Subjects:  1. Authors, Latin    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Cicero, Marcus Tullius    4. Correspondence    5. General    6. Historical - General    7. Language    8. Language Arts & Disciplines    9. Letters    10. Political    11. Rome    12. Statesmen    13. Cicero - Marcus Tullius - Correspondence    14. Language Arts & Disciplines / General    15. Other prose: classical, early & medieval   

Reviews (10)

Good summary of the decipherment story
I really liked this book as an outline of the method used to decipher the Linear B script found at Crete and a few locations on mainland Greece.The author is very well qualified to comment on the decipherment given that he was a key collaborator with Michael Ventris.I found the level of detail to be just right to show the outstanding scholarship achieved by Ventris who was a professional architect, not a Greek Classics college professor; but not so much detail as to detract from the readability of the story.
AEurekamoment
Michael Ventris was an architect whose knack for languages, both oral training and excellent visual memory, provided the foundation for his avocation, decoding the Cretan script.Archaeology of the pre-hellinic age supplied the material.Among many scholars in Athens in the 1890's to see the Schliemann treasures was Arthur Evans.Based on evidence of the wealth of the civilization, Evans was led to search for prehistoric writing.In excavation at Knossos, Crete he found that the civilization was in his estimation incomparably older than that of Greece.
Good book
I enjoyed this book very much.I recommend this book as well as the other book on the decipherment of linear b.It's an amazing story. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Ancient Languages - Classical Greek    2. Bible - Language Studies    3. Classical Archaeology    4. General    5. History    6. History: World    7. Inscriptions, Linear B    8. Paleography    9. Reference    10. Religion - Biblical Studies - Language    11. Ventris, Michael    12. Ancient (Classical) Greek    13. Ancient Greece    14. Classical Greek & Roman archaeology    15. Language & Linguistics    16. Language Arts & Disciplines / General   

Subjects:  1. History    2. History & Surveys - Ancient & Classical    3. Metaphysics    4. Philosophy    5. Plato    6. Ancient Greek & Roman philosophy    7. Classics    8. Metaphysics & ontology    9. Philosophy / Ancient   

Reviews (3)

insightful meticulous look at a key pivotal moment in history
This is an insightful meticulous look at a key pivotal moment in history, the twenty-seven year (with some interim periods of peace during the period) war between democratic Athens and totalitarian Sparta for supremacy of the Mediterranean.The work can stand alone but appears to be a wonderful companion piece to Nigel Bagnall's Punic War treatise and not as coffee table book ends, but as an insightful pair that armchair historians will appreciate.Though aimed at military historical aficionados, the late Mr. Bagnall goes into immense at times excruciating (at least to this reviewer) detail of what happened and to a degree why. For instance, readers get a microscopic look at how the Sparta blockade worked to cut off Athenian supply lines in spite of the latter having naval superiority.Most interesting is the lessons learned from this Greek tragedy that apply today as the Athenian democratic leaders forced the confrontation in an attempt to insure the dominance in the region against their rival (much different than what is taught in school).Clearly targeting a specific audience, the PELOPONNESIAN WAR is a well written dissertation on a critical relevant period that impacted the western world we know today.
A Senior General Gives an Insight Others Lack
Ths history of western civilization really begins with the Greeks. Unfortunately also with the Greeks begins the tradition of civil wars, although Athens and Sparta might be considered as separate semi-independent states. The war, when looked at in detail bears a lot of common points with more modern wars:
timeless precepts of war
Bagnall reminds us in this lively history of a long ago war that there are timeless precepts in warmaking. He describes the myriad Greek city states and how they rallied magnificently to draw with and then defeat the Persians. But we also see an interminable fratricidal conflict within the Hellenes.
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Subjects:  1. Ancient - Greece    2. Ancient Greece - History    3. Greece    4. History    5. History - General History    6. Military    7. Military - General    8. Military History - Ancient    9. Peloponnesian War, 431-404 B.C   

Reviews (2)

The perfect volume for any lover of history.
The Oxford History of Greece and the Hellenisic World is a perfect primer for ancient Greek studies on history, literature, philosophy and art, but it is also a great read for the casual history and literature buff (which is the reason I read it!) Spanning from the Archaic Period, with Homer and Hesiod, through the Classical period with Aeschylus and Euripides, to the curious Hellenistic world: a world of three empires (The Antigonids of Macedon, the Seleucids of Western Turkey through to Afghanistan, and the Ptolemies of Egypt) where the Roman influence was penetrating an already crumbled empire unable to defend itself against Roman cultural and military pressures. The Greeks still adopted the slow, inflexible, easily flanked and routed phalanx - no match for the Roman Legions which would soon topple almost all of the three empires.
Good Introduction
This book does an excellent job of serving as a primer for studies of the ancient Greeks. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Ancient - Greece    2. History    3. History - General History    4. History: American    5. Ancient Greece    6. Classical Greek & Roman archaeology    7. Classical Studies | Ancient History | Greek    8. Designed / suitable for A & AS Level    9. European history: BCE to c 500 CE    10. History / Ancient / Greece   

