Greece Books

Having read Dakin,it was a delight to find the wonderful pictures in this book.The script is quite simplistic but the illustrations add so much that reading endless pages do not.Worth buying just for the illustrations !

Well I liked this book for the graphics.

The text was simplistic, but this is a good coffeehouse book, not a comprehensive book on history, though it does give a balanced view of Russian and British military help, which is often ignored.

Overall a pretty good book.

This is a book for the coffee table and it makes no pretense to being scholarly or historical-analytic, even though the text is not at all bad.

What is really exciting about this publication is that it brings together many of the classical paintings that depict various scenes - battles, retreats, confrontations - that took place during Greece's struggle for independence from the Ottoman Empire.
There are also some fine portraits of many important military figures, politicians, and philhellenes. Most of the original paintings can be seen in Athens at the National Art Museum, the National Historical Museum, or the Benaki Museum. For at least one, though, you will have to go to Paris.

While I suppose art critics and historians would consider most of these paintings to be of only limited artistic merit, I personally find them - well, most of them - gorgeous. Some are very touching: sad reminders of how the Greeks lived under the Turkish yoke. In one a young boy is being taken from his parents by a government official in charge of the infamous "boy tax." In another an Orthodox priest is teaching a group of youngsters in one of the "secret schools" while an armed guard watches over them. The paintings that show church hierarchs in ceremonial robes are especially beautiful and those depicting naval battles are glorious.

This book could be recommended to anyone who enjoys looking at beautiful things and in particular to those who also have an interest in the history of modern Greece.

Confessing an unchallenged verbosity, "The Greek War of Independence" rewards the young historians with several artifices necessary in understanding the historic sensibilities of the Balkan nations. Proving honesty and discernment, the author assails in vouchsafing a deserving credit upon the famous Greeks responsible for doing their best in keeping the Islamic forced conversion away from Eastern Europe as much as possible. Healing and yet opening long forgotten wounds of history, the book is a reminder about the suffering of several nations, enslaved for centuries under the Ottoman yoke.

Although 13 years old, much of the info in this book is still relevant. Despite the youthfulness of Los Angeles, there are restaurants and markets that have managed to survive for decades. These places are invariably great and almost institutions in their community. Hence, many of the listings in Burum's book still survive in this megapolis. You'll have fun tracking down that obscure German sausage maker who has had his shop for some 30 years...as well as the occassional let down upon discovering that the old Japanese immigrant, who made fresh tofu daily at the back of his grocery store, decided to call it quits a few years ago.

This book is not only a guide to the ethnic markets in LA, but also serves as an introduction to the cuisine of LA's ethnic groups. Interspersed within the listings, you'll find glimpses into the history of LA's immigrant communities, and what they really eat that you don't get at the mainstream ethnic restaurants. If you're the type that prefers to eat where you're the only one not of the ethnic group the restaurant caters to, get this book. It lets you in on not just the basics of a people's cuisine, but makes you feel comfortable with the unfamiliar (and much more authentic] dishes.

The book is organized into the following chapters, which fairly represents the demographics of Los Angeles:
China; Japan; Korea; Thailand; Vietnam; Southeast Asian [Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Phillipines]; India; Mexico; Central/South America and Caribbean; Europe; Greece, the Middle East and Africa.

Overall, an indispensable introduction to LA's greatest asset: It's diversity of people and cuisine.

This is a fantastic compendium of ethnic food in LA. It gives you everything you'd ever want to know: best bakeries, best markets, best restaurants. It divides categories by geography (important in LA) & by ethnic cuisines.

While the 1992 printing will make some info out of date (restaurants for example), this book is one of a kind & the best in its genre.

This is the greatest book on the best ethnic restaurants in LA. Hopefully, the author will put out a new edition. I have it. It's about 10 years old, and I'm not going to sell it. It's better than any new guide out there. Even if you don't go to these places, it's an interesting read.

When this book first came out about 10 yrs. ago or more it was a revelation. In one collection it guided you through EVERY major ethnic community in the greater L.A. region and told you which were the best restaurants, bakeries, markets, etc. I don't know of any other book that comes to close to being this comprehensive & incisive.

If you ever spend any time in L.A. & you are interested in ethnic food, you must have this book.

