This book is a unique, compelling introduction to the world of Homer, Plato, Sappho, and Aristophanes, written by the world's premier chronicler of ancient Greek life and culture.
The ancient Greek empire laid the foundation for our modern views of science, politics, warfare, philosophy, and art. Yet any examination of our similarities to the Greeks reveals as many differences. Paul Cartledge, Professor of Greek History at Cambridge University, explores our complex relationship to the Greeks by introducing us to fifteen men and women of extraordinary accomplishment: generals such as Epaminondas, statesmen such as Pericles, artists such as Sappho.
With an engaging blend of personal history and meticulous scholarship, Cartledge tells the unforgettable story of classical Greece's rise and fall through the stories of these heroes. Each person in this biographical history serves as an actor on the world stage of an embodiment of a major theme in the development of the Greek world.
With over sixty illustrations and a comprehensive bibliography, 'The Greeks' is a personal tour through the formative years of Western civilisation through the stories of fifteen extraordinary men and women who shaped the world as we know it.
