The Hellenistic Age: a Short History by Peter Green
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Read and Download Ebook The Hellenistic Age: A Short History... The Hellenistic Age: A Short History Peter Green PDF File: The Hellenistic Age: A Short 1 History... Read and Download Ebook The Hellenistic Age: A Short History... The Hellenistic Age: A Short History Peter Green The Hellenistic Age: A Short History Peter Green The Hellenistic era witnessed the overlap of antiquity’s two great Western civilizations, the Greek and the Roman. This was the epoch of Alexander’s vast expansion of the Greco-Macedonian world, the rise and fall of his successors’ major dynasties in Egypt and Asia, and, ultimately, the establishment of Rome as the first Mediterranean superpower. The Hellenistic Age chronicles the years 336 to 30 BCE, from the days of Philip and Alexander of Macedon to the death of Cleopatra and the final triumph of Caesar’s heir, the young Augustus. Peter Green’s remarkably far-ranging study covers the prevalent themes and events of those centuries: the Hellenization of an immense swath of the known world–from Egypt to India–by Alexander’s conquests; the lengthy and chaotic partition of this empire by rival Macedonian marshals after Alexander’s death; the decline of the polis (city state) as the predominant political institution; and, finally, Rome’s moment of transition from republican to imperial rule. Predictably, this is a story of war and power-politics, and of the developing fortunes of art, science, and statecraft in the areas where Alexander’s coming disseminated Hellenic culture. It is a rich narrative tapestry of warlords, libertines, philosophers, courtesans and courtiers, dramatists, historians, scientists, merchants, mercenaries, and provocateurs of every stripe, spun by an accomplished classicist with an uncanny knack for infusing life into the distant past, and applying fresh insights that make ancient history seem alarmingly relevant to our own times. To consider the three centuries prior to the dawn of the common era in a single short volume demands a scholar with a great command of both subject and narrative line. The Hellenistic Age is that rare book that manages to coalesce a broad spectrum of events, persons, and themes into one brief, indispensable, and amazingly accessible survey. The Hellenistic Age: A Short History Details Date : Published April 3rd 2007 by Modern Library (first published 2007) ISBN : 9780679642794 Author : Peter Green Format : Hardcover 240 pages Genre : History, Nonfiction, Ancient History Download The Hellenistic Age: A Short History ...pdf Read Online The Hellenistic Age: A Short History ...pdf Download and Read Free Online The Hellenistic Age: A Short History Peter Green PDF File: The Hellenistic Age: A Short 2 History... Read and Download Ebook The Hellenistic Age: A Short History... From Reader Review The Hellenistic Age: A Short History for online ebook Bruce Reiter says This is a great little book that covers the time period from Alexander to the fall of Egypt as the last Macedonian dynasty. It is only 130 pages with some good maps and an ancestral chart to keep track of the dynastic players. The author includes philosophic insights to include the scientific reasoning of the day and why those of us lower on the food chain are always concerned with ethics. The book is very readable. I was surprised at the wealth of the ancient world and have less good feeling about our republican form of government. Plunder has been and I guess continues to be the name of the game. I used to think Renaissance Italy was a bad place to be a leader or his/her offspring. Can't hold a candle to the machinations of the 300 years after Alexander. Nicholas Bobbitt says Green's introduction, where he gives a rundown of the sources he considers important and valuable to the study of the Hellenistic period, is an excellent way to begin a book on the subject, especially as in his foreword he considers it a "concise treatment" of the period in question. This allows him to point readers in other directions if they find the subject interesting after reading his book. In the first chapter, Green does an excellent job of explaining Alexander's efforts to conquer Greece and Asia, and their unintended consequences of setting the stage for the Hellenistic Age. Through the following chapters, Green attempts, with some success, to explain the period of warring claimants to Alexander's empire. This book succeeds in providing simple, easily understood facts about the period it attempts to provide a concise treatment of, meaning that it has succeeded at its job but not done much else. I am marginally more interested in following up in the sources he recommends throughout the book, but not enough to go out and find