One reviewer calls this book "lucid and concise," with which I completely agree. Another credits Guthrie with explaining the important Greek terms well, with which I also agree and consider very valuable in approaching this material. Guthrie also does an excellent job (in a very short work) of helping the reader get some grasp of the ancient Greek world, in which concepts we take for granted weren't yet developed; ideas about virtue, vice, deity and many other things were quite different from our modern nearest equivalents; and gross superstitions remained dominant and formed an important historical backdrop and contemporary background to the first emergence of sustained rational speculation. Some authors of longer works fail to provide this context, potentially leaving us with the impression that the Greeks' conceptual world wasn't much different from that of Descartes or Kant, but Guthrie portrays the chasm vividly in remarkably few pages.

The survey of Pre-Socratics is brief but particularly enlightening, and Guthrie does a very good job of showing their influences on Socrates and Plato, especially showing how Socrates reacted against his predecessors and shifted emphasis away from speculation about the material world to speculation about humans (ethics, political philosophy, and to a lesser extent metaphysics). Socrates and Plato weren't alone in this trend, and Plato in particular was heavily influenced by some of the Pre-Socratics, but placing them in their context and against their background sheds considerable light on the orientation of their thinking and their choices of subject matter. Guthrie also does a good job of sketching the progression from Socrates to Plato to Aristotle, with continuities and developments and well as rejections, departures and new lines of thought.

Other reviewers have given good summaries of the book's content, so I'll just say that Guthrie is clearly more interested in Plato than Aristotle. I can sympathize with this: Plato is one of the greats in world literature, while Aristotle is dry. Even Plato's wilder ideas are fascinating and rich in suggestion, while Aristotle is more comprehensive and systematic, but less fanciful (what would we do without Aristotle's logic? but it's nothing like the jolly romp of Plato's Euthyphro). In all, this book is an excellent brief introduction to Greek philosophy - highly recommended.

W.K.C. Guthrie, the famous historian, shows us in this book the essence of Greek philosophy, travelling through the minds of the pre-soctratic thinkers and the birth in Athens of what would become the most unique trio of Wisdom-lovers in history. Prof. Guthrie's account is outstanding and far more profound than most of our century's writers.

This brief work of 161 pages is an excellent intro or review of the ancient Greek philosophers from the time of Thales to Aristotole. Guthrie focuses most of the work on cosmology/physics and on theology. Ethics and the nature of the soul take comparable place. Other issues are touched on as well.

The first chapter gives an excellent general overview of how ancient Greek thought differs from modern ways of thinking about key issues. The second chapter covers the Ionians and Pythagoreans. The third chapter deals with Heraclitus, Parmenides and the Pluralists. Chapter four concerns the Sophists and the reaction of Socrates. Chapters five and six relate to Plato: his doctrine of Ideas and his response to the Sophists. And chapters seven and eight discuss Aristotle. There is a brief bibliography and index at the back.

I found Guthrie's use of comparisons and contrasts between different philosophers (or groups of philosophers) very engaging and helpful. Guthrie's biases occasionally come through but they do not overwhelm the work. And although Guthrie seems to be running out of creative energy by the time he gets to Aristotle (as he admits himself that here he is falling back on standard approaches to Aristotle), I found even it to be helpful. And because the first six chapters were so excellent and insightful, I heartily recommend this work and give it five stars. (And with so many copies out there, you can't beat the price! By the way, the edition I have is the 1960 Harper Torchbooks edition. The cover is like that pictured.)

This has been the most lucid and concise book on Greek philosophy that I have so far read. In a short 168 pages, the essence of the pre-Socratic and post eras of Greek thought is revealed in both as a refresher from other sources and in additional clarifying points. Definitely beneficial in gaining the grasp of ancient Greek thought.

Guthrie starts out explaining the division of philosophers into the materialists or matter philosophers and the teleologists or form philosophers. The Ionian or Milesian School attempted at a scientific explanation represented by Thales, Anaximander and Anaximenes. It was Thales who taught that the world was made from water and moisture, while Anaximander saw it as a warring of many opposites, and unlike Pythagoreans - of no distinctions, no limitations, the earth as a sphere resting on nothing. And Anaximenes.taught the primary substance of the world was air. All had various ideas on explaining movement.

The Pythagoreans came from an Italian school, as opposed to the Ionian, and was a religious brotherhood defining reality as a combination of substances in a harmonious blend based on mathematics, and discovered the mathematics to musical arrangement. The believed in the immortality and transmigration of the soul, the kinship with nature, the earth as an organism, a kind of pantheism. So it was the limit put on the limitless that arranged and harmonized nature by numerical system, a ruling principle, the meaning of the good - a state of harmonia.

