Golden Laurels, Silver Seas: A Concise Survey of Greek History from the Bronze Age to the End of the Hellenistic Period (Introduction to Greek and Roman History)

Having explored Greece, Crete, Turkey, and various Greek islands, I had previously lacked a comprehensive understanding of the historical context and chronological placement of these sites. This book successfully anchors these locations in time, providing a meaningful context for their existence.This well-written and concise book serves as an effective introduction to the current scholarly perspectives on early Greek history. While I may not fully endorse some of the assertions presented, such as the skepticism toward the trustworthiness of myths in depicting historical events, it aligns with the prevailing academic viewpoint.Not inclined towards in-depth academic works or overly embellished coffee table books, I found this book to strike the right balance. It succinctly presents the key events, their actors, and the significance of each, making it an accessible overview. While a few additional maps could have enhanced the reading experience, this minor shortcoming did not significantly impact my overall appreciation of the book.

"Golden Laurels, Silver Seas" offers a concise yet comprehensive journey through Ancient Greek history, spanning from the Bronze Age to the Hellenistic Period and Rome's emergence. It avoids overwhelming detail, making it accessible to non-specialists. Aeon History provides fresh perspectives, weaving intricate details into the narrative, ensuring engagement for all readers. The book touches on various periods, including the Minoan civilization, Mycenaean age, and daily life in ancient Greece, offering a solid introduction to the rich tapestry of Greek history. Unfortunately I didn't pay much attention to history in my high school years, so I was pleasantly surprised that the author writes this book in a tone that anyone can understand and comprehend. Very well done book and I highly recommend!

"Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it". The book Golden Laurels" makes history interesting. I believe we stand on the shoulders of giants. One of my favorite parts of the book was the life stories of the great philosophers Socates, Plato and Aristotle. They came from the same time period and of course Plato was a student of Socrates. The book was well researched and very comprehensive. It is difficult to know what to say in a review of this book because there is so much great history the book covers. It is a good read to say the least.

