Books on the Ancient Greeks

[Cosima__J]

The ancient Greeks are my current passion. I love to read history books about that period. And also novels like two favorites by Steven Pressfield called "Tides of War; a novel of Alcibiades and the Peloponnesian War" and "Gates of Fire; An Epic Novel of the Battle of Thermopylae"

[Corlyss_D]

How did you stumble upon this passion? I got mine from a presentation of Jean Anouilh's Antigone on WETA-TV in the very early 60s. In the mid-60s, I saw Electra with Irene Papas. The b&w photography and the god-forsaken landscape and the score by Mikis Theodrakis burned into my brain and I was hooked on Greek Tragedy.

[stenka razin]

Would you believe my interest in the Ancient Greeks started as a young teen after becoming enthrolled with Richard Strauss' great opera 'Elektra'!.......My family and neighbors were not too happy about my new highly charged listening experience favorite.........

[Fergus]

Would you believe my interest in the Ancient Greeks started as a young teen after becoming enthrolled with Richard Strauss' great opera 'Elektra'!.......My family and neighbors were not too happy about my new highly charged listening experience favorite.........

Elektra or Heavy Metal both at high volume....what an alternative for a teenager to offer the world

[John F]

Here are a couple of great books - short, too - that I keep coming back to:

Edith Hamilton, "The Greek Way" - history, society, thought, and literature, particularly Athenian, in the Golden Age.

Edith Hamilton, "The Echo of Greece" - a broader view, continuing until the decline of Greece and ascent of Rome.