Just Finished Reading: The Power of Geography – Ten Maps That Reveal the Future of Our World by Tim Marshall (FP: 2021) [364pp] 

This was, essentially, a continuation of the authors previous work on Geopolitics – Prisoners of Geography. Here he is more forward looking although each section still contains a goodly slice of history for the required context. Starting off with Australia (which I remembered him musing over in the previous book) he looks at that continental country in context with its place in the Japan, South Korea, China axis, especially focused on the ongoing problems in the South China Sea. This does look like a potential conflict zone in the years ahead if cooler heads fail to prevail. I doubt if it would take too much pushing to start an actual shooting war – never mind how stupid and pointless that conflict would be. 

Moving onto the ever ‘interesting’ Middle East zone, we looked at both Iran and Saudi Arabia. I’ve read a little (emphasis on little) about Iran, but this author really helped me understand its geography – especially in a strategic sense – much better than I had previously. I can now understand exactly why Iraq had such a hard time invading during their bloody conflict. The section on Saudi looks very much at its economic future as the US in particular slowly removes its reliance on Mid-East oil and its involvement in Mid-East politics. Although this is a good idea in and of itself (for a whole host of reasons) it doesn’t follow that the tensions in that area will diminish greatly never mind vanish overnight. There are certainly enough other ethnic and religious divisions in the region – to say nothing of Israel’s actions – to keep it in the news for decades to come. 

I’ve been aware of the ‘issues’ between Turkey and Greece for a while now, both from my reading about the region and from watching various conflicts (notably Cyprus) play out on my TV. So, it was a real eye-opener to understand exactly why these two countries – NATO allies indeed – are potentially at each other's throats so much. Not only do they have a LONG history of conflict to draw on, but there’s a whole new cause in play right now: the resources of the eastern Mediterranean. How this will play out... is definitely an open question. 

I’d be the first to admit that my knowledge of Africa is practically non-existent. Apart from some knowledge of Ancient Egypt, the North African campaigns of WW2 and a passing knowledge of the Boer War in South Africa I know almost nothing of that great continent. So, it was good to see two sections in this book dedicated to diminishing that oversight. Looking at conditions throughout the Sahel and Ethiopia I now have a much greater appreciation of the area's problems (often caused by those pesky straight borders again) and what they (and, typically, the Chinese) are doing about it. MUCH more on Africa to come! 

Overall, I enjoyed this a great deal and learnt MUCH. This is a valuable addition to his previous work, and I can definitely recommend it to anyone (like me) who is trying to understand why the world is the way it is. More to come.  

Just Finished Reading: A Thing of Beauty – Travels in Mythical and Modern Greece by Peter Fiennes (FP: 2021) [264pp] 

If there’s one thing my recent reviews have taught me, it’s that I REALLY need to pay much more attention to books before I purchase them. I had been looking for 'country history' books, especially outside the usual Anglo-American axis and preferably additional to the usual tomes of French history, so this seemed perfect. I’d already read a reasonable bit about Ancient Greece but my knowledge of anything approaching modern Greece was (and still is) almost non-existent. The sub-title in particular got my hopes up but hope, such as it was, stubbornly stayed in Pandora’s Jar. The only ‘modern’ aspect of this book was the fact that the author was driving around modern Greece and occasionally chatting to locals about Hope. Such conversations definitely seemed to be required as fires ravaged the countryside and the early effects of Covid where beginning to show their hand. 

This does not mean that I was disappointed with this volume – FAR from it. Once my all too typical misunderstanding had been accepted, I found this book, and the author, to be fascinating, informed and often funny. It all started, as you might well imagine, with Lord Byron who, after a dissolute youth, decided to aid Greece in her fight for independence from the Ottoman Empire. This journey, by one of the most famous Brits of the era, seemed like a good ‘peg’ to hang a travel book on – and it is. Somewhat strangely, except for some fascinating chunks of the Lord’s life early on, Byron himself features less and less as the book progresses. [Note to Self: Read a good book on Byron!] 

As alluded to earlier, the focus of the book was on Hope – the last thing to emerge from (or to remain in, depending on which version of the Myth you’re reading) Pandora’s jar – it was never a ‘box’, that was a mistranslation which took wings and became the ‘truth’. This naturally led to who Pandora was, why she had (or opened) the jar, who ‘created’ her, why and who for... and we’re off into the wild and complex world of the Greek mythic world. This is where, as also alluded to previously, we are introduced to modern Greece. The author drives around – sometimes with wife and son – to locations where the myths ‘happened’ where variations are teased out – and teased about – as well as museums, galleries, various ruins and more than a few quips in the direction of the British Museum and other European ‘collectors’ who in the 18th and 19th centuries “picked up a few things” on their journey around the country. 

After my initial (brief) disappointment that this wasn’t the book I was looking for, I found myself completely captivated and loving pretty much every minute of it. There are a few things that some readers might find annoying (personally I didn’t) when the author comments on excessive tourism, exploitation and the effects of Global Warming on Greece in particular but they are very minor diversions from the main thrust of the narrative. I’ve already added his book about walking around Britain – referencing various authors as he goes – to my Wish List. I’m really looking forward to that one! Definitely recommended for anyone interested in Myth, Greece and even Lord Byron. 

