Best of
Greece

2008

The Landmark Thucydides: A Comprehensive Guide to the Peloponnesian War


Thucydides - 2008
    Considered essential reading for generals, statesmen, and liberally educated citizens for more than 2,000 years, The Peloponnesian War is a mine of military, moral, political, and philosophical wisdom.However, this classic book has long presented obstacles to the uninitiated reader. Written centuries before the rise of modern historiography, Thucydides' narrative is not continuous or linear. His authoritative chronicle of what he considered the greatest war of all time is rigorous and meticulous, yet omits the many aids to comprehension modern readers take for granted—such as brief biographies of the story's main characters, maps and other visual enhancements, and background on the military, cultural, and political traditions of ancient Greece.Robert Strassler's new edition amends these omissions, and not only provides a new coherence to the narrative overall but effectively reconstructs the lost cultural context that Thucydides shared with his original audience. Based on the venerable Richard Crawley translation, updated and revised for modern readers, The Landmark Thucydides includes a vast array of superbly designed and presented maps, brief informative appendices by outstanding classical scholars on subjects of special relevance to the text, explanatory marginal notes on each page, an index of unprecedented subtlety and depth, and numerous other useful features. Readers will find that with this edition they can dip into the text at any point and be immediately oriented with regard to the geography, season, date, and stage of the conflict.In any list of the Great Books of Western Civilization, The Peloponnesian War stands near the top. This handsome, elegant, and authoritative new edition will ensure that its greatness is appreciated by future generations.

Captain Corelli’s Mandolin


Louis de Bernières - 2008
    It is 1941. The Italian officer, Captain Corelli, falls in love with Pelagia, a young Greek girl. But Pelegia's fiance is fighting the Italian army.

Paradise Lost: Smyrna, 1922


Giles Milton - 2008
    The city's vast wealth created centuries earlier by powerful Levantine dynasties, its factories teemed with Greeks, Armenians, Turks, and Jews. Together, they had created a majority Christian city that was unique in the Islamic world. But to the Turkish nationalists, Smyrna was a city of infidels.In the aftermath of the First World War and with the support of the Great Powers, Greece had invaded Turkey with the aim of restoring a Christian empire in Asia. But by the summer of 1922, the Greeks had been vanquished by Atatürk's armies after three years of warfare. As Greek troops retreated, the non-Muslim civilians of Smyrna assumed that American and European warships would intervene if and when the Turkish cavalry decided to enter the city. But this was not to be.On September 13, 1922, Turkish troops descended on Smyrna. They rampaged first through the Armenian quarter, and then throughout the rest of the city. They looted homes, raped women, and murdered untold thousands. Turkish soldiers were seen dousing buildings with petroleum. Soon, all but the Turkish quarter of the city was in flames and hundreds of thousands of refugees crowded the waterfront, desperate to escape. The city burned for four days; by the time the embers cooled, more than 100,000 people had been killed and millions left homeless.Based on eyewitness accounts and the memories of survivors, many interviewed for the first time, Paradise Lost offers a vivid narrative account of one of the most vicious military catastrophes of the modern age.

The Penguin Book of Classical Myths


Jennifer R. March - 2008
    Whether it's Ikaros flying too close to the sun, Prometheus stealing fire from the gods or the tragedy of Oedipus, their characters have inspired art, literature, plays and films, and constellations named after them fill the night sky. But how much do you really know about them?From the clash of the Titans to the fall of Troy, here are the greatest legends of all time, brilliantly retold by classical scholar Jenny March. All the heroes, monsters, villains, gods and goddesses of classical civilization are included; the epic journeys of Odysseus and Aeneas; the founding of Athens and Rome; the quests of Jason seeking the Golden Fleece and Theseus slaying the minotaur. Giving the origins, development and interpretation of each myth, this is the essential guide to the stories that have shaped our world.

