The Greeks: A Global History

by Roderick Beaton

Overview

A “monumental, sweeping” (Peter Frankopan, author of The Silk Roads) history of the Greeks, from the Bronze Age to today  

More than two thousand years ago, the Greek city-states, led by Athens and Sparta, laid the foundation for much of modern science, the arts, politics, and law. But the influence of the Greeks did not end with the rise and fall of this classical civilization. As historian Roderick Beaton illustrates, over three millennia Greek speakers produced a series of civilizations that were rooted in southeastern Europe but again and again ranged widely across the globe.  
 
In The Greeks, Beaton traces this history from the Bronze Age Mycenaeans who built powerful fortresses at home and strong trade routes abroad, to the dramatic Eurasian conquests of Alexander the Great, to the pious Byzantines who sought to export Christianity worldwide, to today’s Greek diaspora, which flourishes on five continents. The product of decades of research, this is the story of the Greeks and their global impact told as never before.  

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781541603646
Publisher:	Basic Books
Publication date:	12/12/2023
Pages:	624
Sales rank:	190,907
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.10(h) x 1.70(d)

About the Author

Roderick Beaton is an Emeritus Professor at King’s College London and Commander of the Order of Honor of the Hellenic Republic. His previous book, Greece: Biography of a Modern Nation, was shortlisted for the Cundill History Prize. He is the four-time winner of the prestigious Runciman Award and lives in Kent, England.  

Table of Contents

List of Maps and Credits ix

Author's Note xi

Preface 1

1 Of Ledgers and Legends (1500 BCE-c. 1180 BCE) 7

2 'Homer's World, Not Ours' (c. 1180 BCE-c. 720 BCE) 41

3 Inventing Politics, Discovering the Cosmos (c. 720 BCE-494 BCE) 71

4 The First World Wars and the 'Classical' Age (494 BCE-404 BCE) 103

5 Cultural Capital (404 BCE-322 BCE) 141

6 'Becoming Greek' (322 BCE-27 BCE) 181

7 Rome's Greek Empire (27 BCE-337 CE) 217

8 Becoming Christian (337-630) 253

9 'The Eyes of the Universe' (630-1018) 285

10 'City of the World's Desire' (1018-1204) 307

11 Hopeful Monsters (1204-1453) 329

12 Between Two Worlds (1453-1669) 357

13 'Greek Revival' (1669-1833) 385

14 European State, Global Nation (1833-1974) 415

15 New Ledgers, New Legends (1974-2021) 445

Epilogue 463

Acknowledgements 467

List of Illustrations and Photo Credits 471

Permissions 477

Notes 479

Further Reading 551

Index 559

Editorial Reviews

[The Greeks is] ambitious, a complete ‘reorienting’ of Western history.”—Wall Street Journal

“In this magisterial yet readable introduction to Greek history—one of the best of its kind, whether for academic or popular audiences—Beaton reveals the far more complicated reality.” —Foreign Affairs

“[An] erudite and highly readable book."—Financial Times

“With suave latitude and dependable detail, Beaton takes his readers from a bright prehistoric ‘dawn’ in the Aegean to the heavy skies of contemporary geo-politics.”—The New Criterion

"A century and a half after George Finlay produced his multi-volume History of Greece, Beaton succeeds in offering a concise, entertaining and reliable companion that is a more than worthy successor."—Ioannis D. Stefanidis, History Today

"It is difficult to imagine another anglophone scholar who could have taken on such a project alone, in a single book, and with such superb results.... 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."—Times Literary Supplement

“This is the story of the Greeks and their global impact told by a master historian.”—The National Herald

“An expansive history . . . with concise clarity, managing to capture the uniquely Greek identity throughout.” —New York Journal of Books

“The book’s wide historic focus offers something for general readers interested in any period of Greek history; particularly good for enthusiasts of Greek antiquity who want to expand their knowledge.”—Library Journal

“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

"The peoples who have spoken [Greek] in one version or another over the past 3,500 years are the subject of Roderick Beaton's magisterial new book.... Beaton is probably the only person alive who could manage with such subtlety and authority to convey it in one coherent volume. ...[a] remarkable historical account." —Katherine Fleming

"Roderick Beaton has given us a wonderful big picture of the Greeks, with a very generous cross-cultural, temporal, and geographical sweep. At the same time, the book’s solid detail and careful distinctions—for example, between the Platonic and the Christian vocabulary for "virtue"—should help in discouraging political exploitation of stilted, anachronistic ideas about Greek civilization.”—Sarah Ruden, translator and author of Paul Among the People