Just Finished Reading: Divine Might – Goddesses in Greek Myth by Natalie Haynes (FP: 2023) [277pp] 

You would think, or at least I would, that when we created gods to explain our world, we would have imagined them to be better than us. Sure, we often ended up making them stronger and faster than us but in other ways we were much their superiors. Greek gods (and goddesses) tended to have the morals of feral teenagers and the emotional temperaments of toddlers. Being noticed by a god was bad enough – even when they liked you (mostly a fleeting thing) - but being disliked, well THAT was often a death sentence or worse! The main reason they were worshiped (it seemed) was not to get on their bad side. They were deities who firmly believed that it was much better to be feared than to be loved. I suppose the fact that they were immortal and couldn’t easily be hurt never mind killed helped explain much. If you had almost unlimited power and an eternity to use it in then it's not surprising that you would end up pulling wings off flies, starting years long wars (for entertainment purposes) or meddling in the lives of short-lived mortals. Oh, and then there was the fun of turning said mortals into trees, cows or magpies when they offended you... Anything really to have something to distract you for a moment or (if lucky) two. 

It's difficult not to be fascinated with them though, and I definitely share the authors interests if not (maybe) to the same degree. We tend to absorb the tales of the Greek gods without even thinking of it. Like the author I grew up with movies like ‘Jason and the Argonauts’ and ‘Clash of the Titans’ which couldn’t help colour my appreciation of later divine encounters in books, comics and more modern cinematic interpretations. Greek gods, and honestly to a somewhat lessor extent goddesses, are a pervasive recurring theme through our culture so it’s nice to have someone like the author looking at the original stories (in MANY variations) who can put them into their original context, draw out more modern interpretations and then place them within western cultural thought down the ages.  

A goodly portion of the details of the goddesses portrayed here were new to me – despite being pretty familiar with the individual icons themselves – which was a plus and I’ll be following this up with more investigations both in fiction and non-fiction. We do seem to be living through a new revival of all things Greek mythish which is fun. It’s especially good that we’re seeing many of the lessor known or ignored mythic characters (oddly mostly women – who'd have thought it, right?) which I know several of my readers (and I!) have been enjoying. Hopefully at some point we’ll move beyond the Greek world into other areas like Egypt or points East. We’ll see (I hope). Anyway, if you have any interest in Greek gods and goddesses this is definitely the book for you. Full of interesting stories, strange characters and quite a bit of humour. Definitely recommended and much more to come. 

Just Finished Reading: Persians – The Age of the Great Kings by Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones (FP: 2022) [397pp] 

Up until comparatively recently, our knowledge of the Persian world and especially the Greek-Persian War had been almost exclusively from the Greek side. Unsurprisingly, those who write the histories tend to portray themselves in the best of lights and their enemies – well all too often they are seen as decadent aggressive barbarians unworthy of the name civilised. Our views changed with the discovery of thousands of clay tablets which, in the preceding years, have been painstakingly translated and compiled into a history of the region and the Persian empire in their own words. Needless to say, this is VERY different from the Greek accounts so well known in the West. 

Starting in what is now Iran, the Achaemenids eventually founded an empire spanning the whole region and claimed parts of what is now northern Greece and north Africa including most of Egypt. They were mighty and a force to be reckoned with for centuries. They built great cities, produced epic iconic art and waged war with an equally epoch-making intensity. They did not suffer their enemies to remain rivals for long, crushing all opposition, burning cities to the ground and enslaving the survivors. They were most certainly NOT to be messed with. This, of course, did not stop the Greek city states on the coast of what is now Turkey from doing so – much to their regret. It also didn’t stop internal rivalry, most especially at times of power transition. The King of Kings, in order to secure the continuity of the Achaemenids made sure to produce enough sons to pick from to be the designated heir. Unfortunately, with SO many sons to choose from – often in the tens if not more – those who were passed over either had to be placated, exiled FAR away from the centres of power or simply executed/assassinated to ensure a ‘peaceful’ transfer of power. It was, to say the least, messy. If that wasn’t bad enough, even before the next King had been designated (or assumed) there was a constant jostling for position and power in the attempt to ensure that the favoured son in fact ended up as the heir-designate. Poison or simple assassination played their parts here. 

If that wasn’t complicated enough – and to be honest getting my head around some of the family trees in this book is a REAL mind twister – the Achaemenids most definitely kept it in the family in order to maintain a ‘pure’ bloodline. This involved Kings marrying their cousins, sisters, daughters and whoever was ‘best suited’ to maintain the dynasty. My particular ‘favourite’ example was a King (I can’t remember which one as they often had the same names) who married his daughter who was, herself, continuing her affair with her brother throughout. They could certainly give the later Egyptian dynasties a run for their money in that department. 

It was nice to start to rectify my DEEP ignorance of this region and period covered in this excellent book. As you’ll have guessed by now, seeing my reading on Ancient Times, I do tend to concentrate on the Greeks and the Romans probably at least partially due to the fact that there’s just SO much out there on them. I have been trying – OK, mostly by accumulating unread books – to move my knowledge Eastwards and this is an early foray towards that. It was a very good start. If, like me, you’ve often wondered what it was like beyond the edges of the Greek and Roman worlds in Ancient Times I recommend that you give this tome a read. You can thank me later. MUCH more to come from this region. 

[Highest page count of the year so far: 397pp][+14pp]

Just Finished Reading: Pandora’s Jar – Women in Greek Myths by Natalie Haynes (FP: 2020) [288pp] 

First off, I have to say that this was an excellent ‘companion’ read to my previous book ‘Circe’ by Madeline Miller. It wasn’t exactly planned that way, but I’ll take it. I’d read a non-fiction work by this author previously so knew something of her style. Here though we had a mix of deep knowledge and obvious love of the subject mixed with a fair bit of humour and topped off with a feminist vibe. 

The thing that most jumped out at me throughout this book was the idea that the Myths we know (or think we know) exist in multiple versions. Those that have made it to the modern day have either been cherry-picked from a range of examples or have simply been the one that survived the passage of time down the ages. Other versions, presently lost, are hinted at by ancient authorities but we have nothing more. Those facts alone give me pause for thought when people try to talk about the ‘real’ myth as opposed to other versions with different endings or different outcomes for some characters. Greek myth, I realised or had been prompted to remember, is a very fluid thing. 

