The Greeks: A Global History

Review 'A monumental, sweeping history of the Greeks covering more than three thousand years right up to the present day. Authoritative, compelling, and beautifully written. A wonderful book.' -- Peter Frankopan, author of The Silk Roads 'A masterpiece, from a towering expert in all things Greek.' -- Gregory Nagy, Harvard University 'A remarkable and readable book: this single, masterful volume lays out the entire thirty-five-century history of the Greek-speaking peoples.For anyone who wants to understand Greece today, this is the place to start.' -- Ian Morris, author of Why the West Rules―For Now 'A consistently illuminating encapsulation of the manifold achievements of one of the globe's most creative and inspirational peoples.' -- Paul Cartledge 'An authoritative guide to the countless ways in which Greek words and ideas have shaped the modern world...erudite and highly readable.' ― Financial Times 'To write a book on this scale is an act of both intellectual daring and generosity, and it is testimony to Beaton's craft as historian and storyteller that so sizeable a work might still leave one wanting more.' ― TLS 'All-inclusive.' ― Telegraph The Greeks is a scintillating and important book. While it is written in clean, unadulterated prose, the author's personality shines through in his occasionally unexpected choice of words...The result is a narrative that feels fresh and engaging but also timeless. -- Daisy Dunn ― Literary Review 'Beaton is probably the only person alive who could manage with such subtlety and authority to convey it in one coherent volume...With this remarkable historical account, Beaton points us towards answers. This dazzling series of peoples with their many civilisations, identities and traditions have animated the world - and they continue, as always, to be on the move.' -- Katherine Fleming ― Guardian - Book of the Day Beaton is an academic with an Olympian perspective and a clear brisk style, who knows as much about Greece's modern culture as he does about its history. His love for its recent plays and poetry, its films and novels, is what gives his histories their special savour. -- Thomas .W. Hodgkinson ― Spectator 'Meticulously researched' ― Choice Magazine 'Roderick Beaton's magnificent new gallop through 3,000 years of history...a nuanced and engaging anlysis of the various peoples who have spoken Greek.' ― BBC History Magazine 'Beaton succeeds in offering a concise, entertaining and reliable companion that is a more than worthy successor.' ― History Today Product Description *Longlisted for the Anglo-Hellenic League Runciman Award 2022* 'A wonderful book.' Peter Frankopan 'A masterpiece.' Gregory Nagy, Harvard University 'Remarkable' Ian Morris, author of Why the West Rules-For Now The way we think. The way we learn. The entertainment we seek. The way we are governed. It all began on the mountains and islands of Europe's southeastern edge, more than 3,000 years ago. The Greeks is the story of a culture that has contributed more than any other to the way we live now in the West. It is a story that travels the entire globe and four millennia, taking us from the archaeological treasures of the Bronze Age Aegean, myths of gods and heroes, to the politics of the European Union today. Here are the glories of the classical city-states of Athens and Sparta, the far-reaching conquests of Alexander the Great, the foundations of early Christianity, the thousand-year empire of the Byzantines, and the rediscoveries of the Renaissance and the Enlightenment. It is a history of inventions, such as the alphabet, philosophy, and science -- but also of reinvention, as Greeks adapted to catastrophic change and found new ways to survive and make their mark on the world around them; not least today, across a diaspora spread over five continents. The product of a lifetime's research by one of the subject's most esteemed experts, this is the epic, revelatory story of the Greeks and their glob