The Greeks: A Global History
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-10-28 10:19:02
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Roderick Beaton
- ISBN：1541618297
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Summary
A sweeping history of the Greeks， from the Bronze Age to today
More than two thousand years ago， the Greek city-states， led by Athens and Sparta， laid the foundation for much of modern science， the arts， politics， and law。 But the influence of the Greeks did not end with the rise and fall of this classical civilization。 As historian Roderick Beaton illustrates， over three millennia Greek speakers produced a series of civilizations that were rooted in southeastern Europe but again and again ranged widely across the globe。
In The Greeks， Beaton traces this history from the Bronze Age Mycenaeans who built powerful fortresses at home and strong trade routes abroad， to the dramatic Eurasian conquests of Alexander the Great， to the pious Byzantines who sought to export Christianity worldwide， to today’s Greek diaspora， which flourishes on five continents。 The product of decades of research， this is the story of the Greeks and their global impact told as never before。
More than two thousand years ago， the Greek city-states， led by Athens and Sparta， laid the foundation for much of modern science， the arts， politics， and law。 But the influence of the Greeks did not end with the rise and fall of this classical civilization。 As historian Roderick Beaton illustrates， over three millennia Greek speakers produced a series of civilizations that were rooted in southeastern Europe but again and again ranged widely across the globe。
In The Greeks， Beaton traces this history from the Bronze Age Mycenaeans who built powerful fortresses at home and strong trade routes abroad， to the dramatic Eurasian conquests of Alexander the Great， to the pious Byzantines who sought to export Christianity worldwide， to today’s Greek diaspora， which flourishes on five continents。 The product of decades of research， this is the story of the Greeks and their global impact told as never before。
Reviews
Erini Allen
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The first thing to understand about this book is that it is not about the Greeks。 The Greeks are simply a convenient opportunity to make a larger point about。。。global something-or-other。 It's not entirely clear。 He seems to be having an argument with someone who is not the readers of this book， judging from some of his defensive sentence constructions （"It's not true that。。。"）。After reading the preface， I had high hopes， as the author gives one of the most succinct definitions of what it means， The first thing to understand about this book is that it is not about the Greeks。 The Greeks are simply a convenient opportunity to make a larger point about。。。global something-or-other。 It's not entirely clear。 He seems to be having an argument with someone who is not the readers of this book， judging from some of his defensive sentence constructions （"It's not true that。。。"）。After reading the preface， I had high hopes， as the author gives one of the most succinct definitions of what it means， and has meant historically， to be Greek: to speak Greek and to participate in the cultures （there are many） of Greek-speaking people。 At various times and places， there have been additional criteria， but the two constants have been speaking the language and participating in （one of） the cultures。Beaton's discussion of the archaic and classical ancients is quite good。 Where the book begins its steep decline is with Greek history following the Roman conquest， after which it becomes increasingly obtuse and tedious。 When discussing the Roman Empire， Beaton points out how art was able to flourish because of the Roman-imposed peace。。。this after discussing the explosion of creative and intellectual production in the 5th and 4th centuries BC， during which the irrascible Greeks were constantly at each other's throats。 The book devolves into the usual parade of "here is what the ruling class was doing，" with a dash of "look how awful the Christians were" and a sprinkle of "modern Greeks only exist because the 'Great powers' took an interest in them。" Yawn。Inevitably， there is a great deal of cherry picking of evidence。 We learn， of course， about the tragic， brutal murder of Hypatia but nothing at all about Aelia Eudocia， the 5th century pagan Athenian philosopher's daughter who became an empress of the Eastern Roman Empire and wrote cento poems retelling the life of Christ using lines from Homer。 During the middle ages， Beaton focuses on Constantinople （as if Greek-speakers were only there）， especially from a governance perspective， but nothing of note about the rich artistic， scholarly， and creative works of Greek speakers and their cultural exchanges with east and west。 Oh， and how cute is it （sarcasm alert） that he calls the Greek revolution a "war of independence。" What independence？ The western powers promptly installed a Bavarian boy （Otto， aged 17） as king， and the nascent Hellenic Republic became the Kingdom of Greece。Surely， the Greeks can be enigmatic。 They seem to have stood at the threshold of three continents， to have had a strong sense of self and cultural confidence while also to have been willing to learn and draw from their neighbors。 This can make them hard to understand， if by "understand" you feel the need to pin them down。 If you're looking for insight into the multi-faceted nature of the Greeks and their global influence， this is not the book to find it， despite the optimistically-chosen title。 。。。more
Margaret Heller
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Reviewed for Library Journal。 This resulted in many more books being added to my reading list。
Mandy
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A wonderfully comprehensive history of the Greeks from the Bronze Age to today。 Detailed， authoritative， meticulously researched， scholarly yet accessible， it can’t really be faulted。 And yet it’s really one for the serious Greek aficionado rather than the general reader and you have to be in for the long-haul – with shame I admit to fast-forwarding on occasion when it all got a bit much for me。 That doesn't detract， however， from it’s worth as an important resource for anyone interested in the A wonderfully comprehensive history of the Greeks from the Bronze Age to today。 Detailed， authoritative， meticulously researched， scholarly yet accessible， it can’t really be faulted。 And yet it’s really one for the serious Greek aficionado rather than the general reader and you have to be in for the long-haul – with shame I admit to fast-forwarding on occasion when it all got a bit much for me。 That doesn't detract， however， from it’s worth as an important resource for anyone interested in the subject， especially with its maps and illustrations， and it will no doubt prove an invaluable and long-lasting reference book。 。。。more
Meaghan Babin
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This is a really great book for Greek history and mythology lovers。 The material can be kind of dense and difficult to follow but overall the book is really great。
m。
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2。5Arc provided by Netgalley for an honest review。 This was a vey detailed history of Greece from 1500BC to the modern age。 I really enjoyed all the intricate maps that were included on in and they visually explained to us how much Greece has evolved over the years。 I would recommend this to anyone who is a fan of Greek history or would like to learn about Greek history， just know ahead of time that like many history books that span so many years， The Greeks did get dry at some parts。 Date（s） re 2。5Arc provided by Netgalley for an honest review。 This was a vey detailed history of Greece from 1500BC to the modern age。 I really enjoyed all the intricate maps that were included on in and they visually explained to us how much Greece has evolved over the years。 I would recommend this to anyone who is a fan of Greek history or would like to learn about Greek history， just know ahead of time that like many history books that span so many years， The Greeks did get dry at some parts。 Date（s） read: 07/26/2021 。。。more
Mayda （My Book Cafe Life）
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The Greeks by Roderick Beaton was a wonderful read。 This book is perfect for Greek history and mythology lovers and enthusiasts。 This is a thorough and dense Greek history from the Bronze Age to today。The book reads like a history book and can be difficult for some to follow， but I found the maps/ illustrations helpful。
Anon Reviewer
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This was a good story！！ I thoroughly enjoyed it。 Lovers of Greek mythology will definitely enjoy this story。 Myths are always very inticing， especially when they are very well written like this one was！ Will definitely be buying once it's published and released！ Great job to the author and publisher！ This was a good story！！ I thoroughly enjoyed it。 Lovers of Greek mythology will definitely enjoy this story。 Myths are always very inticing， especially when they are very well written like this one was！ Will definitely be buying once it's published and released！ Great job to the author and publisher！ 。。。more
Justine
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