Unfortunately, like most people I imagine, my ‘knowledge’ of Greek myths is generally derived from Hollywood movies (along with some random reading over the decades). This means that generally the female characters in these myths are all too often relegated to love interests, helpers (usually quickly disposed of), people to be rescued or all too sexualised villain's and temptresses. Of course, some of this at least is taken straight from the myths themselves where the female characters – created it must be remembered in a time and place that allowed women very little space to become individuals in their own right – were (often but not always) very much sidelined or presented as an example or a danger to the male heroes. But what we would regard today as strong or nuanced female characters did exist in plays of these mythic stories and many of those roles are eagerly sought after by modern actresses (it’s interesting to note that, much like Shakespeare’s time, all stage roles in Classical Greece were played by men). 

I think the first surprise, which handily got me prepared for the rest of this excellent book, was the tale of Pandora. I thought I knew this tale and quickly learnt that I simply didn’t. For a start the ‘box’ was a much later invention and she started out with a jar – as in a Greek style vase. The other thing that really jumped out at me was the fact (if we can talk about facts within myths) was that Pandora was *designed* by the Gods as a living weapon in retribution for Prometeus giving humans fire and therefore, by extension, a comfortable life. Pandora was sent in order to make men miserable again, just as Zeus wanted. She was programmed to open the jar thus releasing all the bad stuff. It wasn’t her fault. THAT puts a whole other gloss on things and changes the whole story. That was just the first chapter! After that we had tales of Jocasta, Helen (lots of weird stuff there including the Helen in Troy being a hologram!), Medusa (very badly treated by all and sundry), The Amazons (more later!), Clytemnestra, Eurydice, Phaedra, Medea (who, of course, everyone loves to hate) and Penelope. Needless to say, not only has my knowledge and appreciation of Greek myth increased by leaps and bounds but I’m also looking at those myths in some interesting and, for me, new ways. If you have any interest or curiosity about the Greek myths – and most especially the place of women in them – this is most definitely the book for you. Told with a fair bit of humour as well as modern cultural references from movies – Clash of the Titans (original), Troy (naturally), Wonder Woman (ditto) - literate reinterpretations and Star Trek I enjoyed this a LOT. It was largely from a feminist perspective which, no doubt will annoy/irritate some readers, but the perspective is a valid one and works well here. Highly recommended and much more to come.  

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Just Finished Reading: Thermopylae – The Battle that Changed the World by Paul Cartledge (FP: 2006) [220pp] 

Revenge – it was that simple. After Athens aided the rebellion of Greek cities at the edge of the Persian empire and then defeated his father Darius at Marathon it was time for payback. Xerxes, King of Kings, would make the Greeks pay and would add more provinces in his westward expansion into Europe. With millions of men to draw on the result was already ordained – the Greeks would fall and honour would be satisfied. As a vast army was assembling in Persia rumours of the forthcoming attack reaching the city-states on the Greek mainland. But even at this juncture the always argumentative Greeks could barely agree on a response, a plan or even whether to join forces at all. Some cities refused to fight alongside their enemies, others simply refused to fight at all against seemingly impossible odds. Two cities – Athens and Sparta who between them headed the best naval and land forces available – called for allies. After days of debate, it was decided that a stand would be taken but first the armies of Xerxes must be delayed in their advance. The most logical location to stem such an advance was at the ‘hot gates’ at Thermopylae. King Leonidas and his personal bodyguard of 300 Spartans would form the hard core of the defence, aided by units from allied cities across Greece. In all over 3000 Greeks would face up to 250,000 Persians. Although the Greeks ultimately lost the battle – rather inevitably given the disparity in numbers – both the delay caused to the Persian advance and the example of Greeks fighting together and holding back an avalanche of enemy forces, no matter how temporary, solidified the subsequent resistance to Persian domination and has echoed down the centuries as a classic and heroic ‘last stand’ against impossible, truly staggering, odds. 

To be honest, most of my ‘knowledge’ of Thermopylae up to this point was brief mentions in other history books, the novel by Steven Pressfield and the movie 300. So, it was good to finally read about the actual history of the event. Interestingly, Spartan sources are rather scarce as the Spartans themselves only practiced one ‘art’ above all others – war. So, any contemporary (or close contemporary) texts are generally Athenian. The author admits that the sources we do have can be problematic, especially for an event that happened at the very edge of history itself, but that there is general agreement on what happened during the battle itself as well as afterwards as the war with Persia progressed until the final encounter at Platea.  

I think it might be overstating things, at least a little, to say that Thermopylae was one of the most important battles in western history. Its importance is, and was, largely symbolic. But without that defeat and subsequent victories against the Persians the history of the West might have been very different. It would be a world without the example of Greek democracy and without the flowering of Greek culture that followed the rise of Athens after the defeat of Xerxes. If you’ve heard of the battle or maybe even seen 300 at the movies and wondered what all the fuss was about, this is the book for you. Recommended for all Ancient History buffs.    

Just Finished Reading: Eureka! - Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About the Ancient Greeks but Were Afraid to Ask by Peter Jones (FP: 2014) [372pp] 

If you’ve ever wondered about what all the fuss is about regarding the Ancient Greeks and were wondering just exactly how to ‘get into’ the subject in a ‘try before you buy’ kind of way, well, this is definitely the book for you! If you’re either starting from a fairly low knowledge point, refreshing your knowledge base or making sure that you have missed anything major so far in your other reading this excellent volume will take you through the civilisations major moments, major achievements and central characters in easily digestible, bit-sized chunks. 

