Greece Books

A part of the series History of World Architecture originally published by Electa in Italian in 1971-7 under a general editorship of Pier Luigi Nervi, it was translated to English and published by Abrams in 1971-80 in b&w only, but at 10 x 11 1/4 inches. Subsequently, the series was reedited, shrunk to 8 5/7 x 9 1/2 inches, and published by Electa / Rizzoli in 1985-9 with a few color photos added including each front cover. In the early 2000's, the series was reissued by Phaidon unchanged except for the front cover photo. It is a pictorial "Ferrari" of history of architecture books. Almost every page contains one or - usually - more than one illustration as photo, plan, section, elevation, axonometric view, etc. of the highest quality. They depict the best examples of topical architecture covering the most significant ones. The text was written by one of the best experts in the field. While relatively concise, it is still comprehensive and complete enough even for students of architecture.
PUBLISHER'S SYNOPSIS:
(24 color and 276 black and white illustrations; the Abrams' edition combines Ancient and Greek Architectures.)
This volume presents an extraordinary collection of images and covers the whole range of Greek architecture, from a thorough analysis of Minoan Crete - which marked the beginning of the history of Western architecture - through Mycenae, to the magnificence of the Doric places of worship: from the temples of Corinth, Delphi and the Acropolis to those of Magna Graecia. The book covers the birth and evolution of the doric and ionic orders, religious architecture, and the temples and structures of Classical Greece. There is a substantial section on civic architecture, which closely reflects the formation and evolution of the political community, the most original aspect of ancient Greece. Important centres outside Greece are discussed, including Agrigento and Segesta in Sicily. The final section documents the Hellenic phase, with its unparalleled innovations and its influence on the greater Mediterranean.

Fullerton's book is a valuable overview of Greek art. Easy to read and informative, Greek Art is an excellent introduction to the many facets of antiquity. Like many recent books from Cambridge, it is also well composed with feature books and extensive captions.

In creative works resulting from study, research,
insight, and explanation, one might point out two
particular types: the creative work of origination
and the creative work of synthesis. The originator
creates a work that is seen as being one of the prime,
essential works of theory and exposition around a
particular subject. Such a study is widely admired
and often quoted, sometimes favorably, sometimes in
argument against its ideas...or even jealousy of its
fame.
The creative work of synthesis is built around a
person's enthusiasm for a subject, their fervent
desire to know it to its core. They study it, live
it, breathe it. They want to explain it to others.
So they begin to research, or they have collected
research and quotes and source citations over time.
Then they decide to commit their own understanding
and insight about the subject using all of the
materials and sources and ideas which they have
shaped into a presentation of enlightenment. This

is the person's bold presentation of his synthesized
vision and creative interpretaion of the ideas and
justifications gathered from sources.
In this excellent work by David Sansone, we have
a very satisfying blend of research, source citation
(footnotes), personal insights, and a very obvious
outpouring of love of the subject and a desire to
understand it to its very depths and in multiple
aspects.
Sansone is a Professor of Classics at the University
of Illinois, Urbana (back cover). In his "Prelude"
to this work, Sansone says that he inherited a course
to teach which had been originated (ahh..) by William
Abbott Oldfather, "the American classical scholar."
The course was on the sports of ancient Greece and
Rome, and its purpose had been to "stem the tide of
moral and physical degeneration and to inculcate the
healthful lessons offered by the model of Greek
athletics." Sansone says that when he inherited the
course he hit the books to supplement his lack of
knowledge in some aspects of the subject. But he
believed a more sophisticated and rigorous approach
than Oldfather's was needed, for Oldfather had basically
seen sport as a practice for war carried out by "blond,
tall, muscular Nordics" who found war to be not only
a necessity but an amusement, a form of entertainment.
This approach did not satisfy Sansone, since he was
not Nordic by heritage.
Sansone says that when he started teaching the course
he had no idea of what sport was or why it was so avidly
pursued by so many. Over time, he says, he began to
notice "the intimate connection between Greek athletics
and sacrificial ritual" and it occurred to him "to
wonder whether the athlete was not in some sense
regarded [in ancient times] as a [type of] sacrificial
victim."
Sansone cites many sources in his footnotes, but
they are not overwhelming. The ideas and quotes he
uses are clear and compelling. What is of excellent

benefit is his clear, linear presentation of the
accumulated treasure of his own findings of the
evolution of sport from primitive times to the time
of the Greeks.
But Sansone does not merely stop there. He also
includes relevant comments and tie-ins with modern sport
and events. He has one very interesting section on
the practice of a particular ball sport among the
Cherokee Indians and uses that as a basis for relating
it to aspects of Greek sport. His source is "Cherokee

