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Title: The Greek Way by Edith Hamilton ISBN: 0-393-31077-9 Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company Pub. Date: August, 1993 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.06 (18 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Loving Ode to the Greek Spirit
Comment: Who were the ancient Greeks and why do they still move us? Their society is as alien to us as their language. Yet Greece still beckons us more than two millennia since the fall of Athens. The pinnacle of Greek culture lasted a mere century, yet it has left its mark on all of western society. The great intellectual institutions, such as philosophy, science and literature, originated in Greece. Beyond these marvels, however, lies a value so fundamentally important - and enduring - that a basic understanding of the Greeks is as important today as ever.
In The Greek Way, author Edith Hamilton covers the height of Greek culture in the 5th century BC. She begins by contrasting the east and west - an approach that becomes clear as one reads along. The east, according to Hamilton, stood for faith and force, while Greece embodied the opposite values of reason and freedom. Early in the book, Hamilton writes: "In a world where the irrational had played the chief role, they (the Greeks) came forward as the protagonists of the mind." Thus, the Greeks introduced to the world the idea that the universe was orderly, that man's senses were valid and, as a consequence, that man's proper purpose was to live his own life to the fullest. These are discoveries that many westerners take for granted today, but not Edith Hamilton. Throughout the book, she constantly reminds the reader of the awe and beauty of the Greek spirit.
An important corollary of the Greek view that the world is knowable was their belief in the supremacy of independence. Hamilton paints a vivid portrait of the major Greek writers, statesmen and philosophers, all of whom possessed just such an intransigent commitment to independence. She writes: "Authoritarianism and submissiveness were not the direction it (the Greeks' spirit) pointed to. A high-spirited people full of physical vigor do not obey easily..." and further: "...each man must himself be a research worker in the truth if he were ever to attain to any share in it..."
5th century Athens was also the birthplace of political freedom. Though Hamilton does not provide a thorough analysis of this great development, she does offer hints throughout. In her chapter on the historian Herodotus, she explains his view of the Greeks during the war against the Persians: "A free democracy resisted a slave-supported tyranny." "Mere numbers were powerless against the spirit of free men fighting to defend their freedom." Why did Herodotus believe that free men were more powerful? Hamilton answers: "The basis of Athenian democracy was the conviction...that the average man can be depended upon to do his duty and to use good sense in doing it. Trust the individual was the avowed doctrine in Athens, and expressed or unexpressed it was common to Greece."
The Greeks, contrary to popular myth, were not a particularly religious people. While it is true that they had their gods, it is important to note that they did not place great importance on mystical beliefs. Indeed, what gods they did revere were the opposite of the Christian doctrine that man was made "in God's image." The Greek gods were made in the image of man. They were neither omnipotent nor omnipresent. Hamilton contrasts the Greek and eastern views of religion: "Before Greece, all religion was magical." She further illustrates that mystical beliefs were based on fear of the unknown, whereas the Greeks "changed a world that was full of fear into a world full of beauty."
A minor flaw in Hamilton's book is her overuse of examples, particularly in the chapters where she discusses the playwrights Aristophanes, Æschylus, Sophocles and Euripides. Though she deftly contrasts the Greek way of writing with the eastern and modern approaches, the reader drowns in the minutiae. Hamilton was perhaps attempting to impress the reader with her depth of knowledge, but given the tone of the rest of the book, these examples disrupt her otherwise clear and concise writing.
The Greek Way is a joy to read. In it, Hamilton presents an integrated view of ancient Greece and the important legacy left for modern man. She successfully shows that the Greeks were rational, purposeful and happy people, intent on achieving their values in this world. If one could choose a single expression that characterizes the essence of Greek values, it is man worship. The Greeks worshiped man for what he was and what he could be. In Edith Hamilton's The Greek Way, we see that spirit shine brightly down through the ages.
Rating: 5
Summary: An excellent introduction to the Greeks
Comment: This book is a great little collection of essays explaining why the Greeks are important to us.
It is especially important and timely today. We need to be reminded about the Greeks, and remember them, especially when some cultural forces would just as soon pop them into the oubliette and let them be forgotten forever.
The Greeks were champions of reason, and were the first society on earth to relegate the priesthood to a marginal role. As Edith Hamilton describes it, the priest was given his temple, and was given the authority to perform the holy rites and rituals when citizens asked for these services. End of duties. Priests were certainly not consulted on matters of public policy.
The Greek word "school" derives from their word for leisure, for the Greeks naturally assumed that anyone who had the blessing of leisure would use that time in the pursuit of knowledge, truth, and wisdom. Their word, "philosophy," means "the love of wisdom."
There's much more in here. The Greeks stood one hundred percent in favor of freedom, against despotism and mysticism. They felt that anyone who could not speak his mind was nothing better than a slave. This makes a great contrast with contemporary society,
where much speech is forbidden (de facto) because it might hurt someone's feelings.
Read this book to open your eyes to the wonders of European history. It's not academic reading, at all. It states passionate opinions with passion. The opinions are, by and large,
admirable and justifiable.
It is not possible to find another origin to Western civilization. Science, democracy, and physics were born here. An admirable and courageous people, really brilliant.
Highest recommendation!!
Rating: 5
Summary: An ode to history
Comment: This is simply a good old-fashioned history of Greek culture, and Mr. Hamilton is not at all apologetic for the constant praise she gives to the Greeks. Many other reviewers have pointed out the strengths of this book, and they are all accurate. However, this book is more than an ode to the Greeks. It is also a celebration of history. "It is ever to be borne in mind that though the outside of human life changes much, the inside changes little, and the lesson book we cannot graduate from is human experience." This book goes a long way toward capturing a crucial part of our human experience, and I highly recommend it to anyone who agrees with Ms. Hamilton on the primacy of history. The book is crucial for anyone who needs help understand human nature, and that should be all of us.
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Title: The Roman Way by Edith Hamilton ISBN: 0393310787 Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company Pub. Date: August, 1993 List Price(USD): $11.95 |
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Title: The Echo of Greece by Edith Hamilton ISBN: 0393002314 Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company Pub. Date: February, 1964 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
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Title: Mythology by Edith Hamilton ISBN: 0316341517 Publisher: Back Bay Books Pub. Date: 14 September, 1998 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
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Title: Greek Ways: How the Greeks Created Western Civilization by Bruce Thornton ISBN: 1893554570 Publisher: Encounter Books Pub. Date: November, 2002 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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Title: Sailing the Wine-Dark Sea: Why the Greeks Matter by Thomas Cahill ISBN: 0385495536 Publisher: Nan A. Talese Pub. Date: 28 October, 2003 List Price(USD): $27.50 |
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