Ancient Greek Civilization, and: Pericles: A Sourcebook and Reader (review)

While both these books are aimed at an undergraduate readership, their ultimate targets are slightly different. Sansone’s book is ideally suited as a textbook for an introductory course on Greek society or civilization generally, although it does provide a clear and concise picture of the sweep of Greek history. Tracy draws together both literary and archaeological sources for the life and career of Pericles and places him within his historical context. He states that his intended audience is a senior high-school or junior undergraduate student and this is reflected in his very basic introduction to fifth-century bchistory and his presentation of primary sources in English alone. Thus his book would be best suited to an introductory Greek history course or one that focuses on biographies and careers of famous individuals.

The first edition of Sansone’s text received overwhelmingly positive reviews. The second edition retains the best features of the original while improving and expanding a few areas to make the book more user-friendly. The new edition includes larger format, illustrated chapter headings, extra pictures, maps, and chronological charts, but this is not just window-dressing. Chapter headings now include a list of all sub-headings and abstracts of content which emphasize important points in the material. Maps, pictures, and charts clarify the discussion or add context at relevant points in the text, but perhaps the most useful new feature is the inclusion of translated excerpts from primary works mentioned in the text. These appear throughout the book, allowing students to see for themselves the quality and nature of written evidence upon which modern theories are based. This highlights one of the most useful features of Sansone’s text: his emphasis throughout on the changing nature of our understanding of the ancient world and the need to question primary evidence, both physical and written. This point is often overlooked by undergraduates in their study of the ancient world.

Sansone begins with a brief foreword discussing the impact of Greece on western culture generally, and situating the ancient Greeks spatially and temporally. In twelve chapters, he covers Greek culture chronologically from the Bronze Age to the Hellenistic period, never losing sight of the primary historical events and cultural characteristics of each period. An afterword traces Greek culture through the Roman and Byzantine periods with special focus on its influence on Christianity. In each chapter art, architecture, literature, and social and intellectual trends are covered, in addition to politics and warfare. Chapters begin with an abstract, subheadings, and introduction. Chronological tables appear for each new historical period and provide dates for all people and events mentioned in the text. Special focus is given to the Archaic and Classical periods which receive two and three tables respectively in the second edition. Relevant maps, charts and illustrations appear regularly and all are clearly and usefully labeled. New and unusual terms are capitalized in the text, defined clearly in sidebars on the page, and pulled together in a glossary at the end of the book for ease of reference. Brief translations from primary sources are boxed and placed alongside the relevant text. Each chapter ends with an annotated list of suggestions for further reading and research in both primary and secondary sources.

There is no new introduction to this second edition, perhaps because much of the text remains unchanged from the original. This is no fault, however, since the original narrative was carefully and intentionally crafted with self-referential echoes and allusions throughout. It remains highly engaging and inventive. Minor changes have been made to pop culture references, some new material related to fifth-century bcAthenian culture (ostracism and women in drama) has been added, and recommendations for additional readings have been tweaked. However, the most substantial changes have been made to the early chapters. These have been restructured and expanded to...