The next philosopher in succession was Heraclitus who criticized the others in their search for facts, teaching that the substance of the world was never a still fact, but was fire, that everything must be destroyed to be born, that all things are in constant motion, in flux, rejecting the peaceful and harmonious world of opposites taught by the Pythagoreans. Nothing was constant, universal and eternal, all was in constant temporal states.

Parmenides taught the opposite, in that movement was impossible, for there was no such thing as empty space, and the whole of reality consisted of a single, motionless and unchanging substance. Such reality was non-sensible, only to be reached by thought.

The pluralists consisted of Empedocles, Anaxogoras and Democritus. Empedocles taught similar to the Pythagoreans that the world was a variety of harmonious combinations of the four root substances of earth, water, air and fire. He also included the ingredients of love and strife in a materialistic way. Anaxogoras, using a atomic theory, believed in a moving cause apart from the matter into a collective mind which rules the world, a mind behind the universe which governs and orders its changes. The atomic theory was fully attributed to Democritus and possibly Leucippusa. The atomic view had the problem of movement which needed empty space. While later Epicurus took up gravity as a reason, it was a retrograde step and Democritius was thinking more clearly when he saw that in infinite space the conception of up or down had no meaning.

Next comes the sophists and it was Protagoras that taught pragmatism, that while there is no opinion that is truer, there are those that can be better, better in the sense of the individual in unifying harmony with the majority or collective. However, the sophists endorsed a severe relativity and values became choices of multiple word definitions chosen to each particular argument. Right and wrong, wisdom, and justice and goodness became nothing but names. And so it was Socrates that came up with a method to acquire arete, efficiency and excellence in the trade or occupation one does.This method consisted of inductive argument and general definition, that is exposing the false definitions and replacing them with the common meaning to the particular word or value. It was then that not an absolute was established, but rather an a higher level of reasoning in a continuous, advanced inquiry.

Plato, speaking of Socrates, took the ever moving flux of Heraclitus and the ever still unchanging world of Parmenides into a two world system, the world of the senses and the world of eternal ideas or forms. Thus individualism could be curbed and collective agreement could be established for the survival of the polis or city-state. He also incorporates the ideas of Pythagoreans' immortality and transmigration of the soul and the process of recollection. He taught dialectical thinking but beyond that used myth to provide for regions beyond such explanations. Virtue or efficiency and excellence is knowledge, knowledge needed to fully excel.

Guthrie next goes into an explanation of the Republic and government with the three parts of an individual and three classes of people and then into the Laws. The classes consisted of the ruling party and the soldier party, both with censorship and undemocratic authority but not able to own private property and of a poorer nature. Those that ruled did so out of a service, not out of a luxury or desires. It was the masses or working class that obeyed but the only ones who had the ability to gain riches.

Aristotle is then described in his rejection of the Platonic world of ideas and his idea of the universe, relying on the mental process or reason, common principles, the idea of immanent form and the conception of potentiality applying that to the problem of motion. He arrived at the concept of God as the Unmoved Mover, motionless, yet caused movement from actuality from engagement of eternal thought activity of the pure mind, which is life. This then brought motion and potentiality. More is mentioned on ethics, classes of the good by habits, man being a political animal is the answer over the world of ideas, and paradoxically states that divine reason can not be fully attained by man and yet it is foolish to emulate the gods and poets, but man should aim at his fullest potentiality. The ergon of every creature is to attain its own forma and perform its proper activity. The activity of mind is life.

The oracle of Delphi,is all about the pythia or oracle at Delphi.
It describes what Socrates,Plato,Aristoteles,
Demistones and many other intellectuals,how and what the oracle wrote and predicted.
The Oracle sat on a tripod in the inner sanctum of the temple.
The riddles are very interesting in analizing them.There are many stories about the warriors of Sparta.Many remains have been excavated in Delphi at the Temple,however of all the writings only one has survived.
"Know Thyself".
By knowing thyself we go into depth of what who and how we are as a person.
I feel that if you believe in these things,reading the oracle's response is a vey insight of the inner person that we are.
My feeling about the response of the pythia is that she was in a trance caused by sulfur fumes caused by a sysmic fault.The answers were given to her by the intellectuals and priests that were at the Temple.
Plato was one of them.

