Just Finished Reading: The Ancient Guide to Modern Life by Natalie Haynes

This was another of those Amazon recommendations that I actually took some notice of and I’m glad that I did. Not only is it a subject that I have developed quite an obsession with it is written in a style that’s both highly entertaining and very informative.

Starting with her love of all things Ancient from an early age Ms Haynes proceeds through ancient ideas of politics, philosophy and culture relating their difference, their many similarities and dispels not a few myths along the way. Told in a breezy, knowing and fun style – she is a stand-up comedian by profession – she examines the Greek jury system (with up to 1000 jurors) that made bribery almost impossible and always ruinously expensive, political systems where department heads serve for 24-48 hours only and where political leaders remain in power for a single year preventing (yet again) power remaining in the hands of tyrants or incompetents for too long and thereby limiting any damage done, the wonderful world of philosophy (she seemed particularly fond of Socrates), the early years of Christianity (and how both the Greeks and the Romans tolerated religious diversity far more than they ever did), the ancient views on women under the best chapter heading in the book ‘Frankly, Medea, I don’t give a damn’ (the ancient Greeks in general didn’t treat their women very highly – with the possible exception of the Spartans but the Romans made up for this by and large with some ideas that seemed very liberal until the 19^th/20^th centuries), a very interesting chapter on Greek tragedy – something I knew almost nothing about – comparing it to modern soap-opera (I totally agree with her on that one!) and an almost equally involving chapter on money and value.

Despite all of the many similarities between ancient and modern times – not surprising as we are to all intents and purposes the same people just living in different environments – Haynes reminds us again and again that it is very difficult to get inside the minds of the average Greek or Roman citizen of that period for very good reasons. One thing is that very little is actually known of the day to day detail of ordinary lives. Likewise it is all too easy to attribute modern sensibilities to people where none exists. Although we do have a great deal of written evidence from those periods – especially from the obsessive record keeping Romans – much has unfortunately been lost in the intervening centuries. But if you have ever wondered why the study of the Ancients is so rewarding (or even worthwhile at all) this book will answer that for you. It is an absolute delight to read, full of interesting stories, observations and detours. It won’t put too much strain on the old grey matter but you’ll still put this book down knowing a great deal more about our ancient ancestors than you imagined possible from a seemingly light-hearted work. Lots of fun (including some laugh out loud moments). Highly recommended.