Subjects:  1. 4th century    2. 5th century    3. Ancient - Rome    4. Christian giving    5. Christianity - Christian Life - General    6. Christianity - History - General    7. Church history    8. History    9. History - General History    10. History: World    11. Religion - Church History    12. Ancient Greece    13. BCE to c 500 CE    14. Christian life & practice    15. Classical Studies | Ancient Religions    16. Early Church    17. European history: BCE to c 500 CE    18. History / Ancient / Rome   

Reviews (2)

Fat and fun
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. A Classic of Classical Greek historical writing
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 ofClassical Greece go, Hammond's 'History of Greece' is a marvel of clear,authoritative writing, compelling scholarship, and overall mastery of adifficult and still intriguing topic.Read more

Subjects:  1. 0-323    2. Ancient - Greece    3. Greece    4. History    5. History - General History    6. History: World    7. To 146 B.C    8. Classical Studies | Ancient History | Greek    9. History / Ancient / Greece   

Reviews (5)

Eye opening study of the free agrarian hoplite soldier
I think Hanson has more than made the point in his other works that it was the Greek free land owning farmer and not the city dweller who dominated the rise of greek warfare and culture which culminated in the 5th and 6th centuries BCE. Before the Persian invasion but after the "Heroic Age" a unique form of warfare evolved in Greece. The central figure of which was the free farmer of the Greek countryside who donned nearly 80 pounds of armour in the hot summer, lined up with his fellows and charged a muderous row of brass tipped spears to settle border disputes in a single climactic clash.
Skilled Soldiers, Rather than 'eathens
This works delves into Ancient Greek battle and experience of battle, rather than ancient Greek wafare as a whole. Instead of glorifying this kind of war, the authors point out several times the cold bloodedness, fear, and bloodiness of this kind of battle. Hoplomachia--The Ancient Greek Art of War
In ancient Greece, men dressed themselves in armor, armed themselves with pikes, stood shoulder to shoulder eight ranks deep facing another group of similarly armed and arrayed soldiers, and then charged into each other with homicidal intent. The resulting carnage was horrific. There was no maneuver, no strategy, and little room for skill at arms. Only strength, stamina, and courage mattered. Read more

Subjects:  1. Foreign Language - Dictionaries / Phrase Books    2. Greek (Modern)    3. History: World    4. Ancient Greece    5. History / Ancient / General    6. Land forces & warfare   

Subjects:  1. Art    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. Collections, Catalogs, Exhibitions - General    4. History - General    5. Iconography (Fine Arts)    6. Modern Art    7. Subjects & Themes - Religious    8. Greece    9. Modern period, c 1500 onwards    10. Religious subjects depicted in art    11. Russia   

Reviews (25)

Thought-provoking
This book was an unexpectedly compelling treatment of many varied aspects of what it is to be a human being and what each of us may be capable of. Being an artist in a left-brained civilization, I was especially interested in the final third of the book, which deals with the differences in left- and right-brained living and what we may have all sacrificed in the name of modern civilization. This book is a lively read and merges many disciplines in a fascinating narrative.

not just about history
Wilson has presented an interesting and plausible alternative account of the history of mankind on Earth, namely that humans have existed for much longer than orthodox academics are willing to believe, and that advanced civilizations had developed millennia before the Great Pyramids of Egypt.Most of this alternative view is based on ideas put forth previously by other researchers, and therefore if you have already read many other books on this topic you may not find a whole lot of new information here.Nevertheless, it is a decent summary of those previously proposed ideas, and thus this book serves as a good introduction to the subject.However, I feel that this summary may be too comprehensive - he tries to squeeze in so much information that it wasn't easy for me to remember everything he had said (especially all those people's names), and so the more I read the more I forgot, making it harder and harder to follow his writing. THOUGHTFUL AND EXCITING SUMMARY OF ALTERNATIVE IDEAS
Colin Wilson is both a prolific and talented writer, whose books always reflect a lot of serious research and thought. When I found a copy of From Atlantis to the Sphinx at a book sale, I grabbed it. But I soon found I was reading a summary of the views of the major alternative history writers, and I found myself skimming through material with which I was already familiar. He covers all my favorites -- Graham Hancock, Robery Bauval, John Anthony West, Zechariah Sitchen, Rand Flem-Ath, Cremo and Thompson, and such older luminaries as Velikoksky, Hapgood, Gurdjieff and many other authors who have put forth theories about the nature and history of mankind. Despite the rehash, Wilson's comments on these writers and their ideas make for interesting reading.Read more