Lipsey's book gathers together tales and anecdotes of the people who consulted the Oracle at Delphi. He attempts to draw spiritual wisdom from these tales for modern man. His approach is more philosophical than historical or scholarly which makes for a more interesting read than "Classical Athens And The Delphic Oracle" by Hugh Bowden. Throughout the book he makes a distinction between the Delphi of the mind and the Delphi of fact. Every tale is followed by the author's illuminating commentary.

The book delves into such matters as the ambiguity of the oracle's answers. When an answer was particularly cryptic it would be the responsibility of the inquirer to "complete the oracle" by reflecting upon its message and coming to the correct interpretation. There were attempts to bribe the oracle which could lead to a cruel fate. A chapter is devoted to the trial of Socrates who invoked Delphi in his defense. Socrates claimed his philosophical quest to humiliate the wise was a pious attempt to determine the meaning of a flattering message from Delphi. The oracle was asked if there was anyone wiser than Socrates and the priestess replied that there was no one. Other philosophers debated the nature of the prophetic faculty or expressed doubts. An interview with the son of the Tibetan State Oracle provides a contemporary example.

The author favors the assumption that the Pythia entered into a trance to serve as a medium or channel for the god Apollo. Other theories are that the priestess used some sort of psychoactive substance but the legends and myths only mention chewing laurel leaves or drinking spring water. Another theory is that she sat over a cave in a tripod and the vapors from this opening inspired her divine frenzy. There is considerable debate over whether she gave her response in poetry or prose which was then rendered as poetry by the temple poets.

A trance is probably experienced more often than is thought. Most people will not claim to have ever experienced a trance because they have been given exaggerated descriptions that do not match their experience. And too many fanciful claims have been made for states of trance which creates more skepticism than there should be. However, a trance state does bring the mind more closely in contact the spiritual side of human nature. And in a state of trance the mind is capable of greater intuitive comprehension. Although this will not result in prophesies direct from the all knowing gods, it may lead to more intuitive guesses about the course of events than is otherwise possible. Finally, it seems appropriate that the oracles are given in riddles because it is better to express intuitive insights poetically and speak to the soul than to use the language of concrete thought and merely speak to the mind.

This wonderful book transports us back to ancient Greece into the presence of the Pythia, Apollo's priestess at Delphi. Lipsey is a scholar who hasn't lost his sense of wonder, and recaptures for us the spirit of sacredness the Greeks felt as they approached the most famous and important oracle of Western antiquity. This is a superb exploration of Greek spirituality, focusing on the Greeks' effort to understand the will of the divine. The many stories here are always engaging and sometimes totally mindblowing. This book easily wins my highest recommendation.

This book is elegantly written, thoughtful, sensitive, impeccably researched, and thought-provoking. Lipsey is an enthusiast rather than a scholar, but only a mean scholar would resent the attempt to make the ancient oracle live for modern readers. To take a phrase from Lipsey himself, the book is a 'tap on the shoulder' - a reminder that there is more to the world than meets the eye or ear. So Lipsey tells all the available tales of the Delphic oracle as a way of making the numinous world more accessible. By and large he lets the tales speak for themselves, while adding pertinent but not intrusive commentary. Highly recommended for visitors to Greece and metaphysical searchers.

Prof. E. L. Anderson (Lansing Community College), in: Choice - Current Reviews for Academic Libraries (April 1997): This indispensable reference and thorough summary of mostly French and German reports and [Webb's] interpretations and observations will thrive and be a foundation for future work. Fine index, thorough footnotes and bibliography, clear outline and arrangement of material,and articulate paragraphs.

Prof. Gary Reger (Trinity College), in: New England Classical Journal 25.3 (February 1998): In Hellenistic Architectural Sculpture, Pamela Webb aims to assemble in one place all the instances of sculpture that adorned buildings on the Aegean islands or in western Asia Minor in the Hellenistic period. In this she succeeds admirably. Her 110 page "List of Sites" covers every major building at every major site. The entries are divided up by region and by site within region. For each site she provides a list of builidngs which carried, or can be argued to have carried, sculpture, giving their date, size, order, and other basic information; a brief description of the extant sculpture, including provenance and present location; and a bibliography. Her discussion of each sculptural program gives special attention to the themes and motifs behind the sculpture and reviews particular problems, to which Webb occasionally offers her own solutions. The vast majority of the sculpture she discusses is illustrated with photographs of high quality in the plates at the end of the book. Webb's book is now the place to start for anyone interested in sculpture on architecture in the Hellenistic period. Webb's discovery that the types of buildings preferred and the nature of architectural decoration changed around the end of the third century BC is, historically speaking, surely the most important result of her work. It adds another element - all the more welcome as coming from the art historical direction - to the impressive list of important changes that mark the end of the third century.

