Classical Civilization. Greece

Rating:
Summary: Superb outline of Classical Greece
Review: Couch's book covers the Early Minoan Period (3500-2300 B.C.) to the Graeco-Roman Period (146 B.C. to 330 A.D.). The first edition was published by Brown University in 1936, and in this newer, second edition, Couch substitutes photos where there were formerly hand-drawn diagrams (of the Phaestos Disc, for example). He also adds more commentary, which is an advantage of the second edition. Couch's commentary is swift and decisive. He anticipates the era of the New Critics and values universal themes and interiority in art and literature. While this may seem old-fashioned to modern readers, there's a quaint power to Couch's judgments. For example, he concludes a passage on Zeno's formulas against the possibility of motion with an all-encompassing final verdict: "Logic was thus developed without relation to reality at this point in the history of philosophy." There are more astute observations too. By a comparison of the fifth-century Fallen Warrior of Aegina and the Hellenistic Dying Gaul of Aphaea, Couch finds the descent of Greek art in the proliferation of technical devices used in the later sculpture! Whatever one thinks of his interpretations, Couch's comments offer a springboard for judging the progression of the Greeks from independent city-states to subject colonies of Macedonia and Rome. It's endearing that Couch feels so acutely the loss of Athenian independence and power. He entertains opinions of Greek superiority in the ancient world that would make judicious readers today blush, or cringe. (For instance, he believes that Persian rulers like Xerxes represent the natural rashness of Asian despots.) One great facet of this book is its terse but thorough outlines of each era's art, architecture, literature, and philosophy. Couch can't write about discoveries that weren't made yet, so there's no mention of important developments like the decipherment of Linear B. Overall, though, this is an excellent book for anyone who wants the basics of Greek civilization.