<< 1 >>
Rating: 
Summary: Both a biography of Alexander and an intro to Greek life
Review: As the title sort of indicates, "Alexander the Great and Ancient Greece" is really two books in one. In the first part Miriam Greenblatt provides a biography of Alexander the Great subtitled "A Passion for Glory," that tells how the young prince of Macedonia ended up conquering most of the "known" world. What impressed me was one detail that stands out in Greenblatt's narrative: she tells two different versions of how Alexander dealt with the Gordian Knot, pointing out that "Both tales fit his personality." That was the point at which she sold me on the value of her biography. This section is illustrated with paintings and mosaics from ancient times to modern, focusing on the legendary figure of Alexander. The second part, covering "Everyday Life in Ancient Greece," is really separate from the first. Greenblatt covers the religion, games, theater, and education of the Greeks, as well as the elements of everyday life such as food, drink, hairstyles, cosmetics, and clothes. Like the first, this second part could stand on its own as an introduction to what it was like to be living in Ancient Greece, although certainly I would like to see what Greenblatt would do with the same topic and twice the number of pages. I have read books devoted entirely to this topic that are not as good. This part is illustrated with a dozen pictures taken from ancient urns and pottery that I always find absolutely captivating. This volume also offers up a third part, "The Greeks in Their Own Words," which includes excerpts from Homer's epic poem the "Iliad," Euripides's tragic play "The Trojan Women," a Aesop's fable and Aristotle's "Politics." Overall, I think the first part of "Alexander the Great and Ancient Greec" is pretty good, but that the second part is even better.
<< 1 >>
| 
