Greek Ways: How the Greeks Created Western Civilization

Greek Ways: How the Greeks Created Western Civilization
ISBN-10
1893554031
ISBN-13
9781893554030
Category
Social Science / General
Pages
242
Language
English
Published
2000
Publisher
Encounter Books
Author
Bruce S. Thornton

Description

In the classics departments of today's universities, Bruce Thornton says, the Greeks are accused of stealing their achievements from black Egyptians, of oppressing their wives and daughters, and of hypocritically speculating about freedom while holding slaves. Most of all, classic Greek culture has come under attack precisely because its glorious achievement, extended into history, is what defines the West and makes it distinct. Thornton clears away these misconceptions. Writing with wit and erudition, he discusses in fascinating detail those areas of Greek life - sexuality and sexual roles; slavery and war; thought and speculation - that some modern critics have made into 'contested sites'. Perhaps more importantly, he also reclaims the importance of those core ideas the Greeks invented, ideas about human fate and purpose that shaped the modern world. Nearly seventy years ago, Edith Hamilton published 'The Greek Way', a book that educated two generations of readers about the debt we owe the handful of city-states that developed 'the spirit of the West' some 2500 years ago.'Greek Ways' is for our time what Hamilton's book was for a prior era - a classic inquiry that holds up a mirror to Greek culture where we can see ourselves.

Other editions

Similar books

  • Understanding Human Behavior and the Social Environment
    By Karen Kay Kirst-Ashman, Charles Zastrow

    In this best-selling text BY social workers and FOR social workers, Charles Zastrow and Karen K. Kirst-Ashman, nationally prominent social work educators and authors, guide studetns in assessing and evaluating how individuals function ...

  • War and State Making: The Shaping of the Global Powers
    By Karen A. Rasler, William R. Thompson

    War and State Making: The Shaping of the Global Powers

  • Mapping the Social Landscape: Readings in Sociology
    By Susan J. Ferguson

    Charrière , H. 1969. Papillon . Robert Lafont . ... 6 NOT OUR KIND OF GIRL ELAINE BELL KAPLAN Social research is concerned with the definition and assessment of social phenomena . Many social concepts such as teen pregnancy are ...

  • Body Trauma TV: The New Hospital Dramas
    By Jason Jacobs, Lecturer in Film and Television Studies Jason Jacobs

    A very early example of this is the US single play ' The Hospital where a disturbed porter disrupts the power supply to the hospital . It was a CBS / Studio One production broadcast Doctor : Television , Storytelling and Medical Power ( ...

  • 正義與差異政治
    By 艾莉斯.楊

    ◆1991 年美國政治科學學會 Victoria Schuck 獎 ◆20 世紀最重要的女性主義政治哲學家,《像女孩那樣丟球》作者 Iris Young 代表作 ◆90 年代至今社會運動思想源頭,開創正義理論全新典範 ...

  • 反穀:穀物是食糧還是政權工具?人類為農耕社會付出何種代價?一個政治人類學家對國家形成的反思
    By 詹姆斯.斯科特

    ★當代最重要的政治人類學家詹姆斯.斯科特全新著作。 ★顛覆過往對國家與文明成形基本假設,提出今日國家建立的各種想像。 ...

  • 陇上学人文存.初世宾卷
    By 范鹏, 初世宾, 李勇锋

    陇者甘肃,历史悠久,文化醇厚。陇上学人,或生于斯长于斯的本地学者,或外来而其学术成就多产于甘肃者。学人是学术活动的主体,就《陇上学人文存》(以下简称《文存》)的 ...

  • Feminism and the Legacy of Revolution: Nicaragua, El Salvador, Chiapas
    By Karen Kampwirth

    Booth, John. 1985. The End and the Beginning: The Nicaraguan Revolution. Boulder: Westview. Booth, John, and Thomas W. Walker. 1989. Understanding Central America. Boulder: Westview Borge, Tomás. 1984. Carlos, the Dawn Ls No Longer ...

  • 2025: Scenarios of U.S. and Global Society Reshaped by Science and Technology
    By Joseph Francis Coates, John B. Mahaffie, Andy Hines

    Growing global linkages and complexity are redressing the paradox aptly characterized by sociologist Daniel Bell in the last century , “ government is too big for the small problems of our society and too small for the big ones .

  • African American Firsts in Science & Technology
    By Raymond B. Webster

    ... George W. 318 Neal , Lonnie G. 126 , 312 Nickerson , William J. 11 Nokes , Clarence 121 Page , Lionel F. 356 ... Wanda Anne A. 150 Small , Isadore , III 135 Smart , Brinay 106 Smith , Jonathan S. , II 312 Smith , Morris Leslie 312 ...