Charles Freeman's The Greek Achievement traces the entire course of ancient Greek history across thousands of years--from the Mycenaean and Minoan civilizations of the Bronze Age through the Archaic; Classical; Hellenistic; and Roman periods. This brilliant account celebrates the incredible range of Greek achievement: the architectural marvels of the Athenian Acropolis; the birth of drama and the timeless tragedies of Aeschylus; Euripides; and Sophocles; Homer's epics; the philosophical revolutions of Plato and Aristotle; and the conquests of Alexander the Great. Lavishly illustrated with photographs and maps; The Greek Achievement paints a sweeping panorama of the ancient Greeks' world and provides a rich; contemporary overview of their enduring contribution to world civilization.
#1001366 in Books 2000-09-01 2000-09-01Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.01 x 1.14 x 6.02l; 1.28 #File Name: 014029323X544 pages
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy JC DesmondIf you love ancient History; mythology; then this is a must read.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Decent bookBy TenshiThe Greek Achievement by Charles Freeman portrays a unique perspective on Greek history by explaining its many accomplishments; along with much criticism as well. Although Freeman explains much of the splendor of the Greeks; he seems to focus on criticizing the Greeks for their faults; and seemed to spend more time searching for faults rather than giving credit where it is due. Although the author seems to elaborate on the negative aspects of Greek history; it seems that he does this with excellence; because it demonstrates a great contrast to traditional praise of Greek achievements by use of valid evidence.21 of 25 people found the following review helpful. Surprisingly ReadableBy R. WhitelawConfession time. I expected this book to really put me to sleep. So why did I buy it? Well.... the recent release of the movie "Troy" peaked my interest in the classical world; so here I am.But surprise; I found myself captivated with this discussion of the Greek world. If you have any interest in the classical world; this would be a great place to start.Now I know a little something about boring history books. I majored in history and even taught it at the high school level for a short time. Trust me; I have shelves full of stinky; boring required reading from my college days and from later attempts to look deaper into specific historical topics. This was a breath of fresh air.If you have ever had to read some of the other required classic reading (IE: Homer; Sophocles; Euripides; etc.) this will serve as an excellent work to enhance what you got out of those folks. And lets be honest; anyone who has actually read all of Euripides has got to admit that having something like this work to gain better understanding is a good thing!Now; lets get it in perspective. This work covers a monumental period of time. If your looking for indepth works on the hellenistic period or any other particular period of Greek/Classical history - this is likely not for you.However; if what your looking for is something to cover all the key waypoints of Greek civilization; this is the place to be.