Starting from the earliest days – 2000-800 BC – until the end of Alexander the Greats empire the author (who taught Classics at Cambridge before retiring in 1997) picks out developments large and small from the beginnings of writing, the production of epic poetry, the development and expansion of Philosophical thought in all directions (essentially THE basis of ALL Western Thought!), political structures – including (naturally) the emergence of the first Democracy and what it represented (and who it didn’t involve!), the rise of the city-state and its export to the coast of Asia, North Africa, Italy, France and Spain, internal Greek conflicts (although people living in what we now call Greece wouldn’t have thought of themselves as ‘Greek’ at that time!), as well as the classic fight between Sparta & Athens in what we now know as the Peloponnesian War, the equally momentous war(s) with Persia which effectively saved Western civilisation from Persian domination, discussion of The Trojan War and, of course, Homer himself, Tales of ‘The Gods’ and how the Greeks saw them in quite different ways to how we see our ‘Gods’ today, views on slavery and the place of women in various city-states (there was no single Greek ‘culture’ as such until much later. Each city-state had its own views on religion, politics and much else besides), and, of course, the Alexandrian impact of the region together with the series of ‘encounters’ with the rising Roman Republic and, later, Empire. It’s a LOT of ground to cover but the author covers it with authority and quite a bit of humour mixed in – including a rye nod at the contemporary surge of ‘reinterpretations’ of Greek stories/myths. 

All in all, this was a fun and interesting read and I was pleased that very little was completely new to me. I’ve been reading (and in various ways studying) the Ancient World for some time now so I think I have a pretty good layman’s appreciation of the subject. But this doesn’t mean that I found this work boring or uninteresting – FAR from it. Not only did the author’s love of the subject shine through again and again he was also sure enough of his subject to see the often-funny side of things as well as to call into question older interpretations of archeological findings and appreciate that more modern views of objects and textual findings might be overturned in the future. We may be looking at long dead civilisations and dead languages but the subject itself is far from a dead one. I shall look forward to other books from this author on Rome and the Ancient World as a whole. Definitely recommended. 

[Side Note: FINALLY, the virtual World Tour is back up and running. One more book on Greece to come and then we move on to India. See you there...!]

Just Finished Reading: Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic Age by Peter Green (FP: 2007) [184pp] 

It was, he knew, his destiny. His military campaigns would not only overshadow those of his father but would inscribe his name deep into history like no one before him or since. What Alexander cared less about was how, or indeed if, his empire continued without him. Creation was his task, to conquer lands that his ancestors or contemporaries had barely been aware of. This he did but did not live to see the greatest empire the world has ever seen fall into infighting almost before his body was cold. Indeed, one of his own generals stole his body enroute to Macedonia and had it interred with great ceremony in Alexandria on the Nile. In the decades that followed fighting broke out between the Alexander’s rival captains for control of parts of the empire he left behind. None was individually capable of holding anything but pieces and soon the parts became mini-empires in their own regard. The most stable of them over the coming centuries was the Ptolemy Dynesty in Egypt. Incredibly rich and, by extension, incredibly powerful Ptolemy and his decedents became one of the power centres of the whole Mediterranean world. The other players were Alexander’s home country of Macedonia (and greater Greece), Carthage and the upstart Roman Republic. Each vied for power and control and, at least at first, the Romans were largely ignored which allowed them to consolidate their position on the Italian peninsula and to eject all other threats to their domination there. With the Hellenes still very much in control of the eastern Mediterranean it was only a matter of time before they came into conflict with Roman ambition. Splintered into rival factions and susceptible of being played off against each other – with Roman assistance – the Romans managed to win several encounters and forge strong alliances with Greek communities.  

But it was with the Punic Wars that Rome became a powerhouse in the region. Once Carthage had been defeated it was time to turn east again and to subsume Greece into the Roman sphere of influence after it was discovered that the Greeks had sought to exploit Rome’s troubles in North Africa and Spain. Once Greece was largely absorbed (or at least no longer a credible threat) Rome set about a period of consolidation leaving the last remaining Hellene area – Egypt – to its own devices. The Egyptians, know which way the sand was blowing at this point, offered friendly relations and support. Naturally having a very powerful ‘associative power’ so close was both a danger and an opportunity. Unfortunately, it was an opportunity for those looking to take power in the Republic and it wasn’t long before such a person – Marc Antony – made his move against the Republic using Egypt and the Ptolemy Dynesty as his powerbase. In a war between Egypt and Rome only one could emerge victorious. We all know who that was and the defeat of Antony and Cleopatra at Actium in 31BC ended the Hellenistic Age and ushered into existence the Roman Empire. 

Despite its short length this interesting book crammed a LOT of detail into the centuries long Hellenistic Age begun by Alexander and ended by Rome. Naturally the author could only really cover the grand sweep of ancient history with short bursts of more detailed explanation. If you are unfamiliar with the period or are looking for an overview and ideas for further reading this is definitely the book for you. I shall be looking to cover much more of this period in future reading. Recommended.  

Just Finished Reading: The Living Wisdom of Socrates by Mark Forstater (FP: 2004)

I haven’t read any classical philosophy for a while and a random book choice gave me that opportunity so I took it. I developed a real passion for the Ancients during my last university course where Aristotle became a firm favourite of mine much more so than Plato who I honestly never really rated (apart from the allegory of the cave which is pretty neat if, in my opinion, taken too far). Anyway, Plato’s writings are the main way that the world found out about Socrates who never wrote anything down – a concept explained well in this thin volume. The other is the writings of the military leader Xenophon who knew Socrates and made himself a part-time student of the great man. One of the (honestly few) interesting points the author makes in the book is that the picture of Xenophon’s Socrates and Plato’s Socrates are of two very different people. I’m sure that there’s a book ready to be written (if it hasn’t already been produced) on that very subject.

