Name: It's All Greek to Me
Rating: 4 (1 reviews)

Charlotte Higgins

It's All Greek to Me

It's all Greek to me

Emmett

Serves as a purposeful guide/map to Ancient Greek history and mythology, blending them together startlingly coherently. Rather than opting for a chronological approach, settling on chapters by themes of interest (e.g. love, war, foreigners) was something I found refreshing and focused. Expect the Iliad and Odyssey quoted throughout; one is initiated into this volume by an apology (Gk. apologia) of the Homeric epics. Main themes were very expansive and comprehensive: wars and women, love and death, science and philosophy. Needful supplementary information near the back of the book, essential for the budding Classics enthusiast, were the timeline, list of characters (mythological and historical) and a quaint list of English words with Greek etymologies (in other words, a vocabulary boost). Though the deluge of names (most notably those of rulers and philosophers) upon first encounter was bewildering, I expect that was only the typical feel of a history book.

It's All Greek to Me

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