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Ancient Greece: From Prehistoric to Hellenistic Times (Yale Nota Bene) Paperback – August 11, 2000

by Thomas R. Martin (Author)
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 127 ratings
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There is a newer edition of this item:

Ancient Greece, Second Edition: From Prehistoric to Hellenistic Times
Ancient Greece, Second Edition: From Prehistoric to Hellenistic Times
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This compact, comprehensive, and generously illustrated history of ancient Greece takes us from the Stone Age roots of Greek civilization to the early Hellenistic period following the death of Alexander the Great. Designed for nonspecialist readers, it will be a welcome and needed resource for all who wish to learn about this important subject.
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  1. Print length
    254 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Yale University Press
  4. Publication date
    August 11, 2000
  5. Dimensions
    5 x 1 x 7.75 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0300084935
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0300084931
  8. See all details
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About the Author

Thomas R. Martin is Jeremiah O'Connor Professor of Classics at the College of the Holy Cross.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Yale University Press; Updated edition (August 11, 2000)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 254 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0300084935
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0300084931
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 10.7 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5 x 1 x 7.75 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 127 ratings

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Thomas R. Martin

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Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
127 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Greg Polansky
5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Survey of Ancient Greece
Reviewed in the United States on July 6, 2013
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Having read this book fifteen years ago in 1998, and now reading it again in 2013 I am struck at how clear the prose is and how easy it is to understand Martin's ideas. This was the book that ignited my love of ancient history and led me to focus on ancient history during my undergraduate years - even going so far as to write an honors thesis on late antiquity.

The subject matter of Ancient Greece remains relevant to our modern world, whether people wish to believe it or not during this revisionist period that seeks to equalize all periods and cultures. In reading about the Ancient Greeks, we see the nucleus of our own current world (In the West). Martin does an excellent job of writing a brief, accessible survey of the period. Beginning with the Mycenaeans and the Minoans he chronologically surveys ancient Greek history down to the Hellenistic period, that dazzling period in ancient history when cross-cultural fermentation unleashed a world of advances that form the basis for many parts of our modern world. Martin discusses ideas and dissects culture particularly well throughout the book. And because so much of what we know comes from the literature that has survived, there is a of analysis of the literature. If you enjoy Homer, Hesiod, Herodotus, Thucydides, Aristophanes, Sappho, Sophocles, Euripedes, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, etc. you get the idea, then you will enjoy the glimpses that Martin gives you of the writings and what those writings say about the period the authors lived in.

Due to the nature of our sources, Martin focuses more on later period than on earlier periods. That is to be expected. In addition to the excellent survey, Martin also offers a great bibliography for the reader who is interested in exploring the world of the Ancient Greeks in more details. Because this book was published in 1996 and updated in 2000, it doesn't discuss a lot of the recent scholarship on the period (In particular if you're a fan of the Peloponnesian War then Kagan's tetraology on the war is a great resource -  The Outbreak of the Peloponnesian War (A New History of the Peloponnesian War)  ). Still, if you have an interest in the period and haven't read much before, this is a great place to begin.
30 people found this helpful
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Travis Horton
4.0 out of 5 stars Good if you’re a history lover.
Reviewed in the United States on March 29, 2023
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Don’t expect a novel. These reads like a large academic essay on Ancient Greece. With said, it is well written and give a great description of Ancient Greece.
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jp1747
5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderfully informative introduction to Ancient Greek history
Reviewed in the United States on June 18, 2013
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Thomas R. Martin has quietly established himself as one of my favorite historians to read. My primary interest in history is Medieval Europe, but I felt that I needed to better understand the bookends that are the Classical and Modern periods of European history to complement my studies of Medieval history. Martin's books have been an incredible help to me in quickly gaining a grasp of the history and accomplishments of Ancient Greece.

