Just Finished Reading: Ancient Greece – A Very Short Introduction by Paul Cartledge (FP: 2011)

The author recognises upfront that it is difficult to do justice to such a large subject – even in an introduction – in a mere 144 pages. But as with all of the VSI books they are designed as a taster, an entrée, a glimpse into a much larger world. They are there to provide a hook to entice the reader to go on exploring. This book certainly does exactly that – but in quite an intriguing way. Normally you would expect most history books to progress in a chronological fashion. After all, as we know, history is just one damned thing after another. The author doesn’t exactly turn this idea on its head (I’ve read books that did and they worked pretty well) but rather comes at the subject sideways – by examining one of the defining aspects of Ancient Greek culture from a historical perspective: Cities. After all Greece as we know it today simply didn’t exist back then. The Greeks living in independent or semi-independent city-states, each with its own history, culture and place in the unfolding story of that civilisation. Each city interactive with and was acted upon by its neighbours and other cities further away. They fought, formed alliances, fell, were rebuilt and gave rise to the men who produced the artefacts, ideas and philosophies that define the era. Of course some cities just had to make the authors list – he kept it down to 11 – including Athens, Sparta, Syracuse, Thebes and Alexandria. Others might be less well known but had their impacts, both subtle and dramatic, just the same – Cnossos, Mycenae, Argos, Miletus. Each city had its role to play in the overall triumph and tragedy of that part of the world. Each produced artists, diplomats, philosophers and storytellers that are still known today thousands of years later. The author gives a glimpse of this very different yet somehow familiar world.

As I expected the standard chronological approach to this subject it did take me a little while to get my head around the author’s narrative thrust, but once it settled into place and things became clearer I began to really enjoy it. I know the story of the rivalry between Athens and Sparta reasonably well but was less aware of some of the other events and personalities from across the area. I now have more of an inkling of what was going on elsewhere and will be following up some of those interesting episodes in later books. If you are unfamiliar with Ancient Greece or just want a refresher this is a pretty good place to reignite that interest.