Unfortunately, at least from my perspective, is that these few interesting insights were just about the best thing in the book. Most of the book is given to rather free translations of the original texts (from both Xenophon and Plato) updated into modern parlance from a 19th century original translation. Purists would, naturally, be squirming in their seats throughout the whole 226 pages. These is actually very little discussion of what Socrates meant during his conversations with the great, the good and the normal in Athens. So I was left a little confused (as to the function of the book to be honest), a little irritated and a little bored. This is not really an introduction to the philosophy of Socrates nor is it an analysis of that thought. Honestly it had the feel of a patchwork quilt of a book looking for a theme. It’s actually billed as a ‘self-help’ book and I will label it as such. I do think that with that in mind it could have been far more focused towards that end and less a ‘copy and paste’ composition. Not terrible but neither for the novice nor the fan. (R)

Just Finished Reading: The Trojan War – A Very Short Introduction by Eric H Cline (FP: 2013)

It’s probably one of the greatest stories ever told – a war to retrieve on of the most beautiful women ever to have lived, fought over 10 years with Heroes on each side, laying siege to the greatest city of the age and ending in its utter destruction. These events resonate down the centuries and make up two of the all-time classic pieces of western literature which have given rise to a host of books, movies, poems and much else besides. But did any of it really happen? Did Hector, Paris, Achilles and the rest really exist? Did Troy fall as related in the story, did it even exist in the first place or was the whole thing an elaborate work of fiction? Did Homer even exist? This small volume aims to answer at least some of those questions. The answers will both intrigue and, undoubtedly frustrate you – I know they did me!

The short answer is yes, Troy existed although it was called by many names by the numerous cultures surrounding it (including Ilium where we get Iliad). The more complete answer is that a city had existed on the agreed site of Troy for a great span of time with city built on top of city as each fell (often due to earthquake as well as war) and was rebuilt. Frustratingly none of them quite match up with the apparent timelines of the books. Likewise some of the heroes seemed to have existed but others (Ajax in particular) seem to have been imported into the story from earlier sagas complete with outdated armour and weapons. Did the war exist and what about the infamous Trojan Horse? There is certainly evidence for some kind of military defeat in the ruins of Troy but nothing definitive – again not in the proposed timescales of the books. Unfortunately there’s no direct evidence for the famous equine and the story itself seems to have been added later by other authors.

The tales themselves betray the fact that they were spoken epics long before they were finally written down – there’s even a theory that the Greek written language itself might have been created (modified from an existing written language) to transfer a spoken story to something a little more solid. Tales grow in the telling and anomalies or embellishments creep in over time. Both the Iliad and Odyssey show this happening as existing tales and myths are incorporated or adapted into a new story which show up as anachronistic elements that were presumably accepted for what they were – plot devices and homages to previous tales of honour, glory and tragedy.

Of course none of the finds are without controversy, argument and counter argument, reputations made and destroyed, lies told and academic flame wars fought as fiercely as the Trojan War itself might have been. It’s all grist to the mill and makes a fascinating tale all the more interesting if that’s possible. Recommended for anyone who wondered what all the fuss was about.      

Just Finished Reading: Greek and Roman Political Ideas by Melissa Lane (FP: 2014)

Like much else in western culture the Greeks seem to have invented politics which, again with much else, the Romans seem to have adopted, adapted and spread across the known world. With hundreds of individual city states the Greeks could effectively experiment in tiny social laboratories to discover the best types of political form which they categorised into three separate strands – rule by one, by some and by many. From these strands they highlighted both the best and worst versions of each, with the best being Monarchy, Aristocracy (my personal favourite) and Polity, with the worst forms being Tyranny, Oligarchy and (rather oddly to our ears) Democracy. In Roman terms, once they absorbed Greece into their ever expanding sphere of influence, Monarchy became Imperial rule and Democracy became the basis for the Roman Republic.

Of course when we speak of Greek and Roman democracy will are not talking of what passes for democracy in most of the developed world where disengaged ‘citizens’ cast their votes in ever decreasing numbers each 4-5 years. Back in the founding years the electorate had political activity at the heart of their existence – indeed the word idiot derives from the Greek for those who are political disengaged private citizens (so little has changed there I think!). Then of course there are the limits of who gets to vote to take into account. Here and in many other democracies across the world we have universal suffrage – where the only criteria is that you live here and are over 18 (plus a few other caveats). Back in the day not only did you need to be a citizen (with both parents being citizens) but you had to be male, free (not a slave) and to meet the property qualifications. Inevitably many people residing within any particular Greek polis where excluding from the political process.

Both Greece and Rome, no matter their other failings, had some interesting ideas: huge juries (often hundreds strong or even into the thousands for important cases), political office by lottery – at least at the lower levels – with short one year occupancy with reports of how well the incumbent did scrutinised by juries. Some of that might still work today. The high level of commitment however is probably a no-go because, well to be honest, we need to work to earn money to live – so precisely the people prevented from voting back in antiquity! Probably the only way we could have fully participatory democracy is to have slaves (machines no doubt) doing all of our work whilst we politicised our lives away. I suppose that it could be fun if you like that sort of thing.

Anyway, if you think you know where our politics comes from this book might both surprise and delight you. Written in an easily digestible style I learnt a great deal almost without any perceived effort – just the way I like it (sometimes anyway). If you also think that events back at the edge of history have no relevance today this book will certainly disabuse you of that! Recommended.

