An enjoyable, accessible exploration of the legacy of ancient Greece today, across our daily lives and all forms of popular culture
Our contemporary world is inescapably Greek. Whether in a word like 'pandemic,' a Freudian state of mind like the 'Oedipus complex,' or a replica of the Parthenon in a Chinese theme park, ancient Greek culture shapes the contours of our lives. Ever since the first Roman imitators, we have been continually falling under the Greeks' spell.
But how did ancient Greece spread its influence so far and wide? And how has this influence changed us?
Tony Spawforth explores our classical heritage, wherever it's to be found. He reveals its legacy in everything from religion to popular culture and unearths the darker side of Greek influence-from the Nazis' obsession with Spartan 'racial purity' to the elitism of classical education. Paying attention to the huge breadth and variety of Hellenic influence, this book paints an essential portrait of the ancient world's living legacy-considering to whom it matters, and why.
Esta historia del mundo clásico de Tony Spawforth, profesor de Historia antigua de la Universidad de Newcastle y figura destacada en el campo de la Historia y la Arqueología del mundo antiguo, nos ofrece una imagen realmente nueva de los pueblos y las culturas de los que ha surgido nuestra propia civilización. Una historia de Grecia y de Roma, y de su relación con los pueblos de su entorno, como persas y etruscos, que se aparta de las síntesis tradicionales y enriquece el relato con las aportaciones más recientes de la investigación arqueológica. Una visión, en suma, innovadora y sugerente que nos llevará a revisar lo que creíamos saber.
The magnificent civilization created by the ancient Greeks and Romans is the greatest legacy of the classical world. However, narratives about the "civilized" Greek and Roman empires resisting the barbarians at the gate are far from accurate. Tony Spawforth, an esteemed scholar, author, and media contributor, follows the thread of civilization through more than six millennia of history. His story reveals that Greek and Roman civilization, to varying degrees, was supremely and surprisingly receptive to external influences, particularly from the East. From the rise of the Mycenaean world of the sixteenth century B.C., Spawforth traces a path through the ancient Aegean to the zenith of the Hellenic state and the rise of the Roman empire, the coming of Christianity and the consequences of the first caliphate. Deeply informed, provocative, and entirely fresh, this is the first and only accessible work that tells the extraordinary story of the classical world in its entirety.
