Athens Book Reviews

Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War is a timeless masterpiece of ancient historiography, offering a detailed and profoundly insightful account of one of antiquity's defining conflicts. Written with a precision and analytical depth...

How the Greeks Built Cities by R. E. Wycherley is a concise text examining the relationship between an ancient city’s structure and its residents. Wycherley composes a recipe for an ancient Greek town, and each chapter covers a different...

Edith Hall has a very interesting approach to providing an overview of Ancient Greek history and culture. Rather than a simple linear narrative, Hall presents the reader with something altogether more playful. In her Introduction, she sets...

Bettany Hughes has a real flare for description. In reconstructing the life of one of the world's most elusive figures, she creates an image of Socrates' world that's so evocative you can almost touch it. Starting with the day of Socrates'...

Another excellent book from the Oxford Handbook series with sixty-eight chapters arranged by theme, each written by a leading scholar in that particular field. Topics covered include literature, theatre, politics, philosophy, warfare, trade...

Covering the conflict between Sparta and Athens and their respective allies in the 5th century BCE this is a fascinating insight into ancient Greek politics, war and society in a crucial period of Greece's history. Not only are the major...

Another titan of a book from OUP this 1600 large page, fine print volume covers everything of the Greek and Roman world. This updated and extended edition (around 75 additions) gives concise entries which range from a short paragraph on Hilaria...

An excellent and comprehensive overview of the Greek world from the early 5th to late 4th century BCE. Divided into 27 chapters, each written by an expert in the field, all the major themes of Classical Greece are covered: politics, society...