Just Finished Reading: Travels with Epicurus – Meditations from a Greek Island on the Pleasures of Old Age by Daniel Klein (FP: 2012)

As I’m slowly approaching 60 – one day at a time – I’m inevitably thinking about old age, so the idea of the ‘pleasures’ of old age certainly intrigued me in the title. Pleasure? Really? I thought that all I had to ‘look forward to’ was increasing decrepitude followed by slow death….. OK, only partially kidding!

Anyway, I do feel that I have a vested interest in knowing, or at least appreciating, what’s coming, hence books like this (no doubt this sort of thing will be increasing in the, hopefully many, years ahead). The author, I quickly discovered, is not afraid to go against the flow – that prevailing belief that 60 is the new 40, that with the appropriate surgery, drugs, diet and exercise regime, we can run marathons into our 90’s and die whilst having sex with a beautiful 50 year old who looks like they’re 35. It’s the culture of bucket lists – the more adventurous and extreme the better – and grey power. In other words a culture in deep, very deep, denial about its fear of death – AKA our culture. Rather refreshingly the author will have none of it. Old age, maturity, is something to be savoured rather than avoided. It is something to achieve rather than put off for ever (if such a thing were possible!)

The vantage point of Old Age gives perspective on the folly of youth – and even more so on the folly of eternal youth. It allows you to slow down, not least because you have too, and savour the moment, to watch the sunset just because you can, the enjoy your meal rather than bolting it down because there’s three more things to tick off your bucket list before bedtime. Old age allows you time to sit and think, to ponder, to remember and reminisce, to converse with friends old and new to, rather paradoxically, take time to do things at their own pace without the crack of the metaphorical whip pushing you onto the next task and the one after that. Old age, the author contends, allows for companionship without the requirement of wanting or needing anything from the other people, but their time and their words or even just their presence and their companionable silence.

Approaching the end of life, like hanging in the morning, tends to concentrate the mind on the important things – not your position in the company hierarchy or how much money you have in the bank or what passes for achievement in this day and age. You focus, the author contends, less on what you are (or where) and more on who you are. You also let go of things too – and not just ambition. Surprisingly, at least to me, the author celebrated the decline of lust as a positive thing – basically no longer being at the whim of chemicals swimming about in your bloodstream. I suppose he was saying that, at long last, you are in place where it’s peaceful rather than subject to whatever your glands have in mind for you (just to mix up my metaphors and bodily parts a bit there). Oh, you can still appreciate beauty, it’s just that you don’t feel the need to do anything about it! Honestly, I did fall about laughing at this point though I did find myself almost, almost mind, nodding sagely…

As seems to be the way of things these days talk about death inevitably leads to God who is rejected for a more Secular (in some senses at least) Buddhist-lite approach to things – mindfulness and such like. This it seems to me is the modern western acceptable face of spirituality without all that messy religion stuff. Maybe it’s just me but I don’t really feel the need to fill the ‘gap’ left by a belief in God with some cobbled together ‘spirituality’ to ease the pain and the fear that creeps up on you in old age. But, as they say, whatever gets you through the night etc… Apart from a few wobbles like this I did find the book interesting, refreshing in many ways, and it did honestly give me a lot to think about. As I get older I might even read it again to see if my views change as I approach that dark night… Recommended.

Just Finished Reading: A War Like No Other – How the Athenians and the Spartans fought the Peloponnesian War by Victor Davis Hanson (FP: 2005)

Not that long after Sparta and Athens joined forces to defeat the Persian invasion they were at each other’s throats. I suppose that it’s the pretty much inevitable outcome of two regional super powers being geographically close to each other. Sooner or later one side will need to know who is better and attack the other. Sparta certainly felt threatened by Athenian expansion. There seemed to be a feeling of ‘now or never’ about the early invasion of Athenian territory but then Athens did something very sensible and very unexpected – they refused to meet Sparta on the field. Instead they stayed behind their high walls and basically ignored Spartan efforts to destroy their farmland. Instead Athens – under the rule of the great Pericles – decided to win (or at least draw) by avoiding hoplite combat all together or at least as much as possible. The hope of thereby shortening any war backfired – big time – by actually prolonging the conflict which eventually last 27 years. Whilst avoiding direct conflict both parties felt that the only way to prosecute the war was to attack their enemies allies, if these proved too hard a nut to crack it fell to those city states attempting to remain neutral to feel the full force of either Athenian or Spartan wrath. No one was allowed to remain neutral and thereby possibly side with the enemy. Resistance was seen as an act of aggression and dealt with accordingly. After years of conflict and hardening attitudes on both sides neither Sparta not Athens held on to the outmoded ideals of war. Both sides killed the innocent in increasing numbers, both sides enslaved whole populations or left their supposed allies or protectorate city states out on a limb (which was subsequently cut off) when the enemy arrived on their door step. Both sides sent in mercenaries to harry, terrify and kill the opposition miles from any front line. After decades of war no one and nowhere was safe – and still the war dragged on, year after year.

Hanson tells a story here in masterful tones. The story of two of the greatest military powers of the age at each other’s throats for a generation, the story of a conflict with few boundaries and fewer rules, the story of a conflict with eventually destroyed Athens and ironically destroyed the victorious Spartans shortly afterwards. This was indeed a war the like of which no one had ever experienced before. Gone were the honourable clashes of hoplite phalanxes replaced by swift and brutal attacks from light troops dropped off hundreds of miles from a battlefront to ravish and destroy coastal settlements. Gone was the idea of democracy versus tyranny replaced by a democracy coercing and brutalising other democracies into line and a military dictatorship preaching freedom. After a generation of war both sides where spent leaving room for the next leader of the unified Greek world – Alexander the Great.

