The Greeks (Penguin History)
by H. D. F. Kitto
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Book Summary Information
Author: H. D. F. KittoEdition: Perfect Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1991
ISBN: 0140135219
Number of pages: 256
Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Book Reviews of The Greeks (Penguin History)
Book Review: "Nostoi is a-comin'...their sails are in sight!"
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a classic work about a classical civilizationwritten by a classical scholar with very definite opinions,
as well as his being very oriented to talking with a
British, a.k.a, English audience. [He describes Athens
as being in the the territory of Attica, "which is
slightly smaller than Gloucestershire, and in their
greatest period were about as numerous as the inhabitants
of Bristol."]
To an American, a "modern American," this work, first
published in 1951, may sound a bit quaint. But-cha
has to work with him -- not a'gin' him. Listen to him.
Don't be no "barbaros" - baa, baa, baa...git them sheeps
outta here!
This work is divided into 12 chapters -- half the number
of chapters [24] apportioned to the Books of the epic
poems of the Hellenes, _Iliad_ and _Odyssey_ -- so we,
as "moderns" might salute him for his brevity. The
chapter titles are: Introduction; The Formation of
the Greek People; The Country; Homer; The Polis;
Classical Greece: The Early Period; Classical Greece:
The Fifth Century; The Greeks at War; The Decline of
the Polis; The Greek Mind; Myth and Religion; Life
and Character.
From the opening foot step out of the starter's
block, Kitto sets the tone. For he says that the
Greeks emerged as "a people, not very numerous, not
very powerful, not very well organized, who had a
totally new conception of what human life was for,
and showed for the first time what the human mind
was for." Ka-boom! I'm listenin'; I don't know
about you!
Kitto says that the Greeks [a name applied to them
later by the conquering Romans -- and still applied to
them today--are they still a "conquered people?" Do
we love the Roman culture more than we revere the
Hellenic culture? After all, who civilized the Romans?]
quite simply and naturally felt that they were different
from the peoples who surrounded them. Kitto says that
the difference which the Greeks felt was not just one
of language (because the foreigners did not speak
Greek), but also because the foreigners did not "live"
as Greeks, nor "think" as Greeks, either. Of course,
Kitto does not address what effect a language has,
psychologically and culturally, on the thinking and
living of its speakers - as well as the programming
of the writing pattern of the language on the thinking
and analyzing patterns of its users.
Kitto says that if we asked the ancient Greek what
distinguished him from the barbarian (any and all non-
Greeks), he would not point out the triumphs of the
Greek mind, nor the fine temples, statues, or plays...
he would say, "The barbarians are slaves; we Hellenes
are free men." Kitto goes on to point out that this
"eleutheria" was more than political freedom, or
freedom from Fate and the gods [which the Greeks did
not have] -- though they did have "the dignity of
being a man" even in the face of these trials...
it was because the Greeks "developed a form of
POLITY [relation between the citizen and his state]
which both stimulated and satisfied man's higher
instincts and capabilities."
Immensely satisfying...so sit down with a cup of
wine, some goat cheese, and some grapes...and slowly
savor this man and his analysis of ancient Greece.
* * * * * * * * *
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