Prof. Linda Jones Roccos (City University of New York), in: American Journal of Archaeology 102 (1998) 446-447: Here is a most welcome addition to the meager corpus of informative works on Hellenistic sculpture. The monuments discussed provide an amazing view of little-known sites such as Chryse in the Troad, Alabanda in Caria, and Sagalassos in Pisidia. This is an extremely thoughtful book, with comprehensive bibliographies, lengthy descriptions, and thorough discussions of each monument, in addition to a detailed index and plentiful illustrations. More than 100 pages of catalogue entries provide the essentials of date, shape, size, order, and extant sculptures for each monument. Discussions for each entry provide background information on the ancient literary sources as well as excavation and publication histories. [Webb's] purpose is threefold: to examine how figural sculpture was used, to determine patterns of usage, and to gain understanding as to why figural motifs were employed. She believes that the motifs were of paramount importance and indicate a strong religious component. Webb wisely emphasizes the interdependence of sculpture and architecture and most fortunately considers both together. There are effective tables for a chronological view of types of buildings (temple, altar, civic, domestic, cultic, heroa). The Hellenistic period saw an increasingly wide variety of locations for sculpture, such as column drums and shafts, captials, pedestals,...and these are treated effectively. In addition to the basic background and descriptive information about the sculptures from each site, Webb discusses problems in dating and identifying the monuments. A particular strength of the work is Webb's competent over-all discussion of each monument, covering architectural elements and pottery deposits as well as the sculptural finds. Altogether, this volume is a most useful and informative work.

Prof. Barbara A. Barletta (University of Florida), in: Bryn Mawr Classical Review 8.5 (1997) 493-495: In this succinct and lucid exposition of figural motifs in Hellenistic architecture, Pamela Webb accomplishes exactly what she sets out as her task in the introduction. Her first goal is to demonstrate how figural sculpture was used. Thus [she] establishes a classification of buildings, as religious, civic, domestic, and cultic and commemorative. She also includes here a discussion of the orders used and a short section on Hermogenes, the most famous architect of the period. In the next chapter, she locates sculpture on the individual architectural members, moving from [column] drums and pedestals to akroteria. Chapter 4 then treats motifs dividng them generally into non-narrative and narrative themes. Her second and third goals, to elucidate patterns of use over time and the meaning of figural ornamentation, are addressed in the discussions above and developed further in the conclusions. Part 2 of this book provides a documentation of the material. Full descriptions of the architectural and sculptural remains are presented in geographical arrangement from northern to southern Anatolia, the Aegean Islands, and Cyprus, and from earliest to latest within each site. It is in this section that Webb discusses the problems and controversies surrounding the monuments, particularly their reconstructions and dates. As a result of its clear organization, with thorough and up-to-date bibliography, this book represents a handy and important reference. It is well illustrated, in several cases using the author's own photographs, and includes almost all the necessary plans and reconstructions. The book certainly provides the reader with an excellent overview of architectural sculpture in the "heart of the Hellenistic world".

The previous review writer seems to have misunderstood the review presented above. The review, in fact, DOES allude to Jouanna's text. The Loeb version is merely discussed in Jouanna's text in the "Notes" section.

The expert of Amazon may have confused of 2 differnt books into one title under the name of Hippocrates Loeb Classical.

Only the hard cover link may be right in selling and showing the image of Loeb Classical Volume VIII:

Hippocrates (Loeb Classical Library, No 482)
by Paul Potter

Links of image, paperback, and customer reviews are all on the different book of:

Hippocrates (Medicine and Culture)
by Jacques Jouanna, M. B. Debevoise
Paperback: 540 pages
Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press; Reprint edition (December 1, 2001)
ISBN: 0801868181

Contents of book on Hippocrates is as good as book "by" Hippocrates. But the web design is confusing to customers. How can we buy each great 8 volumes of Hippocrates Loeb Classical, and choose out books "on" Hippocrates like this?

Just to reiterate the point, the review above is for a book on Hippocrates by Jaques Jouanna. It only references the Loeb book in its critique, and was probably attahced to this Loeb page by accident. The Loeb books on Hippocrates come in several volumes.

table of contents and editor review are of Jouanna's book on hippocrates not the Loeb Library No 482. it appears under Jouanna's book also

You may wish to use the ISBN to get what you want as Amazon has these titles scrambled. Used book listings are not necessarily under the correct headings- double check! Only vol 6 has the Secret History.

