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jaredwsaltz's review against another edition
4.0
Pomeroy et al seek to provide a balanced approach to Greek history by shortening and refocusing their successful Ancient Greece (2011). Providing short chapters that cover Greece and its environs from the Bronze Age until the Hellenistic era, this book excels and providing a (you guessed it) brief political history overview of the various events of the period while giving greater emphasis to cultural and social history.
Don't get me wrong: this is a short book. At 365 pages of history to cover that much time and a people as variegated as the Greeks, Pomeroy et al had to seriously truncate many of the chapters and / or provide cursory treatment or "Observe the Passover." There were times when you can tell that the authors had run out of pages for a given chapter and, essentially, said, "everyone else died, so X was the victor."
But this is a necessary evil for a book like this, which would excel as a textbook for undergraduates. I know of no other introductory text for this period that so effectively uses primary sources (in translation) interspersed through the main text to provide better flavor of the periods and topics addressed. Similarly, I thought that the inclusion of sections for each chapter dedicated to various social, religious, or cultural institutions to be a refreshing change from those texts that solely provide political history or else focus entirely on other approaches.
I would certainly use this as a text for an undergraduate course in Greek history and it functions just as well as an introduction to the subject to those who are at a higher level but are ignorant of the subject, such as graduate students in related fields.
Don't get me wrong: this is a short book. At 365 pages of history to cover that much time and a people as variegated as the Greeks, Pomeroy et al had to seriously truncate many of the chapters and / or provide cursory treatment or "Observe the Passover." There were times when you can tell that the authors had run out of pages for a given chapter and, essentially, said, "everyone else died, so X was the victor."
But this is a necessary evil for a book like this, which would excel as a textbook for undergraduates. I know of no other introductory text for this period that so effectively uses primary sources (in translation) interspersed through the main text to provide better flavor of the periods and topics addressed. Similarly, I thought that the inclusion of sections for each chapter dedicated to various social, religious, or cultural institutions to be a refreshing change from those texts that solely provide political history or else focus entirely on other approaches.
I would certainly use this as a text for an undergraduate course in Greek history and it functions just as well as an introduction to the subject to those who are at a higher level but are ignorant of the subject, such as graduate students in related fields.
clarks_dad's review against another edition
4.0
A pretty compelling short history of Ancient Greece from the Early Bronze Age through the Hellenistic period. Evenhanded treatment of a variety of subjects from art to social history, including examinations of gender and class.
Most importantly, annotated bibliography of references at the end of each chapter makes following up with more scholarly and detailed work easy. Think I've built an entire reading list for the year just from cannibalizing sources. I don't think I appreciated this work as much as it deserved when I read it as an undergrad because of the workload. As an adult with slightly more time on my hands it was a nice companion piece to Assassin's Creed: Odyssey. Cool to read about the history and important places and people and then going to see if I could track them down in the game.
Most importantly, annotated bibliography of references at the end of each chapter makes following up with more scholarly and detailed work easy. Think I've built an entire reading list for the year just from cannibalizing sources. I don't think I appreciated this work as much as it deserved when I read it as an undergrad because of the workload. As an adult with slightly more time on my hands it was a nice companion piece to Assassin's Creed: Odyssey. Cool to read about the history and important places and people and then going to see if I could track them down in the game.
acidpt's review
4.0
Brief indeed, and sometimes confusing and oddly organized. Still, a good overview of Ancient Greece
tourmaline_and_tomes's review
4.0
Brief is the word. This is a narrow overview and a good introduction to the world of Ancient Greece. If you're looking for in-depth historical analysis, look elsewhere. But, if you're looking to educate yourself on the general life and culture of Ancient Greece, this is an enjoyable and well-written book.
anotherbooklover_'s review
This book was bought and read for my greek classics and history class, but unfortunately, the class did not hold my interest and I dropped the class a month into the semester.
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