Tyrant


Christian Cameron - 2008
    But when he returns to his native city, he finds not glory but shame—and exile. With nothing to his name but his military skills, Kineas agrees to lead a band of veterans to the city of Olbia, where the Tyrant is offering good money to train the city's elite cavalry. But soon Kineas and his men find they have stumbled into a deadly maze of intrigue and conspiracy as the Tyrant plots to use them as pawns in increasingly complex power games between his own citizens and the dread military might of Macedon. Caught between his duty to the Tyrant, his loyalty to his men, and a forbidden love affair with a charismatic Scythian noblewoman, Kineas must call on all his Athenian guile, his flair on the battlefield, and even—he is convinced—the intervention of the gods, to survive. Includes a glossary.

Later Plays (The Norton Shakespeare, Based on the Oxford Edition, Vol 2)


William Shakespeare - 2008
    Twenty-seven carefully chosen works—including an isorhythmic motet by Ciconia, an English carol, a Janequin chanson, and lute composition by Ortiz—offer representative examples of the genres and composers of the period. Commentaries following each score present a careful analysis of the music, and online links to purchase and download recordings make listening easier than ever.

Masters Of Greek Thought: Plato, Socrates, And Aristotle


Robert C. Bartlett - 2008
    

Philip II of Macedonia


Ian Worthington - 2008
    But what of his father, Philip II, who united Macedonia, created the best army in the world at the time, and conquered and annexed Greece? This landmark biography is the first to bring Philip to life, exploring the details of his life and legacy and demonstrating that his achievements were so remarkable that it can be argued they outshone those of his more famous son. Without Philip, Greek history would have been entirely different.Taking into account recent archaeological discoveries and reinterpreting ancient literary records, Ian Worthington brings to light Philip’s political, economic, military, social, and cultural accomplishments. He reveals the full repertoire of the king’s tactics, including several polygamous diplomatic marriages, deceit, bribery, military force, and a knack for playing off enemies against one another. The author also inquires into the king’s influences, motives, and aims, and in particular his turbulent, unraveling relationship with Alexander, which may have ended in murder. Philip became in many ways the first modern regent of the ancient world, and this book places him where he properly belongs: firmly at the center stage of Greek history.

A Short Border Handbook


Gazmend Kapllani - 2008
    However, on arriving in the promised land, he finds neither lots of willing leggy lovelies nor a warm welcome from his long-lost Greek cousins. Instead, he gets banged up in a detention center in a small border town. As Gazi and his fellow immigrants try to find jobs, they begin to plan their future lives in Greece, imagining riches and successes which always remain just beyond their grasp. The sheer absurdity of their plans and their new lives is overwhelming. Both detached and involved, ironic and emotional, Kapllani interweaves the story of his experience with meditations upon border syndrome—a mental state, as much as a geographical experience—to create a brilliantly observed, amusing, and perceptive debut.

The Cambridge Companion to the Aegean Bronze Age


Cynthia W. Shelmerdine - 2008
    In essays by leading authorities commissioned especially for this volume, it covers the history and the material culture of Crete, Greece, and the Aegean Islands from c. 3000--1100 BCE, as well as topics such as trade, religions, and economic administration. Intended as a reliable, readable introduction for university students, it will also be useful to scholars in related fields within and outside classics. The contents of this book are arranged chronologically and geographically, facilitating comparison between the different cultures. Within this framework, the cultures of the Aegean Bronze Age are assessed thematically and combine both material culture and social history.

What Happened to the Ancient Library of Alexandria?


