Best books on Ancient Greece (and Rome)

[evolvedForm]

I'm looking to expand my knowledge of the ancients and I wanted to see if the loungers had any recommendations. To make this post loungeworthy, I'll make small reviews of books I'm currently reading.

Edith Hamilton's "Mythology": This book so far is very well written, tells the myths in a delightful way, and provides a wealth for the imagination.

"The Oxford History of Greece and the Classical World": Several sections are interesting but others are not very well written. The chapter on the Pelopenesian War combined very general information and very specific, pointless (to the general reader) facts. I would have preferred middle ground, and an interesting narrative. What is a good book on the Peloponesian War?

I generally don't like edited works with different authors so I should have expected that.


I'm also reading an assortment of Greek tragedies by Euripides, Sophocles and Aeschylus. They are, as to be expected, fantastic. And though my boy Nietzsche has fightin words for Euripides, I still like him.


I'm looking for the so-called classics (like Edith Hamilton's) and other well-written, substantial yet not esoteric, works, preferably in the areas of literature, culture, history, and war.

[Triumph36]

for the peloponnesian war, you should check out Thucydides' account of it - called something like 'a history of the peloponnesian war'. i don't read that much history but it's by far the best and most interesting history book I've ever read - fascinating insight into Greek culture. Anything else you read on the subject will probably clip a lot from this work anyway, so you may as well read the original.

[diebitter]

It's fiction, but 'I Claudius' and 'Claudius the God' by Robert Graves are incredible reads with a lot of facts present in thw fiction. It's packed with info and dense as anything (very little dialogue) but is never boring for a second.

[Blarg]

Much admiration for tackling Hamilton. Greek myths, along with the Bible and Shakespeare, are the main touchstones of western culture. A familiarity with them and, hopefully, an understanding of their themes, is enormously helpful in understanding the West.

[codewarrior]

Roman history books can be (are) very dry. My textbook was H. H. Scullard's <u> From the Gracchi to Nero: A History of Rome from 133 B.C. to A.D. 68 </u>. This is as good a history book on this period as you will find.

For a good historical fiction of the late Roman Republic from Gaius Marius through Augustus, try the books by Colleen McCullough (sp?). Where she diverges from historical fact is annotated and references cited. Very fun books, and makes the history come alive.

[WhoIam]

If you have any interest in the subject, I recommend this:
[image]http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/images/0500051240/sr=8-1/qid=1177505098/ref=dp_image_0/104-7169240-2688747?ie=UTF8&amp;n=283155&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1 177505098&amp;sr=8-1[/image]
It's a big coffee table-type book with lots of pictures, but it doesn't skimp on the text.

[evolvedForm]

I think I'll definitely check out either Thucydides or Heroditus. Classical writers tend to write better than current ones, so that should be a treat.

I Claudius is an interesting idea, too. I'm reading a book by Graves (cowritten by Alan Hodge) right now called "The Reader over your Shoulder," a book on clear writing. They love to criticize other writers for our edification, so naturally we can hold them to the same standard. It seems that they far prefer lucid, logical exposition to poetic freedom, so I'm wondering if their books aren't overly restrained.

[diebitter]

Graves writes with a clarity that takes your breath away.

[draoicht]

I highly recommend "Rubicon" by Tom Holland.
Amazon
I read this after seeing the first series of "Rome" and was interested in finding out more about this period in Roman history.
Its a very accessible read and not too dry at all.

[orange]

Gates of Fire by Steven pressfield (spelling?) is a great book on the persian wars and thermopylae.