Ball-Play" (1890) by James Mooney, included in S. Culin's
_Games of the North American Indians_ (1907).
Sansone's other favorite source is a work by Karl
Meuli, "the great Swiss scholar," whose title is
"Griechische Opferbrauche."
Sansone's work is divided into two parts. Part One is
titled "The Genesis of Sport," and Part Two is titled
"The Nature of Greek Athletics."
In the first part, Sansone goes into the characteristics
of "ritual" and shows how those aspects relate to sport.
Then he does the same with the characteristics associated
with "sacrifice," and also relates them. There is a very
good "Selected Bibliography" which cites sources such
as W. Burkert, _Structure and History in Greek Mythology
and Ritual_; E.N. Gardiner, _Athletics of the Ancient
World_; J-P Guepin, _The Tragic Pardox: Myth and Ritual
in Greek Tragedy_; and H.A. Harris, Greek Athletes and
Athletics_. Perhaps the most provocative source is
W.E. Sweet, "Protection of the Genitals in Greek
Athletics," published in _Ancient World_ (1985).
This is a highly interesting, informative, and
enlightening work of synthesis. And is much more
valuable and useful than the "crock of self-evident
nonsense" or the "eccentric curiosity that happened
to contain a meticulous examination of the work of
others" that he feared it might be labeled as being.
Heck, I would have paid part of the price just for
the cover photo of my favorite piece of sculpture,
formerly known as "The Wrestlers," now titled as
"Pankratiasts in action" (Florence, Galleria degli
Uffizi) [back cover information].
* * * * * * * * *

The Metropolitan Museum of Art is the repository of one of the finest collections of classical bronze pieces; this monograph catalogs the Greek pieces at the museum. Some 43 utilitarian as well as purely artistic pieces from the Archaic through the Hellenistic periods throughout the Greek realm are described and portrayed in high-quality photographs. Each plate is accompanied by a thorough description, including context and provenance where applicable. This catalog is sure to delight anyone with a strong interest in Greek bronzes.

This book is a must have for anybody visiting Magna Graecia area in Italy. Major excavation sites are well described and richly illustrated with perfect photos.
Discussed archeological sites of Greek settlements are as follows:
Gulf of Naples (Ischia, Pithekoussai,Cumae, Partenope and Naples),
Poseidonia/Paestum,
Velia,
Lokroi Epizephyrioi,
Kroton,
Sybaris and Thurii,
Siris and Herakleia,
Metapontion,
Taranto,
Naxos,
Taormina (Tauromenion),
Lentini and Catania,
Zankle/Messina Milazzo (Mylai),
Lipari,
Tindari,
Himera,
Megara Hyblaia,
Syracuse,
Eloro, Acre and Kasmenai,
Gela,
Kamarina,
Morgantina,
Agrigento (Akragas),
Selinunte,
Herakleia Minoa,
Segesta.

For the average tourist visiting these sites it is minor pity that modern communications- approaching roads connecting these sites are not discussed in this book.
(For example navigating to Paestum it is good to know that it is located in a community called Capaccio).
But in a Summary: job well done.

This is a seminal study, one of the first major revisionist attempts, which established that Greek Comedy continued embracing an ideological, i.e. political, agenda. Menander's plays, according to Konstan, often exhibit a structural fissure which stems from the gap between social function and individual motivation. Although they end up reasserting the communality of the "asty", the very artificiality of their resolutions leaves many of the major ethical dilemmas hanging, thus allowing for an expanded understanding of the relation between the moral agency of women and men and the constraints of social status. Konstan's book is rightfully under way of acquiring classic status. It may not be the ideal starting point for the non-initiant, nevertheless it is certainly suitable for anybody generally curious about the interplay between literature and society in the Greek world- and beyond.

Because it is considered the foundations for most of our current culture and philosophy, we have been studying Greek philosophy for literally centuries. It is therefore to see this book come out with a somewhat different view of what the earlier Greek philosophers meant by the word phusis means.

Usually translated as nature, the author has come to the concusiion that the ancient philosophes used the word to mean 'origin, process and result.'

The author is clearly an expert on the ancient or classical Greek language, including some very obscure details of the grammer. He has used these to make his own translations of some of the earliest philosophical works. The differences in his translations are subtle, but they impact the meanings some of the earliest philosphers : Anazimander, Zenophanes, Pythagoras, Heraclitus, Parmenides, Empedocies, Anaxagoras, Leucippus and Democritus when they were using the word. The meaning of the word, obviously, can change the meaning of the entire work.

This is not an introductory text on Greek philosophical, but provides an interesting insight into some of these points.

I don't like Cookbooks without or only a few Fotos. I like to see what I choose to cook. THIS BOOK IS GREAT !!!! Each Page a Color-Foto, lot of Infos about the Food, great Recipe's, understandable written ( my english ist not perfect !). I like to cook with items in my Pantry. If you cook not only Hamburger you will have the most ingredient's at home. Some Fish is hard to come by but they mostly not my taste, so it's not so bad at all. Of course, you will never find a Cookbook you like ALL Recipe's but I have a lot to cook 'til Christmas from this book.
RENA, thank you for a wonderful Cookbook.

I bought this book in 1973 and have loved cooking from it ever since. People rave over dishes that I prepare from it. I see from the prices for used copies of this that there are plenty of buyers out there. I'd recommend it any way.

A good many volumes have been published about ancient Greek drama. This is certainly one of the better ones. Noted classical historian and literay scholar Don Nardo has compiled an impressive array of essays by other scholars, including Sarah Pomeroy, Michael Grant, Moses Hadas, D.W. Lucas, and Victor Hanson. Each covers a different aspect of the Greek drama, such as its basis in mythology, the use of the chorus, the nature of Grek tragedy, the potrayal of women, Greek comedy, the importance of Oedipus Rex in the later history of drama, and so on. A very fine bibliography rounds out this excellent resource.