A History of Greece to the Death of Alexander the Great, Vol 2
'A History of Greece to the Death of Alexander the Great, Vol 2' Summary
For the Irish historian John Bagnell Bury, history should be treated as a science and not a mere branch of literature. Many contemporary histories written in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century were poetic and heroic in tone, blending fact and fiction, myths and legends. They sometimes relied on sources from Shakespeare and classical poets. For Bury, the facts of history may be legendary or romantic in nature, but they should be recounted in a scholarly and non-judgmental manner, without the accompanying emotions. His aim was simply to “tell history as it happened.”
A History of Greece to the Death of Alexander the Great was first published in 1900. It went on to become a standard text in many colleges and was used as a definitive guide to our understanding of the pre-Hellenistic kingdoms. Richly supplemented with maps and columnar notes, the book deals with its subject in an academic manner, but it is a work which is easily accessible to the ordinary reader as well. There are many interesting illustrations from antiquities in the British Museum and photographs of busts from various art galleries.
There are 18 chapters, portraying the beginnings of Ancient Greece in the Heroic Age. The author is also concerned about how previous histories of Ancient Greece have largely ignored the Greek presence in Persia, Asia Minor, Italy and Sicily while emphasizing the Greek history of Sparta and Athens. Later chapters deal with Athenian democracy, Pericles and the Golden Age, the advance of the Persians, the Peloponnesian war and the decline of Athenian Greece, the rise of Thebes, the Syracusan empire, the rise of Macedonia and the final conquest of Persia and East Asia. There is also an interesting chapter on Aristotle and Alexander. Aristotle's background and how he became Alexander's teacher, the differing visions that tutor and pupil held about the ideal city-state and the ultimate influence that these ideas had on the development of Europe are discussed in the last chapter.
Bury was a young genius who became a Fellow at Trinity College Dublin at the young age of 24 and a professor at Cambridge, where he taught both history and Greek, before he was forty. His interests included medieval studies and philology. His works cover a range of subjects including Greek and Byzantine history and the role of the Church and the Papacy in the 19th century.
Though some of the information in this book may be a little dated following new studies, technological advances and discoveries uncovered by the latest research, it is extremely readable and interesting. A History of Greece to the Death of Alexander the Great is a historical and interesting read.
Book Details
Language
EnglishOriginal Language
EnglishPublished In
1900Author
John Bagnell Bury
Ireland, Italy
John Bagnell Bury was an Anglo-Irish historian, classical scholar, Medieval Roman historian and philologist. He objected to the label "Byzantinist" explicitly in the preface to the 1889 edition of his...
More on John Bagnell BuryDownload eBooks
Listen/Download Audiobook
- Select Speed
Related books
The Wars of the Jews by Flavius Josephus
The Jewish War or Judean War also referred to in English as The Wars of the Jews, is a book written by Josephus, a first-century Roman-Jewish historia...
A Short History of France by Agnes Mary Frances Robinson
After the Roman conquest, the Celtic Gauls adopted Roman culture and speech. The Germanic invasions ultimately transformed France into a Catholic feud...
Yellowstone Expedition of 1870 by Gustavus Cheyney Doane
Lt. Gustavus Doane was a member of the 1870 Yellowstone Expedition led by Henry Washburn. Washburn requested military support from General Hancock of...
Magna Carta by Anonymous
Magna Carta Libertatum commonly called Magna Carta (also Magna Charta; "Great Charter"), is a royal charter of rights agreed to by King John of Englan...
The History of Genghis Khan by Jacob Abbott
This book provides the history of one of the most renowned emperors of all time. The Great Khan. This was a man born Temujin to a clan leader father w...
Petticoat Government, volume 2 by Frances Trollope
In the heart of the bustling 19th-century English countryside, where society's norms often take a back seat, Frances Milton Trollope weaves a tale of...
A Popular History of France from the Earliest Times vol 2 by Francois Guizot
François Pierre Guillaume Guizot was a French historian, orator, and statesman. Guizot was a dominant figure in French politics prior to the Revolutio...
Chronicles of Canada Volume 17 - Tecumseh: A Chronicle of the Last Great Leader of His People by Ethel T. Raymond
Tecumseh was a leader of the Shawnee and a large tribal confederacy that opposed the United States during the War of 1812. He became a folk hero remem...
Chronicles of Canada Volume 30 - The Day of Sir Wilfrid Laurier: A Chronicle of Our Own Time by Oscar D. Skelton
In conformity with its title, this volume, save for the earlier chapters, is history rather than biography, is of the day, more than of the man. The a...
Critias by Plato (Πλάτων)
Critias, one of Plato's late dialogues, recounts the story of the mighty island kingdom Atlantis and its attempt to conquer Athens, which failed due t...
Reviews for A History of Greece to the Death of Alexander the Great, Vol 2
No reviews posted or approved, yet...