Mostafa El-Abbadi - 2008
    The book covers a wide range of topics, beginning with an initial presentation of different Ancient Egyptian types of library institutions, with a special focus on the later Coptic Nag Hamadi Library. It then deals with the troubled times under later Ptolemies and Romans, when the Royal Library, the Daughter Library and the Mouseion, came under a succession of threats: Caesar s Alexandrian War in 48 B.C., and during the tragic developments in the third and fourth centuries which ultimately culminated in the destruction of the Serapeum that housed the Daughter Library. A discussion of the intellectual milieu during the fourth and fifth centuries, follows, as well as the conflicting attitudes within the Church with regard to classical learning. An analysis of historical and new archaeological evidence confirms the fact that Alexandria continued to be a city of books and scholarship centuries after the destruction of the Library. Finally, the late medieval Arab story of the destruction of the Library by order of Caliph Omar, is fully considered and refuted through textual analysis of the original sources. Contributors include: William J. Cherf, Dimitar Y. Dimitrov, Maria Dzielska, Mostafa A. El-Abbadi, Jean-Yves Empereur, Fayza M. Haikal, Georges Leroux, Bernard Lewis, Grzegorz Majcherek, Mounir H. Megally, Birger A. Pearson, Lucien X. Polastron, Qassem Abdou Qassem, and Ismail Serageldin."

Francesco's Mediterranean Voyage: A Cultural Journey Through the Mediterranean from Venice to Istanbul


Francesco Da Mosto - 2008
    Sailing in a late nineteenth-century yawl, his journey starts in Venice and finishes in Istanbul. Along the way he takes in spectacular ruins, like the Acropolis in Athens and the Lycian Tombs in Turkey; sacred sites like the monasteries of Mount Athos and the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul; and beautiful Dubrovnik (destroyed and rebuilt in the last decade). Ancient history and bygone legends intertwine as Francesco visits these wonderful ancient sites, bringing the past vividly to life, and taking readers on a thrilling cultural odyssey. Beautifully illustrated throughout, this book will be a must for fans of Francesco everywhere.

The Wars of Alexander's Successors 323 - 281 BC, Volume 1: Commanders and Campaigns


Bob Bennett - 2008
    There ensued a long series of struggles between his generals and governors for control of these territories. Most of these Diadochi (Successors) were consummate professionals who had learnt the art of war under Alexander or even his father, Philip. Few died a peaceful death and the last survivors of this tough breed were still leading their armies against each other well into their seventies.Colorful characters, epic battles, treachery and subterfuge make this a period with great appeal to anyone interested in ancient history and ancient warfare in particular. The wars shaped the map from the Balkans to India for the next couple of centuries.This first volume introduces the key personalities - characters such as Antigonos 'Monopthalmus' (the One-eyed) and his son 'Demetrius 'Poliorcetes' (the Besieger), Seleucus 'Nicator' ('the Victorious') and Ptolemy 'Soter' ('the Saviour') - and gives a narrative of the causes and course of these wars from the death of Alexander to the Battle of Corupedium (281 BC) when the last two original Diadochi faced each other one final time.

Hoplite: Torch of Prometheus


Michael Pritsos - 2008
    Hoplite: Torch of Prometheus is a historical fiction novel taking place in Greece nearly two and a half millennia ago. Torch of Prometheus begins in 413 B.C. Maxites is a twenty-year old warrior of the fictional town of Devanum, sworn allegiance to the Athenian League, and is eager to join the war between an advanced Athens and bloodthirsty Sparta. Devanum is able to send out a small force of men to aid the Athenians, led by Maxites' oldest brother Dioxiphos. In a string of bloody battles, conversations with the gods, an untimely marriage, journeys on land and voyages by sea, Maxites must learn to deal with bonds forged and severed, what the difference is between Athenians and Spartans, the truth of his past, and the loss of those he loves.

The Olympian: A Tale of Ancient Hellas


E.S. Kraay - 2008
    That same year, 480 BCE by our reckoning, the Persian Emprie ruled the known world save for that small peninsula dominated by a dozen democratic city-states. To avenge the defeat of his father on the plain of Marathon 10 years earlier, Xerxes, the Great King amassed an army a million men strong to bring these free states to heel. Amid the cheering crowds, the sweat, dust and blood on the Elisian fields of friendly strife, and threatened by the impending clash of armies with the fate of Western Civilization in the balance, two men, one a boxer, the other a poet, come to the revelation that the true worth of a man is based on more than what he does for himself. The Olympian explores a little known reason why only 300 Spartans faced a million men in the Thermopylae Pass, and stands as tribute to those extraordinary warriors who waged a battle that saved Western culture.