In a short amount of space, Martin covers the history of Greece from paleolithic through Hellenistic times. Despite the brevity of his work, he is able to weave together a satisfying narrative that meets the needs of anyone looking for an introduction to Ancient Greek history without having to read multiple volumes. It is a great branching off point for further study of individual periods of Greek history (Archaic, Classical, Hellenistic) if one is interested. What makes Martin's work a success is his ability to organize vast amounts of information and tell history in a way that is compelling while remaining objective, honest, and free from superfluous language. I particularly enjoyed Martin's discussion of the early history of Greece from the Paleolithic through the Bronze Age (including the Minoan and Mycenean civilizations) and into Archaic Greece. The reader is truly able to see the development of Greek civilization and establishment of key features, such as the polis (city-state), that would come to dominate the Classical period. Even if one is primarily interested in Classical Greece, Martin's account remains interesting and informative from beginning to end and I highly recommend it.

For those who are interested in the time periods covered towards the end of this book, I would also recommend Martin and Christopher Blackwell's " Alexander the Great: The Story of an Ancient Life " and Michael Grant's " From Alexander to Cleopatra: The Hellenistic World ." It seems Martin has also published an account of Ancient Roman history recently entitled  Ancient Rome: From Romulus to Justinian " which I look forward to reading.
12 people found this helpful
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Howard Schulman
5.0 out of 5 stars An absolutely fantastic overview of ancient Greece
Reviewed in the United States on February 29, 2008
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Thomas Martin's book "Ancient Greece" is an absolutely fantastic book if you're interested in getting an overview of ancient Greece, how it started and progressed and why people are interested in studying about it. At just over 200 pages of text, Martin somehow manages to cover a huge amount of information, yet keep it extremely interesting. The only shortcoming is that in my paperback edition the pictures are all crummy black and white and grainy. Additionally, all the images are grouped together, so the images aren't there when you read the associated section in the text.

I'm not sure where you are coming from, but I had just read the Odyssey and the Iliad and wanted an overview in order to understand these texts better as well as snoop around for other texts to read. Mission accomplished, Herodotus' "Histories" and then Hesiod's "Works and Days", staying clear of Thucydides because it just seems too difficult to read.

Included in the text, as the book begins, is a description of the geographic characteristics of Greece and how that led to the development of individual, strong Greek city-states. Additionally, we hear about the Minoan and Mycenaean civilizations. The Hellenistic period, which occurs after Alexander the Great unified much of the old Persian Empire (and probably more) with the Greek "homeland" seems like it gets short shrift compared with the Classical or Golden eras, though you get just enough information to a) get excited about those areas and b) get leads for other areas to investigate.
8 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 24, 2015
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Great product, swift delivery, highly recommended
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Capricorn86
4.0 out of 5 stars Great book! Bought it for a course in university ...
Reviewed in Canada on March 23, 2015
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Great book! Bought it for a course in university and found it very useful. I think this is a good read whether you're in school or not!
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Gretel
4.0 out of 5 stars A Good Succinct Account of Ancient Greece
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 13, 2010
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The quality of the book is poor as other reviewers have noted, the paper feels cheap and thin and the photos are black and white and quite indistinct. There's also a rather tacky bit of decoration at the start of every chapter, but these are surface dressings only and don't detract from the quality of the writing.
The author has made a very spirited attempt to explain the parts of very ancient history that are open to speculation in the absence of any written records. He also treads very carefully over the subject of the treatment of women in Ancient societies and speculates on how societies developed in such a way that ended with the subjugation of women and their more or less total exclusion from life outside the home. His theories are certainly worth reading and considering.
The author makes it clear in his introduction that this is a quick romp through Ancient Greek history and makes no apology for focussing on some bits more than others - this is exactly what he does and, no, it doesn't matter. If you want a good, fast over-view of Ancient Greek history, written in an engaging and interesting way, this book will hit the spot. If you are a serious academic wanting to study Ancient Greece in minute detail, you could do worse than start with this book to give you a good over-view and then fill in the gaps with all the other hefty and learned tomes out there.
For students of Ancient Greece, this would be a good text book and I do recommend it.
5 people found this helpful
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