Volume I. History of the Wars.
Books 1-2. The Persian War
Series No. 48 / 600 pages / ISBN 0-674-99054-4

Volume II. History of the Wars
Books 3-4. The Vandalic War
Series No. 81 / 494 pages / ISBN 0-674-99090-0

Volume III. History of the Wars
Books 5-6.15. The Gothic War
Series No. 107 / 458 pages / ISBN 0-674-99119-2

Volume IV. History of the Wars
Books 6.16-7.35. The Gothic War (continued)
Series No. 173 / 496 pages / ISBN 0-674-99191-5

Volume V. History of the Wars
Books 7.36-8. The Gothic War (continued)
Series No. 217 / 448 pages / ISBN 0-674-99239-3

Volume VI. The Anecdota or Secret History
Series No. 290 / 406 pages / ISBN 0-674-99320-9

Volume VII. On Buildings. General Index
This volume also contains a General Index to all seven volumes of the Loeb edition of Procopius.
Series No. 343 / 562 pages / ISBN 0-674-99378-0

This is an epic history of the last triumphant--and ultimately futile--gasp of the ancient Roman Empire. In the mid-5th century, the western provinces of the Empire had been plundered and overrun by powerful barbarian armies and Roman power had been usurped by Germanic kings. Hoping to regain what had been lost, the Emperor Justinian I embarked on a series of epic military campaigns in the West in the mid-6th century, spearheaded by his brilliant general Belisarius.

This volume, containing both books of Procopius's Vandalic Wars, details the the history of the African provinces prior to Justinian as well as the difficult, but ultimately successful efforts of Belisarius, Solomon, and others to reconquer and retain them for Justinian. The work details the conquest of the Vandals and the bringing of their king, Gelimer, back to Constantinople as a captive. It also deals with the many mutinies, Moorish invasions, uprisings, and sieges endured by the governors of the province after the departure of Belisarius. By the end, it is clear that the African provinces, so long a rich and prosperous part of the empire, had been largely depopulated and economically ruined by the ceaseless succession of wars and rebellions.

The author, Procopius, was an eyewitness to many of the events which he describes and offers insights into the actions that only an insider would know. However, he tends to be a bit credulous and considering the later "Secret History" which is rightly or wrongly attributed to Procopius, one is forced to read into much of what he recorded.

While I am not qualified to speak about the translation (my Greek is atrocious), I found the English text to be very readable and prosaic. All in all, this (along with the other works of Procopius from the Loeb) is required reading for anyone interested in the Late Roman/Early Byzantine period and helps make clear how Islamic armies were able to sweep through north Africa with such ease just a century later.

Procopius, a 6th Century historian who served with the Byzantine general Belisarius, is one of the few ancient historians who provide much detail about military operations in his time. In books III & IV of his history, he covers the expedition of Belisarius in 533 to crush the Vandal Empire in North Africa. For readers familiar with the Vandal role in the destruction of the western Roman Empire in the 5th Century, it will be pleasing to thumb through Procopius and re-witness the annihilation of one of the most loathsome group of individuals in history. Procopius was a direct witness of these events - rare among ancient historian - and he provides a clean narrative without all the annoying diversions of other authors of his time. The only serious omission in this Loeb edition is the lack of even a single map of North Africa and its cities at the time.

It is also interesting to see the influence of Christianity upon Procopius' writing, with all Roman victories attributed to divine favor or intervention. On the other hand, the reader may sense Pagan influences just under the surface and these Pagan attitudes did resurface from time to time in the early Byzantine period. It is also refreshing to see that Procopius is not afraid to criticize the Emperor Justinian for being too parsimonious with the military and financial resources. Unlike other Byzantine authors, like the fawning Michael Psellus, Procopius was not writing to please the imperial court and thus, provides a more balanced interpretation of events.

The Byzantine expedition to North Africa quickly succeeded in crushing the Vandals, primarily due to the military skill of Belisarius and his small band of highly trained soldiers. Belisarius then moved on to Italy to deal with the Ostrogoths, leaving only secondary forces to occupy and pacify North Africa. Procopius' account of the military revolts that followed provide keen insight into the military weaknesses of the Roman Empire of the period. After brilliantly winning the field campaign, the Roman troops were then short-changed of their due pay and deprived of any land grants in the re-conquered territories. Procopius makes clear that the Emperor Justinian wanted to keep all the land and financial booty for his own purposes and that he viewed his soldiers as mere hirelings. This failure to provide for the troops' welfare led to revolt after revolt in the 4th and 5th Centuries and severely undermined the military efficiency of one of the best armies of the period.