Written in a breezy and modern style, ‘Golden Laurels, Silver Seas’ serves as a fine primer, but breaks no new ground. This is not a flaw, unto itself; new works like this serve to summarize the latest scholarship for a general audience. But, how well does this book perform this task?Structurally, the book is well paced and has fine workmanship in the invisible world of publishing details. The pictures presented in-line are well selected, and render well on e-ink screens. People who wish to know the latest scholarship about daily life in these times and places should look elsewhere; this book is primarily concerned with the affairs of the polis & states around the Mediterranean, how they influenced Greek and, subsequently, European history, and the actions of the consequential leaders in state and thought in those periods. This is not a flaw, just a focus, though I love to read about the daily life stuff personally. Regarding focus, the author’s table at Aeon History has a clear love of ancient battles, and the parts that cover battles have the most detail and love put into them.In order to provide value in a world filled with histories of this region, you have to engage with some new scholarship. And so, I was very disappointed to find that the text treated Homer as a person, rather than as a tradition. Or, better put, a method of finding the most agreed upon version of a story and promulgating that one, blindly and without additions. This newer idea flatly solves the curious case of the man with no history in an ancient world that just loved to put down the bibliographical details of significant people. But then, after hundreds of pages of ascribing this and that to Homer, they do eventually mention this scholarship. I can understand sorting this information into the time period in which the Homeric versions of the tales were being gathered, but it is necessary to allude to major, surprising ideas like this earlier in the text. Similarly, the treatment of Epicurus as the originator of a philosophy rather than the person who wrote it down is a common practice, but not really accurate. In every way, the ‘epicurean’ philosophy and approach to life reached way back into the Dorian period, albeit (obviously) without that name. These are structural flaws, in my opinion. But, on to another matter of opinion.I have to object to one idea that is presented in here, even though it is very much in the realm of debate, because I can make my point with evidence you present yourself. In regard to writing during the post Myicinian ‘dark age’ period, I must stress that absence of evidence is NOT evidence of absence… unless it comes with some other hallmarks. For instance, whatever happened to the Minoan civilization around 1500bce caused a full break in their language within 50 years. That’s what a dark age (everyone stopping entirely with the writing) looks like. The Dorian period, even though it was ten times that long, did not result in a loss of written language. To the contrary, it was actually fairly well retained for such a period; this is the reason back-translating from the Phoenician letters that were later adopted is even possible. This suggests that they didn’t stop writing, but rather that there was a fashion to write on things that do not preserve well. Not vases, carvings and statues, in other words.Now, if there were a Chinese archeologist in the room, they might pipe up at this point and say ‘Oh, paper. We’ve had paper for at least that long, and we were trading with the Mediterranean in that period. We might have shown them how, and the Dorians just had posters up all over the place!’ At which point I would have to tell them to shush because western archeologists have convinced themselves that the Egyptians invented paper way later and they will not be convinced otherwise. They get very emotional, I would explain, before pulling the Chinese scholar aside to have an interesting talk between ourselves about the countless obvious ways the west borrowed things from the east, and then forgot they had done so. But there is another answer that we can see from accepted sources and later examples that (just barely) survived; pyrography on thin boards.Both character types are well suited, bronze stylus work so well for pyrography that they are still used today, and the boards last long enough. There are some surviving examples, from centuries later, of things like tables of family relations that survived on that medium. But not many. Once they get ragged, thin boards are tempting as kindling. Even if they didn’t end up as kindling, slips of wood simply do not last more than a thousand years in the alternating humidity and dryness of that region. And there you go; no centuries long ‘dark age’ at all, just a fairly durable fashion to not write on pottery or stone. This is all up for debate, and I deduct no stars for it, even though there are clear logical problems with the ‘dark age’ theory IMO.What I will deduct a star for is perpetuating the myth that the Spartans killed their disabled young, when the translations were pretty clearly mangled on that one until the last few decades. I will say with some authority they almost always exiled those young into the slave classes that had no political power. That’s not fantastic, but… Murdering fully born babies is very wasteful, and every warrior they had required half a dozen other people to keep them swinging. Every ancient people understood this, even the often pig-headed Spartans.This also answers an obvious discrepancy in the tale of the battle of Thermopylae. Many versions of that tale recount how a relative of a warrior (perhaps Leonidas himself) who was variously described as disabled and thus relegated to support, betrayed them in his resentment to the Persians. It’s kind of hard for someone to be infanticided and also fully grown enough to betray their countrymen, is it not?A relatively recent film adaptation of these events was done by some people who were also very fond of this outdated theory, but they wanted to keep that character AND the infanticide, so they just made a weird exception for this one pivotal character. Oh, they also made him extra ugly, I guess to try and prove the rule with an illogical exception to it. That was pretty stupid, but this book comes out more than 15 years later! It’s inexcusable that you don’t even present this myth as being up for debate.And here I am, a lover of Athens, defending Sparta. What a world.Look, the rest of the book works well, and the other flaws I found were minor quibbles compared to that one. The scholarship is generally sound and modern; for instance, Alexander is accurately portrayed as sort of a drunken slutty disaster bisexual. But that Spartan infanticide thing is not only a myth, but a rather destructive one, and perpetuating it is deeply problematic. As it accomplished it’s aims in all other respects, this would be a 4.5-5 star book otherwise. It accomplishes the task it sets out to do, and that’s what a five star breezy history looks like. But with that flaw? I may be too generous giving it four.

Not gonna lie, history books can be a snooze, but this one? It keeps things moving fast, just hits the high points you really gotta know. Plus, it's packed with clickable links if you wanna dive deeper. Super handy, especially if you're reading on an e-reader. Loved the story of Alexander and his horse—it felt like watching a movie unfold. Highly recommend if you're looking to brush up on your Greek history without the headache of a massive textbook!

"Golden Laurels, Silver Seas: A Concise Survey of Greek History from the Bronze Age to the End of the Hellenistic Period" masterfully navigates through the intricate tapestry of Greek history, from its early civilizations to the era of Alexander the Great's conquests. With vivid storytelling and meticulous detail, the book unveils the rich cultural, political, and military landscapes of ancient Greece, offering a captivating journey for both history enthusiasts and novices. Its engaging narrative, enriched with anecdotes of legendary figures like Alexander and insights into societal dynamics, renders this book an invaluable gem in understanding the profound legacy of Greece's historical heritage.

Very often when looking at Greek history, there's so much to cover and think about that it gets very confusing very fast. This book does a great job of simplifying the whole area and providing an easy on-ramp. It helps stoke interest in researching further.