How they fought rather than why is the focus of this book. As the author rightly stated there are enough great histories of the war itself without adding another to the list going over the same old ground. This fascinating volume rather goes into the sweat and blood of hoplite, cavalry and trireme combat with enough visceral detail to leave any attentive reader exhausted, stunned and bloodied. The author has a real talent of bringing things separated by over two thousand years into sharp focus that will remain with you long after you turn the last page. You will feel the impact of the enemies shield wall, hear the whistle of arrows and the strike of spears and stare appalled as the battering ram approaches. A superb work of ancient history and much recommended to anyone interesting in this truly fascinating period.

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.  

Just Finished Reading: Herodotus – A Very Short Introduction by Jennifer T Roberts (FP: 2011)

Yes, it’s Very Short Introduction time again – it does come around quickly doesn’t it? I thought I’d try something a little different this time. Herodotus is known as the ‘father of History’ as he is credited at producing the first book recognisably dealing with History as a subject we could relate to – although this is not without controversy as he mentioned Gods and various other entities or events which we would call supernatural these days. Saying that, of course, should come as little surprise considering the time in which he wrote. To produce such a work in a purely secular manner wouldn’t have just been strange – it would have been extraordinary!

What Herodotus produced was extraordinary enough without going the extra mile to make things more acceptable to a modern European readership. He managed to produce a history of the known world seemingly without too much of the usual Greek flavour (often seen as mere arrogance) of seeing all non-Greek populations as being fundamentally inferior. Herodotus simply wanted to know what the diverse populations and cities outside of the Greek world were like and, more importantly, why they were like that. What circumstances led to their foundation and what events and personalities helped shape them. It was a real investigation into origins, causes and effects. Fundamentally Herodotus was attempting to answer the question of why the disparate cities of the Greek states went to war with the great Persian Empire and why a seemingly inferior culture – measured from outside – prevailed against the world’s greatest super-power at the time. Along the way he found time to discuss the cultures, myths, eating habits, sexual mores and much more besides of every city or region he could visit or interrogate the citizens of.

It all sounds fascinating especially as the author pours what can only be regarded as knowledgeable (though sometimes restrained and sceptical) adoration at the feet of the author of The Histories. I already had a copy of the great work in one of my various piles of books (well, of course I did) but if I hadn’t I would have certainly bought it by now after reading this. Indeed this book has prompted me to re-engage with several sources of Ancient literature which will be filtering through to the Blog over the next few months. Of course The Histories of Herodotus will definitely be one of them. Yet another highly recommended VSI book! 

Just Finished Reading: Plato’s Republic – A Biography by Simon Blackburn

Oddly the author – philosopher Simon Blackburn – starts this discussion of Plato’s Republic with two confessions. Firstly that, before taking on the commission, he had never read the book from cover to cover (nor me yet) and second with the fact that he’s no great fan of Plato (me neither from what I’ve read). So as you can imagine I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect…

What I got was an interesting, informative and at time provocative discussion of many of the themes brought out in this seminal work. I was aware of some of the main themes of the book (even before touching on it slightly on my last University course) and was, seemingly in good company with the author, singularly unimpressed by them. Fortunately for me, because I find the whole idea bizarre and frankly boring, the author didn’t dwell on Platonic Forms. He did however spend a chapter looking at Plato’s Allegory of the Cave and had many of the same problems with it as I did. The majority of this volume, admittedly slim at only 161 pages, focused on the political side of Plato’s ideal city with its rigid caste system, lack of any kind of democratic accountability and the rather strange idea that most forms of art, poetry and theatre should be banned from any society wishing for order on the streets.

I can see why Plato has given ideas to both the far Right and far Left. He was, if the evidence presented in this book is anything to go by, a rigid authoritarian who took little account of personal flourishing, egalitarianism or any of those things we now see as so important to any kind of modern society. Plato was, of course, a product of his time but still cannot be compared favourably with his pupil Aristotle (not exactly a huge fan of Democracy himself) who was far more liberal in his outlook – comparatively speaking. I’ve had a copy of Republic on my shelf for some years but have yet to read it. I will one day but I suspect I will read the complete works of Aristotle before I do! 

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.  

Just Finished Reading: Stoic Warriors – The Ancient Philosophy behind the Military Mind by Nancy Sherman

I bought this book some time ago because I thought it could help me with my last Masters dissertation. It certainly looked the part. So I skim read it for an hour or so and came up blank. Slightly disappointed it went back on my Philosophy bookshelf and I moved onto the next volume in my reading list. Finally I picked this back off the shelf and gave it a good cover the cover going over.

On the face of it this seemed like a good read in waiting. I’ve been interested in the military mind for quite a while now and have an almost as long interest in Stoic Philosophy. Unfortunately this turned out to be a very disappointing book indeed (and not completely because of my initial high hopes). Some parts of the book did actually interest me. The author related several stories, in particularly about US Navy pilot James B Stockdale who was shot down over Vietnam, captured, imprisoned and tortured before finally being released much later. Part of what kept him both physically and mentally alive was his strong Stoic sensibilities. So far so good I thought. But when she moved onto other militaristic themes I grew less and less enamoured by her arguments and her general portrayal of applying ancient philosophy to modern combat situations. I lost count of the number of times Sherman outlined the Stoic stance on say Grief, attempt to apply it to the real-world situation of military men and women put in that position and then saying how basically inappropriate it was. Time and again, despite the fact that she was a supposed expert on the subject I found myself strongly disagreeing with her interpretation, or even her understanding, of what the various Stoic authors meant. Now I would hardly call myself an expert on the subject but I found myself continually reading between the lines of the text and uncovering much more about the authors beliefs rather than, as I expected, her understanding of the Stoic mindset. Two examples I think will suffice. Firstly she built up the idea of the Stoic Sage – not too dissimilar it seemed to the Nietzschean Superman being beyond Good and Evil – being detached from the world and yet still interacting with it. This Sage-like figure could literally soak up the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune without so much as a raised eyebrow – in other words Mr Spock. Such distance, the author maintains is both impossible and would make the person for all intents and purposes inhuman. I disagreed. Secondly she harped on (and on) about the need to cultivate moral indignation, and indeed righteous anger, as a healthy motivator to go out into the world a right its wrongs. I really didn’t know whether to laugh out loud at this point or simply stop reading.