"A remarkable and readable book: this single, masterful volume lays out the entire thirty-five-century history of the Greek-speaking peoples. From Minoan to modern times, their triumphs, their tragedies, and above all their endurance are all here. For anyone who wants to understand Greece today, this is the place to start."—Ian Morris, author of Why the West Rules—For Now

“Over three millennia, the locus of the Greek spirit has shifted perpetually. In antiquity it darted about between the cities, harbors, and mountain valleys of the east Mediterranean, moving eventually through the swathes of North Africa, the Levant and southwest Asia where Alexander and his successors held sway. In modern times, it has flowed between the footloose global diaspora and the two volatile states which embody Greekness. In a tour de force, Roderick Beaton has managed to tie this story together in a single compelling narrative, written with deep affection and hard-earned knowledge of all things Greek.”—Bruce Clark, author of Athens: A History

“Histories of the Greeks have so far been written with a classical or a modern bias, but Roderick Beaton does not play favorites: with the vantage-point of a scholar enjoying a deep knowledge of Byzantium as well as all phases of Greek literature, he weaves together a vivid narrative reaching from the age of heroes and lore down to the present. The Greeks emerge not as a single nation but rather as a series of great civilizations. They were often at odds with each other but, in all phases of their long history, contributed cultural capital to the rest of the world. Beaton’s Greeks are always on the move, self-reflexive, and surprising. Their story has not yet been told in a global fashion, as it is here.”—Anthony Kaldellis, Ohio State University

"Professor Beaton, already very well known as a formidable and distinguished exponent of modern Greek history, here expands exponentially his vision and chronological scope and turns his more than competent hand to composing a comprehensive history of Greeks or rather Hellenes from the Late Bronze Age BCE to the present day. His handsomely illustrated and fully documented text is a consistently illuminating encapsulation of the manifold achievements of one of the globe's most creative and inspirational peoples."—Paul Cartledge, A.G. Leventis Senior Fellow of Clare College, Cambridge University, & emeritus A.G. Leventis Professor of Greek Culture

From the Publisher

10/01/2021

Historian Beaton's (Greece: Biography of a Modern Nation) latest history of Greece and the Greeks goes beyond his deep knowledge of Byzantine and modern Greece to encompass the entire span of Greek history, from Bronze Age settlements to the austerity politics of the modern state. His aim is to examine how the Greeks of each era perceived themselves as a culture and civilization, and how concepts from the relatively short era of classical Greece have particularly shaped Greek identity. The book's massive scope has the benefit of illustrating how the Greek-speaking world shifted throughout time as empires fell and rose. Beaton makes the case that the evolution into a modern nation-state has been particularly fraught for a people whose identity was shaped by language (and later religion) than a geographic area. The story becomes more compelling as it becomes more complex, and the contrast between ancient and modern history more apparent. VERDICT The book's wide historic focus offers something for general readers interested in any period of Greek history; particularly good for enthusiasts of Greek antiquity who want to expand their knowledge.—Margaret Heller, Loyola Univ. Chicago Libs.

Library Journal

This four-thousand-year history of the Greeks and their contributions to the world is ably narrated by Anna Crowe. Her fluid descriptions of the Greeks from the Bronze Age of the Minoans and Mycenaeans to the present are unhurried. Each historical event and era is carefully examined, explained, and analyzed throughout Crowe’s professorial delivery. Dramatic high points—including wars, conquests, and discoveries—stand out in this relatively unemotional performance. Crowe never hesitates over terms from the many countries and peoples of the Greek Empire and beyond. Her use of the modern pronunciation of Greek (per the author’s instruction in the introduction) may be jarring to students of Classical Greek and Latin. Some production editing is audible that may or may not distract the listener. M.B.K. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine

JANUARY 2022 - AudioFile

This four-thousand-year history of the Greeks and their contributions to the world is ably narrated by Anna Crowe. Her fluid descriptions of the Greeks from the Bronze Age of the Minoans and Mycenaeans to the present are unhurried. Each historical event and era is carefully examined, explained, and analyzed throughout Crowe’s professorial delivery. Dramatic high points—including wars, conquests, and discoveries—stand out in this relatively unemotional performance. Crowe never hesitates over terms from the many countries and peoples of the Greek Empire and beyond. Her use of the modern pronunciation of Greek (per the author’s instruction in the introduction) may be jarring to students of Classical Greek and Latin. Some production editing is audible that may or may not distract the listener. M.B.K. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine

JANUARY 2022 - AudioFile