Procopius' battle descriptions usually cover only a few pages, but he usually manages to discuss tactical dispositions and terrain, although he usually leaves out opposing strengths and casualties. The only annoying tendency by the author - common among ancient historians since Thucydides - is to provide pre-battle speeches by the opposing commanders; these speeches are patent inventions designed to show the "mood" of each side, but they have little value to the modern reader. All in all, Procopius is one of the better ancient military histories, even if he can be a bit dull and repetitive at times.

This volumes covers Book 5 and half of Book 6 of Procopius's Wars. It focuses on the Gothic Wars, giving a brief history of the fall of the Roman Empire in the West, the reign of Theoderic, and other events up to the beginning of Justinian's reign in AD 527. It then chronicles the incredible campaign of Belisarius who, with a pathetically small force, manages to subdue all of Sicily, southern Italy, and even regain the city of Rome itself for the Empire-lost since AD 476. The Goths under Vittigis rally and besiege Belisarius in Rome for over a year with (Procopius claims) 150,000 troops. But Belisarius manages to defend the city and defeat the siege in a sequence of battles and actions that can only be described as epic. Once the siege is broken and reinforcements are sent from Byzantium, the Roman army is able to push north toward the Gothic capital of Ravenna. The volume ends just as the Roman general Narses arrives on the scene. He will play an important role in the final defeat of the Goths in Italy in later volumes.

If you love classical or medieval history, you'll find this book to be an enjoyable read. The author, Procopius, was the secretary to Belisarius and an eyewitness to practically all the events he records. His style is fluid and the narrative includes many of the oddities and interesting tidbits that only an eyewitness can provide. For the serious scholar of this time period, this book is required reading. One should certainly read it-along with the rest of Procopius's histories-before picking up the Secret History.

Eve Bunting has a wonderful gift of capturing the meaning of life for children young and old. She is truly a master storyteller.

I love this book and give it frequently as a gift. It is a perfect way to remind the receiver of the ties that bind and cross all barriers of language and distance.

After the devastation of her village in World War II, my Mother planted an almond grove in the hills of her village in Greece where she was born. I promised her that I would visit her grove one day. When I did, I felt a connection and less heart ache, now that she is no longer with us. I now know she comes alive every spring when the blossoms perfume the air in Vitoli.

This is a book that is not just for Greeks, but for all grandparents to show the ties that bind (even when they are no longer with us).Owen & Mzee: The True Story Of A Remarkable Friendship

This book is a must for any pappous(grandpa) who is Greek, to read to their grandchild. The book conveys a Greek's simple yet basic connection to a never forgotten home land.

This is my third copy of this book. Yes, they go to the grandchildren.

I am originaly from Greece and I loved this book. There is no better way to demonstrate the love of family and heritage than from the eyes of a child. The olive tree is one of the most powerful symbols of the Greek culture. Under the warm mediteranean sun, its products have provided the foundation of the Greek diet for thousands of years. It has a very special place in the heart of every Greek. If you are Greek you may cry when reading this book. If you are not Greek you will definitely be touched. Besides the beautiful story the illustrations are beautiful, extremely well done. If you want to give a present to a Greek, of any age, I can thing of nothing better than this book. By the way, I planted my olive tree when I was six years old and I plan to show it to my child as soon as he is old enough to understand.

I Have an Olive Tree is a simplistic yet poignant childrens' book about the symbolism of family and love. I use it in my fourth grade class to discuss culture and families. The illustrations are also powerful and upbeat. I am buying several to give as gifts!

This is a perfect introduction to Homer in Greek. As described in another review, about 15-20 lines of Greek are on the left page, with copious vocabulary and grammatical notes to help one through. I'm sure one's experience will vary depending on how much previous Greek one has studied, but I found myself rarely going to the glossary to look up any words - the vocabulary words she chose to gloss were perfect for my level. And having the regular scansion notes is great, as well. I would highly recommend this volume to anyone interested in either dipping into Homeric Greek for the first time or in reviewing what they used to know.

This edition was a good choice for me, a beginner who had just finished an introductory class.

The notes on vocabulary, grammar, and allusions to mythology are on the same and the facing pages as the Greek. This eliminates flipping through a dictionary or the back of the book - although there is, in fact, a complete glossary in one of the appendices.

