the Byzantine Empire and the beginning of 400 years of Turkish control, Greece was no longer Greece (not until 1821-32 and the Greek War of Independence). When I learned World History the basic idea was that the Greeks created Western Civilization and were then taken over by Alexander the Great's Macedonian Empire and then the Roman Empire. But John Camp and Elizabeth Fisher take a different perspective and focus more on how the eastern Mediterranean has always been a point of contact and conflict between the East and West. However, while they point to a series of struggles back and forth the Aegean Sea, from the Greek war against Troy and Greek migration and settlement in Asia Minor to Alexander's conquest of Asia and Greece becoming part of the Roman Empire, the focus of this book ends up being more on the prominent role of the Greeks in making an unparalleled contribution to the rise of Western civilization.

That simply means we end up on familiar ground for most of this book, although certainly the authors pay more attention to other Greek city-states besides Athens in describing the world of the ancient Greeks. The volume is divided into ten chapters: (I) Who Were the Greeks? not only defines them but also lays out the written sources and archaeological discoveries that are the foundation for what we know; (II) The First Greeks focuses mainly on the Early Bronze Age in Greece and the point where the Greeks, or more properly their language, pops up in history; (III) The Heroic Age is where we get to the Mycenaeans, the civilization on Crete, and the historical evidence that exists for all of the myths that spring from the late Bronze Age, such as the sieges of Troy and Thebes, and the quests of Odysseus and Jason.

A key transitional period is detailed in (IV) The Age of Expanding Horizons, which starts with the Dark Ages following the end of the palaces that defined the previous era, and the key elements of colonization, Panhellenism, and the beginnings of Greek literature. (V) Polis: The Early Greek City is concerned with such basics as urban design, political structure, economic life, and regional diversity. The important cities of the mainland (Sparta, Thebes, and Corinth) are contrasted with the Eastern (Samos, Ephesus) and Western (Selinus, Syracuse, Massalia). Then, of course, there is a whole chapter devoted to (VI) Classical Athens, which covers its rise, government and law, commerce and business, religious life, theater, intellectual life, and private life. True, you can devote an entire book like this to Athens, but what we have here is nice and concise, while still providing some key details.

Mythology is covered in (VII) Gods and Heroes, although the focus is more on festivals, cults and shrines, which is fine. There are plenty of books on mythology and Greek drama, and this is more on the culture than the literature. (VIII) Greek Art and Architecture does a nice job of laying out architectural orders, but the attention to sculpture is even better. Too bad that when I visited Greece all of the museums were closed in preparation for the Olympics, so that the only "key" piece I got to see was the Charioteer of Delphi (it is in the outer part of the museum), but this section made up for that somewhat by showing me again what we missed. Pottery and painting are covered as well, and you can just never see too many examples of Greek pottery.

(IX) Alexander and the Hellenistic World tries to establish a sense of continuity between the Greece personified by Athens and the Hellenistic World of Alexander's empire, but once you get to Asia it is just not Greece anymore. Since the Macedonians conquered Greece, that does not seem particularly Panhellenistic to me. So I see what happened with Alexander to be closer to what comes with the (X) Romans and Christians, this last chapter being the shortest of all because there are Greeks but Greece is no longer Greece at that point. I also see what Alexander did to be closer to what the Romans did with Greece, than I see him as the student of Aristotle. At the very least, Alexander's Empire gives us a more reasonable point in history to stop talking about the ancient Greeks, much more so than the rise of the Ottoman Empire (the Romans at least considered Greece to be Greece, but that was definitely not the case when it became part of the Turkish sphere of influence).

"The World of the Ancient Greeks" is illustrated with 376 photographs and drawings, of which 107 are in color, and since I have actually been to Greece it was nice that I instantly recognized places I had been, such as Delphi and Olympia (how can you not at least walk to the end of the original Olympic track if you visit Greece?). The captions for these illustrations are as informative as the main text, and one of the strengths of this volume are the extracts from classical authors and inscriptions that are used to bring to life the events, people and places being covered. I really like things like that, especially when you are doing fragments or inscriptions and not just lines from the classic poets (we do not know who wrote "Oinopion" and "Hekabe" to win in 364/3 B.C., but we know that Arexis won as best actor for those tragedies). So overall I like the both the conciseness of all the topic covered and the attention to key details throughout the book. Plus, I find the illustrations to be excellent. I am always finding things to use from this book in my Classical Mythology course.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Welcome to Ancient Greece!, February 18, 2007

By 

Alnitak - See all my reviews

This review is from: The World of the Ancient Greeks (Hardcover)

This book constitutes a superb visual tour of ancient Greece, beginning with the earliest artifacts and continuing through the Roman period. With abundant pictures, maps and drawings it is a feast. The text should not be slighted; it is up-to-date and highly informative, yet an entertaining and enjoyable read, and interposes many quotes from ancient sources to add depth. The book serves at once as a reminder or the glories of Greece, a reference for much of Greek culture, and a doorway to further inquiry. It is not an in-depth scholarly analysis, but a wonderful excursion through Greek culture that will lead you to greater understanding and a thirst for more. Finally, the book itself is a pleasure to see and hold. It will serve for many years as a reference and a place to browse through history.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A basic, watered-down, beautiful illustrated Introduction to Ancient Greece, February 26, 2009

By 

History Fan (Fort Worth, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The World of the Ancient Greeks (Hardcover)

If you want a great coffee table book on the Ancient Greeks, this is it. The information is distributed in small, easy to digest chunks - there is nothing that will offend the senses. It is beautifully illustrated with amazing photographs, illustrations, and maps.
More serious scholars or those who want to learn more about Greek culture than the bare minimum - this would be a pass (well, the pictures are *really* nice).