Greece Books

THis was a favorite of my daughter's. Especially the recipe for Baklava! IT was delicious. I purchased both as support material for our study of Ancient Rome and Greece and enjoyed them volumes. The information was presented well and the activities were worthwhile. Highly recommend!

What a great resource to stimulate young minds! I've got girls in 5th and 7th grades, and have had a hard time finding reference material that interests and challenges them. This book does both. I wish there were more like it.

What a nifty book! Not only do kids learn about the inventions of the Greeks, but how those discoveries help us today. Kids learn about Greek gods, philosophy, architecture, science, math, medicine, art, and even about the start of the Olympics. The "words to know" (ie: Sparta and acropolis) and the quiz questions (ie: What were the three uses of olive oil in ancient Greece?) sprinkled throughout the book invite dialogue, and the 15 activities bring the book's information alive. My favorites? Make your own baklava and write a letter in Greek. This book is interesting, well written, and engaging. A must-read for any kid (or adult!) wanting to immerse themselves in Greek history.

The Traveler's Key To Ancient Greece: A Guide To Sacred Places is the ideal guidebook for exploring sacred locations that once were home to the secret mysteries at Eleusis, the oracle at Delphi, the Labyrinths of Knossos, the vast theater and healing center at Epidauros, the perfect symmetry of the Parthenon, and more! This unique and very special travel guide offers informative and expert commentary on the Hellenic world's palace and temple cultures and sites; Greek drama, philosophy, art, and sculpture; sacred geometry and architecture; and gallery collections in three major museums. Whether you are an armchair explorer or plan to be an on-site visitor, The Traveler's Key To Ancient Greece is a compelling, informative, superbly written and flawlessly produced introduction to understanding as well as visiting these sacred sites of antiquity.

This book is an excellent starting point for
anyone remotely interested in the ancient Greeks --
not merely the most famous ones of the 6th and
5th centuries B.C. Here interweave myth,
mystery, knowledge, mysticism (Pythagorean and
Orphic introductions), plus excellent explanations
of attributes and psychological aspects related
to the gods.
[here is a section from the "Introduction"]
Each site has its "myth," a term which means
a story of the life of a place, human being, or
god. All myths have meaning, and the task has
been to translate the myth into the myth-language
of our own era. For the most part, the language
of our mythology is the language of psychology.
And of course there are several styles of
psychological language: Jungian, Freudian, Adlerian,
and so on. In this case, the language goes back
to Plato and has been brought to the present
idiom through the work of Paul Diel, the late
Austrian psychologist.
Plato, the great voice of the journey of the
human soul, was the first Western writer to speak
of the idea of spiritual development, the idea
that a human being might lead his life in such a
way as to AWAKEN [my caps] within himself the
divine life. The possibility of such a discovery
makes Plato's works a psychology, or a study of
human behavior in the physical, intellectual,
and spiritual sense. Plato was indebted to the
voices of his own culture and his predecessors in
philosophy, both Eastern and Western [Orpheus;
Pythagoras]. These fragments from the past form
a living mythology which still has power to
transform lives. -- Richard G. Geldard.
*The Traveler's Key to Ancient Greece.* (1989).
* * * * * * * * *

If your intention in Greece is to explore the wonders of the ancients, this is the best book to take. Of the several books I had with me, it was the most complete, detailed, informative and enjoyable--it was the one I came to trust and refer to the most often. Small enough to stuff into a pocket, it allows you to sit at the sites and read while looking at the ruins. The facts and suppostions were generally supported by other sources, so being able to rely on its accuracy is another plus.

Excellent edition of the Anabasis.I recommend it to anyone interested in Greek history and literature.The commentaries are informative and really add to the experience.

This is an excellent edition for those who are studying Greek on their own. The Anabasis is a fine second year book because its Greek is easier than the "Apology of Socrates" by Plato. This edition also has grammatical notes and a Greek-English dictionary of all the words you will need for translation. You do not have to spend hours looking them up in the Liddell-Scott lexicon. Also, it lists interesting cognates and borrowings for most words. I strongly recommend this edition for those working on Greek as a hobby or outside of an academic environment.