them at the moment. In all, the book is one I'll try to keep on my bookshelf until and unless I find a better overview of the period. Mike says As the title suggests ("A Short History") this treatment of the period from Alexander to Augustus sacrifices depth for brevity. Not being familiar with the subject I enjoyed this well-written introduction. Not only is the book a good first overview, it has plenty of notes geared towards further study and a short guide to further reading indicating what the author considers current best texts--as well as the usual bibliography. After reading this I not longer think Oliver Stone's choice of Colin Farrell to play Alexander was a poor one. Bonnie says Good choice for a history text for one of my classes this semester. It was a great supplement to classwork; I enjoyed this one. Although I would have liked for many things to be explained with more detail, I understand that this was a book meant to be brief--and, thus, I've already purchased the much more comprehensive PDF File: The Hellenistic Age: A Short 3 History... Read and Download Ebook The Hellenistic Age: A Short History... "From Alexander to Actium." Christina Baehr says Not a great read, but full of gems of information. For instance, the Greeks knew about a lot of technology that they didn’t bother to pursue or develop - including, amazingly, steam power! Why? Because they lived in a constant state of fear of their massive slave populations. Think about it, a water wheel could grind 150kg of wheat per day, as per against your slave grinding 7 kg. But what is that slave going to do all day if you get a water wheel? Anatolikon says Peter Green has crafted a very readable and well-rounded history of the Hellenistic Age in the eastern Mediterranean, from the death of Alexander to Rome's conquest of the squabbling Greek kingdoms. It is nice to see such an accessible, cheap volume put out by a major historian in the field. The reason that I don't give it 5 stars is because at times it feels extremely rushed. A lot of detail is sacrificed, and trying to follow some events is mind boggling. While the book itself is good, the real reason to own this volume is for the appendices. There are some excellent tables depicting the very convoluted family trees of the various Hellenistic dynasties. The Ptolemy tree is an especially welcome addition. The maps are nothing terribly special, but there are a number of them and they're crisp, clear and easy to read. (The Aegean one is a little squished, but it is well-labeled.) The chronological table is also wonderful for making sense of this fast-paced era. This book is more than worth its price tag for an introduction into the era. More advanced students will want to look at Dr. Green's 'Alexander to Actium', but this little book has a lot of good stuff inside. Coyle says The Hellenistic Age: A Short History is basically the, well, short version of Green's longer work (and magnum opus) Alexander to Actium: The Historical Evolution of the Hellenistic Age. Even more, this book has the benefit of being the result of 20 more years of scholarship and reflection on Green's part. In the Introduction, Green discusses both terms, and the state of Hellenistic scholarship. In addition to the standing-Classical-world problem of lack of sources, Hellenistic scholarship also suffers from over- specialization. That is, there are all sorts of focused studies on coins, inscriptions, papyri, politics, and so on, but few comprehensive narrative studies. This book is an attempt to correct that lack. Unfortunately, the Hellenistic Age (roughly from the death of Alexander through death of Mark Antony and Cleopatra) is one of the least understood and studied eras of the Classical period. This is unfortunate, because it is an era so much like our own. Huge nation states are regularly at war with each other, the poor are trampled by the rich, massive mechanized armies march across the landscape, and arts and sciences have functionally died. Even more, the politics of the day are a tangled nightmare of dynastic intrigue, backstabbing, and calling on powerful outsiders to solve local problems. Dr. Green untangles this mess in a way that makes this three hundred year stretch a delight to learn about. Not that the period itself is PDF File: The Hellenistic Age: A Short 4 History... Read and Download Ebook The Hellenistic Age: A Short History... particularly delightful- all the nasty stuff that goes on today (extermination of minorities, persecution of the Jews, destruction of the environment) was going on then too, but without the softening influence of 2000 years of Christian history. Recommended for those interested in Ancient history. Daniel Morgan says this is a fascinating history of the Hellenistic kingdoms from Alexander to Rome.