Greek Ways: How the Greeks Created Western Civilization (Paperback)

by Bruce Thornton (Author) "IN 1998, PRESIDENT CLINTON was impeached for actions he allegedly either took or ordered in an attempt to keep secret certain sexual improprieties he had..." (more)
Key Phrases: ancient slavery, passive homosexual, Peloponnesian War, Dark Age, Diogenes Laertius (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Writing with wit and erudition, Thornton discusses in fascinating detail those areas of Greek life - sexuality and sexual roles; slavery and war; philosophy and politics - that some modern critics have made into contested sites. Perhaps more importantly, he also reclaims the importance of those core ideas the Greeks invented, ideas about human fate and purpose that have shaped the modern world.

From the Inside Flap
"In brief compass and clear, enjoyable prose, Professor Thornton has written a stimulating and delightful account of the remarkable and revolutionary characteristics that distinguished the Greeks of the ancient world from all societies before and since. In the process he responds with calm reason and broad and deep learning to the unhistorical, tendentious and foolish assaults launched against them as part of current political agendas. The happy result is this spendid book that allows the Greeks themselves to speak and reveal the absurdity of the modern barbarians who abuse them. -Donald Kagan, Hillhouse Professor of History and Classics, Yale Univeristy. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 198 pages
• Publisher: Encounter Books (September 25, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1893554570
• ISBN-13: 978-1893554573
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #139,579 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

57 of 59 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Greeks Defended, January 17, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Greek Ways: How the Greeks Created Western Civilization (Hardcover)

This book sets out to rescue the Greeks from the clutches of the postmodernists, deconstructionists and polymorphous perverse who have invaded the modern Classics department. Rather than seeing them as The Other, strangers in our midst, or as hypocrites who preached democracy while practicing slavery, etc., Thornton sees the Greeks squarely--in their own terms--and finds them to be our brothers. What is valuable in the much abused Western tradition--the examined life, the pursuit of truth, the dialogue about the place of the individual in the larger group--comes from the Greeks. Thornton's defense is spirited and learned, and, judging from the dada masquerading as scholarship these days, it arrives not a moment too soon. The Greeks live again in this brilliant book and we learn once again what their achievement was and how much we owe them.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good case for the impact of Greece on Western culture, October 31, 2004

By	maximusone "maximusone" (Brussels) - See all my reviews

The controversy about whether Greek civilisation was the main source of western civilisation's ideas about freedom, rationality etc... doesn't rage as much here as in the US, where a number of writers have, unconvincingly in my view, sought to argue that the Greeks borrowed much of their ideas on rationality, logic, freedom etc.. from other civilisations and in particular from Egypt.

So when I wanted read more about Greek influence on Western civilisation I dreaded a book which was merely a defense against these and other politically correct theories. Instead, although the author makes reference to this controversy, the book stands on its own in describing Greek civilisation and its enormous influence on today's world. The author does not pretend that the Greeks formed a cultural monolith, where everybody was convinced of the power of reason. But his very wide range of sources is persuasive enough that many of the ideas that were necessary building blocks for the rise of Western civilisation, such as that there should be a rational explanation for natural phenomena, originated with Greek thinkers. The fact that some of these paid for their ideas with their life (like Socrates) does not diminish the fact that the Greeks were there first.

What did I miss in this book ? I would have liked more about the transmission of Greek ideas to the West, i.e. how we lost much of this philosophical heritage only to regain it at the time of the renaissance. Secondly, although the author on a number of occasions asserts that other contemporary civilisations had not reached such and such a level, I would have liked to see more detail on this. I also thought that it was odd to devote the first 2 chapters (almost a sixth of the book) on sexual relations in ancient Greece, an area where I think Greeks did not influence the West much. I also think that the long section on the Greek's treatment of slaves has to be seen more in the US context (anything to do with slavery is highly sensitive and pays to be seen to have been good with slaves) than as an influence on Western culture.

Although J Roberts' Triumph of the West sets out a more eloquent case for the rational influence of ancient Greece, this book makes argues for a much wider influence, i.e. not just Rational Man, but also Political Man, freedom of expression, etc... For this it deserves to be read. It is far from perfect, but it is also fairly concise

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thornton argues that Greek ideals are alive in modern life, March 18, 2001

By	Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Greek Ways: How the Greeks Created Western Civilization (Hardcover)

Greek Ways examines how the Greeks created Western civilization, re-examining the role of the Greeks in creating core concepts which fuel our civilization's foundations in modern times. Thornton argues that Greek ideals are alive in modern life, and that it was the Greeks who began to recognize a common human culture. High school to college students will find Greek Ways most accessible.