Mather and Hewitt's edition of the Anabasis is self-contained in a way that very few Greek texts currently in print are: not only does it have a very detailed line-by-line commentary, map and complete vocabulary, it also has a fulsome introduction to Xenophon and the Anabasis, including what the ancients thought of Xenophon, Xenophon's personality and subsequent literary career, and the organization and equipment of the Persian and Greek armies. The introduction and commentary are both pre-multiculturalist and therefore unabashedly discuss such things as the moral lessons to be drawn from the Anabasis, and the Anabasis as a model of democracy. Throughout, the text is furthermore illustrated with delightful little reproductions of Greek and Persian art, technology, monuments, coins, weapons, etc.

And of course, if you're looking to brush up on your Greek without the aid of a classroom and instructor, this edition is a great choice. Not only does it have the advantages enumerated above, but the Anabasis itself is relatively easy and clear Greek with a historical rather than philosophical vocabulary.

ADVENTURE GUIDE TO NAPLES, SORRENTO, AMALFI COAST BY MARINA CARTER is another of Hunter Publishing Company's excellent travel guides. This one has a fascinating introduction which gives not only the history, but also breaks down and explains the art and architecture into specific periods of history, which gives you a thorough appreciation for what you will see and experience on your trip. There is a section of where to go, what to see, places to eat and shop, and sporting activities and entertainment in each area, including phone numbers and websites to contact for each. The book explores Naples with its history and art, then the 60 mile Sorrento Peninsula as a base for exploring other areas and famous for luring sirens to the treacherous rocks, and finally the less accessible Amalfi Coast with its gorgeous scenery one of the most beautiful in all of Europe. Reading this guide will tempt travelers to Italy to venture South of Rome.

Naples and nearby coastal areas offer much in the way of different travel experiences, from fine resorts to street theatre and fishing villages - and Naples, Sorrento & the Amalfi Coast makes the most of the entire region, offering plenty of unforgettable adventures and covering not only walks and places to stay, but night life and historic sights. An excellent travel planner, it can't be beat.

If you require a definitive account of the air campaign in Balkans in 1940-41 then you don't need to look any further.The amount of research required into a book such as this can hardly be imagined. Every air combat claim is looked at from the records of all sides to match the claim to fact. The operations of each unit are dealt with on a day to day basis with the results analysed. The bombing and strafing prowess of the Luftwaffe shines through together with the fight against overwhelming odds of the British,Commonwealth & Greek air forces. Even the Yugoslav Air force receives due attention. The variety of aircraft types is staggering! I was really impressed by the various story told here and of the way that an initial confrotation between Greek and Italian biplanes turned gradually into a massive air-naval battle in the Eastern Mediterranean and Crete. The various accidents are also tremendously interesting. After reading this book I realised that the RAF did a lot more to defend Greece than is commonly known and also that the reasons behind the British difficulties to cover Crete from the air were really awesome and beyond the technical capabilities of the era. I fully recommend this book, not only for its attention to detail, but also the fact that it covers the campaign in full, leaving not a single stone unturned.

Air War for Yugoslavia,Greece and Crete is a very accurate record of the the air operations over the Balkans from the initial attack of Italy against Greece until the fall of Crete to the German Fallschirmjaeger.It covers all the actions of the RAF and the Hellenic Air Force against the Regia Aeronautica and the later operations of the Luftwaffe and the Yugoslavian Air Force.After research of the records of all the combattants the writers were able to present a complete picture of their subject.Even though I managed to find some errors(for example,the second line figthers of the Hellenic Air Force were actually 2 Gladiators,2 Avia B-534s and some left over Avia BH33s and not the number of B-534s claimed by the writers)I think that this book is very accurate and an excellent choise to whomever wants to study this front of WWII(altough fairly expensive)

I was able to get a copy of 'Alexander the Great" while visiting England recently and anyone who sees Oliver Stone's Alexander movie should read this book. It offers a scholarly insight into Alexander the Great's life and the power-plays that went on within his court. It is easy to read for the layperson but is extremely well researched. This book should also appeal to those who are looking for a good murder mystery. I don't know how many historians will agree with the author's conclusions, but it is certain to keep them eagerly turning the pages. I give this book top marks.

