Showing titles in Greece

Lying in the middle of a plain in modern-day Iran is a forgotten ancient city, Persepolis. Built two and a half thousand years ago, it was known in its day as the richest city under the sun. Persepolis was the capital of Persia, the largest empire the world had ever seen, but after its destruction, it was largely forgotten for nearly 2,000 years, and the lives and achievements of those who built it were almost entirely erased from history.

When people think of ancient Greece, images of philosophers such as Plato or Socrates often come to mind, as do great warriors like Pericles and Alexander the Great. But hundreds of years before Athens became a city, a Greek culture flourished and spread its tentacles throughout the Western Mediterranean region via trade and warfare. Scholars have termed this pre-Classical Greek culture the Mycenaean culture, which existed from about 2000 to 1200 BCE, when Greece, along with much of the Eastern Mediterranean, was thrust into a centuries-long Dark Ages.

This guide succeeds in presenting an overall sketch of the creation of the world and the battles that follow, resulting in Zeus taking his place as the supreme god and ruling the earth from Mount Olympus. It covers the creation of man, it seems as a bit of an afterthought for the amusement of the Olympians, and some of the most famous stories that have come down to us via the writings of the great dramatists of the Classical Age.

Donald Kagan—Yale’s Sterling Professor of Classics and History—delivers a compelling new look at revisionismin Thucydides’ classic History of the Peloponnesian War. To determine how accurate and dispassionate the Athenian general really was, Kagan exposes his epic to an enlightening and thorough analysis. Using contemporary and modern sources, Kagan reveals the exiled aristocrat’sbiases, prejudices, and his clear intention to spin events in his own way.

A witty, inspiring reckoning with the ancient Greek and Roman myths and their legacy, from what they can illuminate about #MeToo to the radical imagery of Beyoncé.

Ancient Greece and its mythology is truly a marvel of history...one that has stood the test of time. Greek myths were more than just stories and epic tales. Take a deeper look, and you will uncover the lessons, philosophies, wisdom, and even warnings that these myths taught. In truth, they are still relevant to this day.

Born from a strange mixture of divine blood, severed genitals, and seafoam, Aphrodite washed up on the shores of Cyprus long before the emergence of her fellow Olympians. A figure who is as petty as she is relatable, she is not only a key deity of the Greek pantheon, but she is also a central figure in many of the myths we know and love. While it would be impossible to gather all the different stories related to Aphrodite in their entirety in one collection, this audiobook provides a nice, if modest, assortment of narratives that display different facets of this fascinating goddess.

This audiobook contains the most exciting and essential parts of the Iliad, capturing the final 50 days of the Trojan war and bringing to life ancient men and heroic battles. It provides an integral beginning to the infamous journey of Odysseus. Translated by Stanley Lombardo.

The myths surrounding Sparta are as old as the city itself. Even in antiquity, Sparta was a unique society, considered an enigma. The Spartans' often bizarre rules and practices have the capacity to horrify as much they do to fascinate us today. But the truth behind these stories of the exotic other can be hard to discover, lost amongst the legend of Sparta which was even perpetuated by later Spartans, who ran a thriving tourist industry that exaggerated the famed brutality of their ancestors. As Andrew Bayliss explores in this book, there was also much to admire in ancient Sparta.

The Stoic way and it's ancient Greek roots have been trodden by some of the greatest minds in history. It's now making a comeback and its teachings are helping many people cope with today's hectic World, and they can benefit you immensely too. The Stoic way will help you overcome these challenges and change your perceptions in how you see both yourself and the World around you. It will encourage you to become more measured and to choose your battles wisely.

A History of Greece continues with the bitter struggle between Sparta and Athens for mastery of the Hellenic world. Though Sparta finally emerges victorious, her victory soon turns to ashes with the ascendancy of Thebes and the still greater power of Philip of Macedon. Philip unites an unwilling Greece with his iron policy. Athens gives up her independence, but maintains an aloof intellectual and artistic leadership in the Greek world.

This comprehensive collection introduces you to Greek mythology and will also captivate your attention and imagination, so you can relive the tales of the most fabulous Greek gods, goddesses, heroes, and monsters.

This audiobook includes some of the standard views of Greek myth and history but also tantalizes your imagination with the possibilities that lie behind myth and legend. By the time you are finished with this book, you will have a good appreciation for the nature of Greek mythology and the gods, monsters, and heroes which populate it.

In Homer, Barbara Graziosi considers Homer's famous works and their impact on readers throughout the centuries. She shows how The Iliad and The Odyssey benefit from a tradition of reading that spans well over two millennia, stemming from ancient scholars at the library of Alexandria, in the third and second centuries BCE, who wrote some of the first commentaries on the Homeric epics. Summaries of these scholars' notes made their way into the margins of Byzantine manuscripts; from Byzantium the annotated manuscripts traveled to Italy.

This audiobook takes listeners on a succinct journey from Greece’s first settlements all the way to the 20th century. Its easy-to-follow yet meticulously-researched narrative will captivate history buffs, students, and anyone interested in learning more about Greece.

You’ve heard of Zeus, Poseidon, Aphrodite, etc. But what do you know about the Greek underworld, minor gods, and mythical beasts? Do you know how these stories were passed on from generation to generation or what significance they held for the people who believed in them? This fascinating audiobook introduces readers to the canon of Greek mythology and its influence on the world today in language, storytelling, and even science.

During the Persian Wars, Sparta and Athens worked in tandem to defeat what was, in terms of relative resources and power, the greatest empire in human history. For the decade and a half that followed, they continued their collaboration until a rift opened and an intense, strategic rivalry began. In a continuation of his series on ancient Sparta, noted historian Paul Rahe examines the grounds for their alliance, the reasons for its eventual collapse, and the first stage in an enduring conflict that would wreak havoc on Greece for six decades.

In 146 BC, Greece yielded to the military might of the Roman Republic; sixty years later, when Athens and other Greek city-states rebelled against Rome, the general Lucius Cornelius Sulla destroyed the city of Socrates and Plato, laying waste to the famous Academy where Aristotle had studied. However, the traditions of Greek cultural life would continue to flourish during the centuries of Roman rule that followed, in the lives and work of a distinguished array of philosophers, doctors, scientists, geographers, travellers and theologians.

In a continuation of his multivolume series on ancient Sparta, Paul Rahe narrates the second stage in the six decades long, epic struggle between Sparta and Athens that first erupted some 17 years after their joint victory in the Persian Wars. Rahe explores how and why open warfare between these two erstwhile allies broke out a second time, after they had negotiated an extended truce.

This book contains the daily life, culture, training, battles, history, and kings of the Spartan Empire. From the birth of their city to the end, the Spartans endured a history of violence and war. Similar to their stories, the traditional Spartan warrior also lived the daily life of a soldier. From the moment they were born and if they were allowed to live, they were trained and conditioned to be some of the most efficient and lethal killing machines. Dominating the land through some of the most famous battles of all time, the Spartans were a force to be reckoned with.