Written on the Knee: A Diary from the Greek-Italian Front of WWII


Theodore Electris - 2008
    Theodore Electris, newly married and idealistic, was called up to the Greek-Italian front in the remote mountains of Albania. Homesick, hungry and desperately missing his young wife, Chrysoula, he kept an intimate journal to preserve his experiences for her.Translated by his daughter, Helen Electrie Lindsay, Electris’s entries and letters come together in Written on the Knee. Fully illustrated and accompanied by supporting reference material, the collection serves as both an authentic historical document of Greek involvement in WWII and a story of love, separation and family ties threatened and strengthened by war.Often overlooked in the scope of WWII, Greece’s six-month conflict with Mussolini’s forces played a pivotal role in the war’s outcome. The small country’s fierce resistance against the Italians delayed Hitler’s move into the Soviet Union, which many historians believe turned the war in favor of the Allies.From Dr. Electris’s first entry to his last, Written on the Knee captures the true story of love and war during a crucial time in modern history.

Divine Baby Names: The Legendary Names of Greek and Roman Gods, Goddesses, Demi-Gods, Demi-Goddesses, Heroes, Heroines, Royal Personages, and Fantastic Mythological Beings for Your Divine Baby


Eric Groves - 2008
    Each of the more than 500 legendary name entries include the name and its pronunciation, its meaning, notes on related names, the story of the famed individual who possessed the name in Greek and Roman history, and a list of noteworthy people who share the name. Learn of Althea, the One Who Is a Healer; Claire, the One Who Is Bright and Clear; Hermione, the princess daughter of Queen Helen of Sparta; and Zoe, the One Who Is Life Itself. Read the stories of Ajax, the Mighty Warrior; Griffin, a noble and powerful mystical creature; Isaac, Emperor of Byzantium and the One Who Laughs; and Talos, the One Who Is the Sun. Divine Baby Names will give parents hundreds of epic, timeless names that are worthy of the four million little gods and goddesses born in the U.S. annually.

Aegean Waves: Artworks of the Early Cycladic Culture in the Museum of Cycladic Art at Athens


Nicholas Chr. Stampolidis - 2008
    This beautiful illustrated book explores these periods in Cycladic culture and how the natural environment of the islands shaped its art. It also addresses the settlements of these periods and the artifacts produced by their potters, marble-carvers, and metalworkers. Maps are interspersed throughout the text, along with a chronological table, plans of known settlements, cemeteries, and individual tombs, as well as photographs of archaeological digs and landscapes by well-known photographers. Items from the Museum’s Collection are also presented, followed by commentary and comprehensive text that venture at the items’ probable significance and functions.

The Oxford New Greek Dictionary


Oxford University Press - 2008
    Original.

Surrealism in Greece: An Anthology


Nikos Stabakis - 2008
    Despite producing much first-rate work throughout the rest of the twentieth century, Greek surrealists have not been widely read outside of Greece. This volume seeks to remedy that omission by offering authoritative translations of the major works of the most important Greek surrealist writers.Nikos Stabakis groups the Greek surrealists into three generations: the founders (such as Andreas Embirikos, Nikos Engonopoulos, and Nicolas Calas), the second generation, and the Pali Group, which formed around the magazine Pali. For each generation, he provides a very helpful introduction to the themes and concerns that animate their work, as well as concise biographies of each writer. Stabakis anthologizes translations of all the key surrealist works of each generation--poetry, prose, letters, and other documents--as well as a selection of rarer texts. His introduction to the volume places Greek surrealism within the context of the international movement, showing how Greek writers and artists used surrealism to express their own cultural and political realities.

Mathematical Physiology II: Systems Physiology


James Keener - 2008
    The second, more extensive part discusses particular physiological systems, with chapters on calcium dynamics, bursting oscillations and secretion, cardiac cells, muscles, intercellular communication, the circulatory system, the immune system, wound healing, the respiratory system, the visual system, hormone physiology, renal physiology, digestion, the visual system and hearing.New chapters on Calcium Dynamics, Neuroendocrine Cells and Regulation of Cell Function have been included.