Subjects:  1. Ancient - General    2. Ancient - Greece    3. Civilization, Ancient    4. Curiosities and wonders    5. History    6. History: World    7. Mythical Civilizations    8. New Age / Body, Mind & Spirit   

Subjects:  1. Ancient - Greece    2. Ancient Law    3. Athens    4. Greece    5. History - General History    6. Law    7. Law, Greek    8. Ancient Greece    9. European history: BCE to c 500 CE    10. Jurisprudence & philosophy of law    11. Social history   

Reviews (4)

Absolutely indispensable within its field.
I wrote a research paper on ancient reanimation, and this is the only book (aside from Ogden's sourcebook) to have a serious discussion of the topic.It led to many new sources of inquiry, but still was my major source throughout.Anyone taking a class on ancient magic or wanting to look at necromancy more thoroughly must have this book.

Excellent Resource
This is a book on Classical necromancy that I find myself going back to again and again. Exhaustively researched, the book is filled to brimming with fascinating information on the attitudes and practices of necromancers in the Classical world. Each time I read it, I find new insights, and new, delightful nuggets of trivia that relate back to a variety of other magickal practices. Although this book is written with a scholarly audience in mind, I felt it was thoroughly accessible to the lay-reader without ever once stooping to patronize that reader. For magickal workers and occultists with an interest in necromancy and spirits, this book is a must-have.

Comprehensive for a little-known area
I find the book to be insightful, concise, and filled with well-resourced information. A must-have for the Classical Historian, Mythographer or Thanatologist. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Ancient - General    2. History    3. History: World    4. New Age / Body, Mind & Spirit    5. Spiritualism - General    6. Ancient Greece    7. Ancient Rome    8. Archaeology and Ancient History    9. Classics    10. History / Ancient / General    11. Spirit communication & mediumship, spiritualism   

Reviews (30)

Whoa!
What a fascinating, very well written book!It seemed every page had a juicy morsel or two and really opened my eyes into what was really going on during the last months of John Kennedy's life and why Jackie married Aristotle Onassis. As a teenager, I was shocked she'd married someone who obviously wasn't a friend of the United States.But Peter Evans portrays Onassis as someone so fascinating, even desirable in his "bulldog" approach to women, maybe money wasn't the only reason.Then again, once you read this book your whole image of "Camelot" and the "Holy Widow" will never be the same.

Review for Seller
The book came quickly and in exactly the condition stated: like brand new.Will definitely look this seller up again next time I'm shopping for books.

Credible and an Entertaining Read
By now most people know that the JFK image was an elaborate facade that covered up and hid a more complicated situation; the real story involved a charismatic leader, a shaky marriage and much womanizing. This book fills in a few more blank spots especially about the other half - Jackie and her sister Lee.
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Subjects:  1. 1906-1975    2. 1925-1968    3. 1929-    4. Biography    5. Biography / Autobiography    6. Celebrities    7. First Ladies    8. Greece    9. History    10. History: American    11. Kennedy, Robert F.,    12. Onassis, Aristotle Socrates,    13. Onassis, Jacqueline Kennedy,    14. Rich & Famous    15. United States    16. United States - 20th Century    17. American history: postwar, from c 1945 -    18. Biography: general    19. History / United States / 20th Century    20. USA   

Reviews (1)

A hundred thirty ancient texts dating from the 8th century through the 4th century
Arcana Mundi: Magic And The Occult In The Greek And Roman Worlds: A Collection Of Ancient Texts appears in a new edition, translating a hundred thirty ancient texts dating from the 8th century through the 4th century. It's been revised to offer several new elements, from a general introduction to an epilogue on ancient magic's appearance in early Christian and Byzantine eras. Add notes on mind-altering substances in occult practices an a detailed glossary of Greek and Latin magical terms and you have quite a different, enhanced version of the original, deserving of ongoing recommendation.
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Subjects:  1. Ancient - General    2. Greece    3. History    4. History: World    5. New Age / Body, Mind & Spirit    6. Occultism    7. Parapsychology - General    8. Rome    9. Sources    10. Art / General    11. World history: BCE to c 500 CE   

Reviews (5)

