The Coming of the Greeks

Rating:
Summary: Alas, New Evidence
Review: Drew's argument depends on the chariot being a 2nd-millenium BCE invention, made in the Middle East and/or Anatolia.

Unfortunately, recent archaeological digs in the Urals and Kazakhstan show that the chariot was inveted there -- in northern Central Asia and western Siberia -- no later than the 21st century BCE.

And since the chariots discovered in these graves were fully developed, the date may well be much earlier -- as far back as 3000 BCE, perhaps.

The attempt to date the entire Indo-European expansion to as late as 1600 BCE is also rather ludicrous.

Rating:
Summary: A late Proto-Greek arrival by chariot
Review: Extremely interesting attempt to make sense out of the amazing findings encountered at the dawn of history. The author surely succeeds in giving a comprehensive and coherent view on the origins of the Greeks, their unity and differences, linking their arrival in Greece to their mastery of the chariot.

Less convincing is his attempt to insinuate the same importance of the chariot to the Proto-Indo-European question as a whole. It wouldn't debilitate his statement at all to recognize the Proto-Greeks as being just on the fringe of the great Indo-Iranian expansion wave, that itself was closely related to the development of the spoked wheel started only about 2000 BC when the main body of Indo-European expansion was already long on its way. This would also account for features in the Greek language that betray close contacts with Proto-Indo-Iranians rather than a common origin. Then the Proto-Greeks only became involved into the - in essence Indo-Iranian - movement a lot later (1600 BC as Drews proposes), after the subsequent invention of the chariot in a continuous tecnological development that was without doubt still spearheaded by certain Indo-Iranian groups.

Within the Greek context, however, the book is absolutely convincing and provides for a recommended and easy reading.

Rating:
Summary: A vital piece to the puzzle
Review: Robert Drews's The Coming of the Greeks: Indo-European Conquests in the Aegean and The Near East was written to tackle some important questions. He clearly stated his purposes in the introduction, including: "...Where did the PIE (Proto-Indo-European) speakers come from...Was the "coming of the Greeks" a historical event, or is it a modern fiction...Who were the Hittites, when and whence did they come to central Anatolia, and what sort of state was the Old Hittite Kingdom..." (xiii - xiv). These all lead to one important question: Where did the Greeks come from?

The author, Drews, has experience with Greece and history in general. He is the Professor of Classics and History at Vanderbilt University. The professor's other works include The End of the Bronze Age: Changes in Warfare and the Catastrophe ca. 1200 B.C. and The Greek Accounts of Eastern History, Basileus: The Evidence for Kingship in Geometric Greece.

When writing this book, Drews consulted a large variety of sources. He lists an impressive bibliography near the end of his essay. These include books written in English, French, and German. He based a large portion of his work on his research in German books and a work called the Ibid. However, within an incredible amount of footnotes at the bottom of nearly every page, he has included sentences written in German without any translation. For example, one footnote reads, "16. Cf. Schachermeyr, 'Streitwagen,' 722: 'Kein Zwefiel, dass nun die Streitwagenszenen bereits den Vorzug errungen haben vor fast allen anderen Darstellunggstoffen.'" (162). There are no translations for this sentence, or any others written in a foreign language. For most readers, this does not help them understand the passage better, but instead further clutters the already footnote-heavy page.

The book's actual content takes up about four fifths of each page, and begins by discussing the origins of the PIE speakers, and the main question itself. It goes on to discuss evidence found at archaeological sites. Large portions of this information came from first hand accounts of different excavations, yet the author himself does not give any first hand accounts. After giving a theory based on his research, he compares it to others. However, Drews seems to be extremely confident, and regards any differing viewpoints as "deeply flawed" (45). This is ludicrous because he bases his theory on his research, while some other theories are based on first-hand evidence. He jumps to the conclusion that the Greeks arrived in Greece in 1600 BCE.

The second half of the book discusses warfare that may have affected the migration of different peoples. Drews begins by going off on an unrelated tangent; discussing the evolution of horses and begins to study taxonomy. When he returns to the main topic, the professor emphasizes the importance of the chariot to early migration. For example, chapter titles and subtitles include "Horses," "The War Chariot and Chariot Warfare," "Provenance of the Chariot," "The Beginnings of Chariot Warfare," etc. Drews concludes that the chariot of a 2nd millennium BCE invention.

However, there are many different viewpoints that he did not mention in his writing. Drews is not very convincing when he tries to base the entire Indo European expansion on the importance on the chariot. Archaeological digs have even shown that the chariot was invented before the 21st century BCE in the Urals or Kazakhstan, as opposed to Central Asia or Western Siberia. Yet, these chariots were found fully developed, so the chariot may have been invented even earlier, totally destroying his conclusions.

Overall, this is a fairly well written book. Robert Drews's style harshly criticizes, yet still convinces. Many people have acclaimed his work. Elizabeth Wayland Barber of the Occidental College states that, "No one dealing with the dispersal of the Indo-Europeans can ignore this book." D.F. Easton of The Classical Review says that, "Into the ever tangled and speculative debate on Indo-European origins comes this excellent book: lucid, critical, and refreshingly sober." Drews's The Coming of the Greeks: Indo-European Conquests in the Aegean and The Near East makes important conclusions that may change the course of history. His work breaks new ground to debate the hundred year old question, "Where did the Greeks come from?'

Rating:
Summary: It is a moderate book due to serious lack of evidence...
Review: The author did a good work. However, it is very sad that many people are not familiar with Greek Ancient history, that dates back to 20,000 B.C. , according to the latest archeological discoveries. Unfortunately, the Author has apparently never read Plato, which states in his dialogue "Timaios", that the Greeks occupied Greece long before 9,000 B.C. Diodoros Sikeliotis (Ancient Greek writer) verifies that the Greeks long before 8,000 B.C. had fought against the citizens of Atlantis and won the war against them. Ancient Egyptian writer "Manethon" verifies also that Egyptians were "children" of the Greek civilization.
Last but not least, the astrophysical interpretation of the Orphic Hymns by the NTUA (National Tech. University of Athens) has proven that they date back to 20,000 BC .
If one is actually interested in ancient Greek History and philosophy, one should focus on ancient Greek books. There, you will find anything you need to know, and you will probably be astonished.
It is indeed very sad to see intellectually advanced writers to write books based upon speculations and not specific scientific argumentation...

Rating:
Summary: Chariots of the Steppes
Review: This is a fascinating look at the development of chariot warfare and an examination of early migrations across Anatolia. These accomplishments are even more impressive when you explore Eastern Turkey and see the formidable geographic challenges these people faced. Several recent proposals (for both the Greeks, and the Israelites) is that mythical ancestral migrations were actually later retellings of the making of nations from people who were already living in those areas.

Rating:
Summary: Chariots of the Steppes
Review: This is a fascinating look at the development of chariot warfare and an examination of early migrations across Anatolia. These accomplishments are even more impressive when you explore Eastern Turkey and see the formidable geographic challenges these people faced. Several recent proposals (for both the Greeks, and the Israelites) is that mythical ancestral migrations were actually later retellings of the making of nations from people who were already living in those areas.