The editor includes "scanning notes" at the bottom of each page to help the uninitiated deal with dactylic hexameter. I found this very useful because my pronunciation is so bad and I really was not hearing the music of the poem.

There is a good bibliography and suggestions for further reading.

Finally, this edition limits itself to just one book of the entire poem. Arguably, Benner might be a more sensible choice to get more of the poem, but I found it much less daunting to deal with just the first book.

The size and style of the Greek text make it very readable. It is convenient that the notes are located on the same page as the text. This book is useful for a beginning Greek student or someone interested in reviewing (or resurrecting) ancient Greek. I was not satisfied with the commentary in the books introduction or the author's recommendations for further reading.

More advanced students will be sorely disappointed with this text, but it is a good way to review ancient Greek or to read an original work for the first time.

I have been a student of Greek for over a quarter century. In all that time I have never found a better aid for the study of Homer, whether as a beginner or for a review.

After a brief introduction and explanation of grammar, the student is brought into immediate and satisfying contact with the text of the Iliad. Ms. Draper provides a dozen or so lines of the Greek text on the left-hand page, followed by a line by line vocabulary help and occasional commentary which flows over, as needed, to the right-hand page. She also includes an explanation of any difficult scansion. As a cherry on top, she adds a concise, user-friendly glossary at the back of the book. It is altogether usable.

I have my copy and have been recommending this book to students and friends.

Henty is amazing at capturing your interest and at the same time giving you a history lesson. Knight of the White Cross is so far my favorite of his books. There are pirates, battles, adventures, and young maidens to protect. I highly recommend this book, especially to junior high or high school boys.

Gervaise's father wishes that his son will grow up to be a Knight of the White Cross, and so Gervaise leaves his dying mother and travels to Rhodes. When he arrives at Rhodes he never dreams of all the adventures he will be undertaking, and the excitement he will be involved in. First comes the rescuing of Ricord and Santoval, after which the Grand Prior knights Gervaise and his comrade, Ralph, which is a great privilege for the boys. Some time later, after visiting the house of Signor Vsados, Gervaise mentions to Ralph that he did not like the looks of the Greek who had also been at the Vsados household. Ralph laughs at him, but Gervaise's suspicions are aroused even more when he sees the man talking to a slave of the Order. After reporting to Sir John Kendall Gervaise suggests he disguise himself and go among the slaves, to try to find out if a plot is being arranged. What will he find? Gervaise has many more adventures, and also a little romance, for Claudia De Forli bestows her colours on him. Gervaise also sets an example by the boy-galley that he was put in command of. It is the only galley ever to have only young knights appointed to it. In the end Gervaise takes part in the Siege of Rhodes, which was a bloody affair. Don't miss reading this story of a gallant Knight of the White Cross!

This is an awesome book. One will feel that they are there, fighting the corsairs or seeing the great fortresses at Rhodes. The scenes are vividly described, and the whole story is incredibly exciting. Gervaise is the ideal knight - strong, brave, loyal, and willing to give his life for Christendom. One feels like they know him in real life, so vividly is he described. The Turks can be pictured ad well, with their huge cannons and keen scimitars. The adventures of Gervaise are very perilous, and sometimes it seems there is no way out. Yet, there is a way, and he always finds it somehow or other. His exploits are phenomenal. He does everything from defending the fort of Rhodes to impersonating a Turkish prisoner, all in the name of the order. There are a few words in the story that most middle school students wouldn't know, but these don't interfere much with understanding the story as a whole. There is some violence in this book, but nothing else that would be considered repulsive. This book is a great read for anyone who likes action, adventure, history, or the Middle Ages. I give it an A.

England is embroiled in the War of the Roses. Young Gervaise Tresham is sent from his war torn homeland by his father to join the Knights of St. John. Initially, this order was a semi-religious organization with its members taking vows of obedience, chastity, and poverty for the purpose of ministering to pilgrims traveling to the Holy Land. With more incidents of pilgrims being attacked, robbed, and enslaved by the Moslems, the Hospitallers quickly changed, out of necessity, to a great military organization.

Proceeding to the stronghold of Rhodes, Gervaise is eventually appointed commander of a war galley. The war galleys of the Knights of St. John patrolled the Mediterranean which was infested by Moorish corsair pirates.

Tons of adventure, fast paced story tellign and great attention to historical detal make this yet another great Henty read.