The History of Alexander
Another book written on Alexander the Great,but different from the others. So many have written books about Alexander and yet in this book so many things I read for the first time.The book is very easy to read, ofcourse it is about the wars,conquers,of Alexander.The details that are not written in Arrian for example and Plutarch are several.I will give a few examples.
The "GREATEST" OF THE "GREAT"
Alexander the Great, was born on or around July 20, 356 B.C.E., and is my favorite personality to read about in history.To me he is the whole package general, statesman, conqueror, and philosopher.The smartest man who ever lived, Aristotle, tutored him.Alexander conquered more of the known world than any other figure in history, accomplishing all this before he dies at the ripe old age of 33.Some people called him conqueror and violent overlord.Some other called him civilizer and even God!All of them yet, called him "The Great".He was the first man in modern history that took this name, "The Great"!Even as a young boy, he shows great promise.
Alexander the Great's Art of Strategy is much better
I recently read a slew of books about Alexander the Great in anticipation of the movie. I have to admit that hile this academic text might be required reading of many college and high school history classes, I found Alexander the Great's Art of Strategy much more engaging, insightful, and fun to read. The battle descriptions in the this book are phenomenal. One feels like one is right in the middle of a battle. Rufus doesn't do such a great job. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 356-323 B.C    2. 356-323 B.C.    3. Alexander,    4. Biography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. Early works to 1800    7. General    8. Generals    9. Greece    10. History    11. History - General History    12. Macedonian Expansion, 359-323 B.C    13. the Great,    14. Alexander    15. Ancient Greece    16. Biography: historical    17. European history: BCE to c 500 CE    18. History / Military / General   

Reviews (18)

SHOULD BE REQUIRED READING FOR ALL
This is the second of the multi-volume work by the Durant's.It is as good as the first (and not wanting to give anything away, chuckle), they only get better and better.The author's prose is almost as wonderful as the actual historical work.The author apparently spent fifty years in writing these books and it certainly was worth the effort.He, and his wife, make history come alive.Now granted, I am a history buff and simply cannot get enough of it.I realize that not all share my love for the subject, but I truely feel that the entire work should be required reading in our schools. Not only are they superior to any and all text I am familiar with, they are truely a joy to read.This particular volume gave me much more insight to the ancient Greeks, their culture, art and philosophy than any work I have read, thereby giving me a much better understanding to our own culture, etc.It's just me, I know, but an added joy to this work was prowling used book stores and finding these things one by one to add to my collection.Highly recommend these books.

Not a dull history book!
Durant paints a fascinating portrait of Greek life and culture as well as the history of a country that provided a foundation for modern thought and politics in the modern world. Highly recommend for history buffs as well as serious students.

The Second Volume of The Story Of Civilization!
Authors Dr. Will & Ariel Durant have compiled the history of ancient Greece in this, the second volume of The Story of Civilization.
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Subjects:  1. Ancient - Greece    2. Civilization    3. History: World    4. Sale Adult - History - General History    5. World - General    6. Sale Books   

Subjects:  1. Aristotle    2. Early works to 1850    3. History & Surveys - Medieval    4. Interior Design - General    5. Movements - Humanism    6. Philosophy    7. Psychology    8. Soul    9. Ancient Greece    10. Ancient Greek & Roman philosophy    11. BCE to c 500 CE    12. Metaphysics & ontology    13. Philosophy of mind   

Subjects:  1. Early works to 1800    2. General    3. History & Surveys - Ancient & Classical    4. Philosophy    5. Political Science    6. Politics/International Relations    7. Religious    8. State, The    9. Ancient Greek & Roman philosophy    10. Philosophy / Religious    11. Philosophy of religion   

Reviews (6)

Beauty, Grace and Destruction
First and foremost: Yes, it did exist.
EnchantingAtlantis
"Unearthing Atlantis: An Archaelogical Odyssey to the Fabled Lost Civilization" by Charles Pellegrino is an enchanting, well researched, well rounded book about the Greek island of Santorini and the volcanic explosion which probablydestroyed Minoan civilization.This is one of the best books I have read in a long time; it was very difficult for me to put down, as Pellegrino expertly combines history, archaelogy, art, literature and science to write a comprehensive story of the lost civilization of Santorini/ Atlantis.As a matter of fact, I found myself studying , not just reading, this book, and am currently rereading it a second time.I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in Greek history, Atlantis, or a good mystery.

Earth-shaking
Pellegrino has a way of making the past come so alive that his non-fiction is even more riveting than his occasional novels (and that's not putting down his novels: "Dust" deals with our own civilization turning to the stuff of archaeology and it scares the pants off you, it's so real). I just love being taken by the hand by him, then led to an archaeological site, and from there back in time to the beginning of civilization itself. He's best in the remote, remote past - and though his Titanic books are kind of interesting, I just wish he would stop getting distracted by it, and go back where he is best: Thousands of years in the past. Are Pellegrino and Cameron listening? The ship hit an iceberg and it sank and it was sad when the great ship went down. End of story. Get over it! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Ancient - Greece    2. Archaeology    3. Archaeology / Anthropology    4. Atlantis    5. Greece    6. Minoans    7. Social Science    8. Sociology    9. Thera Island    10. Social Science / Archaeology   

Subjects:  1. Art    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. Art, Classical    4. Classic Art    5. History - General    6. Ancient Greece    7. Ancient Rome    8. Art / History / European    9. Classical Greek & Roman archaeology    10. Greece    11. History of art: BCE to c 500 CE, ancient & classical world