If your knowledge of all things Greek is a little lacking or rusty then this is the perfect book for getting you up to speed. One of those great books for dipping in to whether it is the language, the history, the politics or drama that grabs your interest, this book will inform and educate you in all things Greek and about the influence ancient Greece has had on so much of our lives. Modern references keep it up to date and relevant. The perfect gift for anyone with a vague interest in history!
Why are some laws draconian? What is an Achilles heel? Why were the Spartans spartan? Charlotte Higgins answers all these questions and more in this indispensable guide to the greatest civilisation the world has ever known.
Consider the way we think: about right and wrong, about the nature of beauty, goodness, and truth. About what, in the end, it is to be a human being amid the immensity of the universe. What it is to be mortal, to live for a brief while, and die. All this we have learned from the ancient Greeks. They moulded the basic disciplines and genres in which we still organise thought: from poetry to drama, from politics to philosophy, from history to medicine, and even ethnography.
Packed with useful cribs – history timelines; mythology for dummies; even a map for those who struggle to know their Lemnos from their Lesbos – It’s All GreekTo Me is a bluffer’s guide in one sense; but it is much more than that. This book aims to unlock the richness of Greek culture and place it where it should be, in the mainstream of life.
Charlotte Higgins began her career in journalism on Vogue magazine. She has worked for the Guardian for 10 years; since 2004 she has been the paper's arts correspondent. Charlotte studied classics at Balliol College, Oxford, and lives in London.