As you might imagine I was less than impressed with the author’s attempts to reconcile or meld Stoicism and the military mind of the 21^st century. This was a real shame as I think the area is a fertile one. The whole book is a massive opportunity repeatedly missed and missed again. It seemed to me that the author’s own beliefs got in the way of any objective evaluation of the uses of Stoicism to both understand and mould the military mindset. Generally very disappointing.      

Just Finished Reading: Ancient Warfare – A Very Short Introduction by Harry Sidebottom

I’ve been toying recently with the idea of doing another Masters Degree as my brain seems (at least sometimes) to be turning into mush. I’m almost more than a little fed up and think that’s because I’m not getting enough mental stimulation. I didn’t want to do anything I’ve done or touched on before so when I found a course on Ancient and Medieval Warfare at a nearby University it seemed idea. At the moment I’m still thinking about it – and will probably put it off until 2013 – but the course seems different enough that it could be quite fun even taking into account that I’d need to learn some Latin. This book then looked like an ideal introduction but turned out to be something I hadn’t really expected.

What I had expected was a potted history of the Ancient world with discussions of tactics and technology – The Greek phalanx and the Roman Gladus for example – with side debates on various pivotal battles like Thermopylae. Doing justice to this subject in a mere 128 pages would be difficult, I thought, but do-able. What I found was completely different. Instead of discussing things from the ground up the book took a far more top down approach. The author posed the question: Did the Greek and Roman civilisations create and develop a distinctive ‘Western Way of War’ in contrast to their many enemies and are we living with that legacy today. What hooked me from the start was the down to earth – and fun – approach to the subject. Not only does the author know his stuff, which you should expect from someone who teaches in Oxford, but he’s confident enough to play with his knowledge in order to engage his audience but without talking down to them or appearing in anyway condescending. I actually laughed as I read the first page which described the opening battle portrayed in the movie Gladiator when the Roman legions faced down the German barbarians. It seems true, the author starts, but in fact it was far from the truth. The Western Way of War was, he maintained, a cultural construct and like other cultural constructs had an origin, was based on how we see ourselves and how we want others to see us and, importantly, changes over time as cultures themselves change.

Throughout the rest of the book – using examples from both the Greek and Roman world – the author expands on his thesis by delving into how the ancients viewed war, what myths and stories about themselves they responded to (or against) and explodes a fair few myths about the way wars were fought and the reasons for going to war in the first place. It certainly gave me a flavour of what I might be up against in a future seminar and certainly gave me a lot to think about.

Expect more books on Ancient and Medieval warfare in the coming months and more military history books in general. It appears that my teenage interest in all things military has resurfaced. Watch this space.  

Just Finished Reading: Full Circle – How the Classical World came back to us by Ferdinand Mount

I remember seeing this ages ago in hardback and thinking that it looked vaguely interesting. So when I recently had some money – actually some vouchers from work – to spend I treated myself to the paperback. The author had an remarkable premise – that we are returning to a world that our ancient Greek and Roman ancestors would understand. In many ways, at least according to the author, we are coming full circle, after a 2000 year detour, back to a pagan world. Why you may ask: Simply because of the decline of Christianity especially in Western Europe. Where Christianity declines, he proposes, the natural pagan virtues return as if the intervening millennia had not existed. We are, he seems to be saying, deeply pagan at heart.

It’s an interesting idea – even if not wholly convincing. He starts, rather oddly I thought, by discussing public baths. Big in the classical world they declined heavily after Christianity became the empire-wide religion of choice. Because, he maintains, the new Christians either denigrated the body or thought physical pleasure of any kind unseemly or irrelevant. But the baths never really went away (surviving in the Eastern Empire as Turkish baths) and where reintroduced by, of all people, the Victorians. Their numbers have been steadily growing ever since. Likewise Gym culture which was hugely popular in pre-Christian times. Today even the smallest of towns has at least one gym if not more. This re-engagement with the body beautiful (something again seen as almost unthinkable until fairly recently) has become pervasive as our culture surrounds itself with sexual imagery and is reflected in the belief that virtually ‘anything goes’ between consenting adults. Again these are, the author contends, pagan attitudes rather than Christian ones. Another part of the sensual spectrum is reflected in our obsession with the food we cook, eat and talk about. Foodies are no longer viewed with suspicion but given their own TV shows and best selling books (and the ear of governments).

But I’m not going to attempt to précis the entire book. The arguments the author makes and the evidence he uses to back them up has an impressive range although some links back to antiquity are a bit of a stretch. He is, for instance, too liberal with his interpretation of Greco-Roman science in comparison to today. The Greek idea of atoms, for example, was as far as I understand it not exactly analogous to our own ideas and hardly widely accepted at the time. They might have been groping towards an idea we might recognise but, like their ideas on Evolution, it was a speculation amongst many without any real evidence to back it up.

Overall though this was an interesting argument well presented which made me look at things I consider to be very modern with different eyes. It seems that we are not as forward looking as it first appears. It also underlies, at least theoretically, that our default mind-set (once Christianity has withdrawn enough) is a deeply pagan one. Maybe the Christianity out culture lived through was nothing more than a thin coat of paint applied to a pagan statue. As the paint flaked off over the centuries the pagan statue begins to emerge in all its sensual glory. It’s most certainly an entertaining thought. Recommended.