I'm a great admirer of Alexander the Great, and own practically every book written about him. However, this is the first book that focuses exclusively on studying in depth the mystery of his untimely death. Phillips' book reads like an Agatha Christe muder mystery, only this time it's a real event that changed the course of history. I could not stop reading it, savoring every chapter as the author closes in on his murderer and the reasons behind it. At the end, the author convinces you that Alexander was really mudered and gives you ample reasons to accept the culprit he has uncovered. It's an absolute success of a murder mystery. I highly recommend it to both history and crime mystery buffs.

Great review of life in Rome. Good pictures. Fun mystery for kids to solve. My girls ages 6 & 8 loved the book, especially the mystery. We have enjoyed Ardagh's History Detectives of Greece and Egypt as well.

This is a easy read, better then Usbourne.
The illusrations are great and covers important figures,
religion, government,science, sports,daily life, arts,
everything. Then it finishes with a mystery for review.
Sure to keep kids and adults interested.

Here is an outstanding compilation of samples from ancient Greek and Roman myths. Samples a wide range of well known, and lesser known myths from the ancient Greeks and Romans. Intro's are given to the myth's author, time and related issues in brief.

A very helpful resource for students of ancient history, mythology or even the new testament, since the new testament was written in an environment wherein many were steeped in these very sorts of tales either orally or in writ.

Finally! There has been such need for a work like this and the editors/translators have done a fine job indeed. I teach live, online courses on mythology at The Lukeion Project and this year I will be developing a way to make this a required purchase for the fall 2008 session. Everything I need to teach a high quality course in mythology is availabe here (with the addition of my favorite translations of the epics and tragedies, of course). Any serious mythology educator must have this book.

"Paganism" has usually been portrayed and perceived as some primitive hodge-podge of superstitions. The picture changes when one realizes that these beliefs were parts of a widespread, formally organized, religion.
This book points to that fact, while revealing "secrets" compiled from Classical and historical sources.
Good stuff.

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.

on one page, for example, he uses "individual" several times. there are obviously many other words one could use, such as "man" or "person," but for some reason Austin prefers to be boring.

The bibliography of Homeric studies is almost inconceivably vast (there are acute comments by contemporaries of Socrates), and I can't claim to have read more than a small fraction of even the major works in English. However, I once made an effort to find, and read, the most famous and / or frequently cited works.

At about the same time this work first appeared, to generally excellent reviews, and I added it to my "must read" list as soon as it arrived in the UCLA library. Although I found that I disagreed with, for example, some of his views on the oral-formulaic theory of composition, the argument was well-expressed. I kept on reading. The previous reading of major critics turned out to be helpful in understanding Austin's book, which itself proved exceptionally illuminating for my next re-reading of Homer -- not always the case, unfortunately.

"Archery at the Dark of the Moon" is in part a close reading of the Odyssey, in part a sustained argument over theories of reading and interpretation. As I have suggested, it is probably not a good place for someone to start. For those with some background, in both Homeric issues and critical theory, it will be rewarding reading.

Don't ask me to sort out exactly how it changed my views of an already familiar text, not at this date. When I re-read Austin in paperback in the mid-1990s, I was surprised at how familiar it still seemed; I had assimilated that much. For me, that marks it as an extremely impressive book.

The first chapter, for example, despite my reservations, has some acute observations about the "fixed epithets" attached to Odysseus, and how their appearance is governed by more than metrical considerations. He shows that almost all of the sixty-odd uses of "polymetis" -- usually translated as something like "of many plans" -- appear when the hero is about to cajole, convince, or trick someone. He suggests that "thinking hard, he said" might be a better rendering. In any case, this hero is being described in ways more meaningful than his ships, which, as is well known, are "black" or "hollow" in accordance with the space to be filled in the line, not their appearance or cargo capacity.

On larger issues, too, such as the working of the story, Austin has much to say that is worth attention. I doubt that there will ever be a generally convincing explanation of the (rather bizarre) archery contest that forms the climax of the epic (and provides his title), but Austin is at least interesting as a critic of the story, without needing to propose unusual axe-shapes and odd modifications of the laws of physics to justify the text.

This really ought to be back in print.