Aegean Tales


Pan Bouyoucas - 2008
    Shortlisted for the Governor General's Literary Award for Fiction in 2001 and hailed by critics as a masterpiece, The Other begins during the German occupation of the Greek island of Leros. Young Thomas has plans to become a seaman and sail the oceans, but on his way to the harbour, he makes a detour and loses one of his legs in an explosion. Thomas spends years wondering what his life might have been had he turned right instead of left. Then one day, he meets his double - a man who once shared his dreams and was allowed to pursue them. Winner of the Prix litteraire des collegiens in 2005 and a bestseller in Quebec and France, Anna Why recounts the conflict between two caretakers at the Church of the Blessed Virgin: Sister Veroniki, a young novice full of religious zeal, and Sister Nicoletta, a world-wise ex-missionary who believes that only the humane way you practise a faith matters, not the slavish following of a doctrine. As the two nuns try to deal with their differences and their solitude, the deacon Maximos, hired to restore the church's icons, falls in love with Sister Veroniki.

That Greece Might Still Be Free: The Philhellenes in the War of Independence


William St. Clair - 2008
    More than a thousand volunteers set out to fight for the cause. The Philhellenes, whether they set out to recreate the Athens of Pericles, start a new crusade, or make money out of a war, all felt that Greece had unique claim on the sympathy of the world. As Byron wrote, 'I dreamed that Greece might Still be Free'; and he died at Missolonghi trying to translate that dream into reality.William St Clair's meticulously researched and highly readable account of their aspirations and experiences was hailed as definitive when it was first published. Long out of print, it remains the standard account of the Philhellenic movement and essential reading for any students of the Greek War of Independence, Byron, and European Romanticism. Its relevance to more modern ethnic and religious conflicts is becoming increasingly appreciated by scholars worldwide. This new and revised edition includes a new Introduction by Roderick Beaton, an updated Bibliography and many new illustrations.

Greek Laughter: A Study of Cultural Psychology from Homer to Early Christianity


Stephen Halliwell - 2008
    Taking material from various genres & contexts, the book analyses both the theory & the practice of laughter as a revealing expression of Greek values & mentalities. Greek society developed distinctive institutions for the celebration of laughter as a capacity which could bridge the gap between humans & gods; but it also feared laughter for its power to expose individuals & groups to shame & even violence. Caught between ideas of pleasure & pain, friendship & enmity, laughter became a theme of recurrent interest in various contexts. Employing a sophisticated model of cultural history, Stephen Halliwell traces elaborations of the theme in a series of important texts: ranging far beyond modern accounts of 'humor', he shows how perceptions of laughter helped to shape Greek conceptions of the body, the mind & the meaning of life.

Forgotten Anzacs: The Campaign in Greece, 1941


Peter Ewer - 2008
    Comprehensive and gripping, this examination follows the group on their long retreat through Greece while depicting uncanny similarities to the original Gallipoli operation a generation earlier. Based on rarely accessed archives and more than 30 interviews with Australian, Greek, and New Zealand veterans, this superb narrative gives overdue recognition to the brave, forgotten Anzacs of 1941.

Leon's story


Christian Cameron - 2008
    The adventures of the former slave as he travels east of the Sea of Grass.Free short story that can be found on the author's official websitehttp://www.hippeis.com/tyrant-series-...

Troy


Ann Kerns - 2008
    Homer's story has been told and retold for centuries, but until the middle of the nineteenth century, the site of Troy remained a mystery. In the 1870s, Heinrich Schliemann, a self-taught archaeologist fascinated with tales of ancient Greek heroes, set out on his own search for the lost city. Schliemann began his excavations at Hissarlik in Turkey. He had no training as an archaeologist, but he was wealthy and determined. The terrain at Hissarlik seemed to be very similar to Homer's descriptions in The Iliad. When his workers unearthed ancient walls and he uncovered fabulous golden treasure, Schliemann was sure he had found Troy. But had he?