SuperHeroBooks - The Classical World: An Epic History from Homer to Hadrian
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Manufacturer: Basic Books
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 938
EAN: 9780465024971
ISBN: 0465024971
Label: Basic Books
Manufacturer: Basic Books
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 672
Publication Date: 2008-04-07
Publisher: Basic Books
Studio: Basic Books
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Solid overview until falling off a cliff near the end
Comment: Basically, in the last few chapters of what easily could have been a four-star book, if not quite a five-star, Lane shows the same scholarship problems he evidences much more severely in "The Unauthorized Version." (See my review of it for more.)
He is generally a great classicist, and a good popularizer and writer of classical history. But, he is WAY out of his league as a scholar of early Christianity. Starting in the chapter "Christianity and Roman Rule," he makes statements, and takes interpretative stances, that are simply unsupported by the best modern scholarship.
On the interpretative stances, the biggest wrong move, as in "The Unauthorized Version," his credulous acceptance of a high degree of historicity for the Gospel of John. He shows some degree of credulity about the other New Testament Gospels' historicity as well.
One example? He accepts that there were actually exactly 12 apostles, without stopping to think at all about the symbolic significance of a parallel to the 12 tribe of Israel.
Next, he misinterprets Luke 13:1-5. Contrary to Fox, the actual account says nothing about the Galileans murdered by Pilate being Zealots or any other kind of revolutionaries. The only thing Fox does get right is to note that, as Jesus said, their station and activities in life were irrelevant to why they died.
Next, per evangelical Christian sociologist Rodney Stark, there were probably less than 1,500 Christians in the entire world at the time Claudius expelled the Jews from Rome, allegedly for a Christian disturbance. (Note: Tacitus, the source here, does NOT use "ChristOS," the normal Greek word for "Christ," but "ChrEEstos," an epithet often translated as "noble" or similar, and used for Apollo, amongst other things. It is arguable that the Latin-first Tacitus confused two Greek words, but, perhaps he did not. In any case, this could have been a Messianic disturbance with no connection to Yeshua bar-Iusuf of the village of Nazareth, assuming the "historical Jesus" even existed, and it shows Tacitus had little knowledge whereof he spoke on this.)
Of those 1,500 Christians, reasonably, no more than 300, at best, would have been in Rome, out of a population of 1 million. It's ridiculous to think that "Christians," rather than "Jewish Messianism," could have been the cause of either Claudius' expulsion or Nero's persecution. (And, if the Jews were expelled, when did any of them come back?)
Finally, earlier in the book, Fox shows a tin literary ear and a weak understanding of philosophy. On the latter, he's too generous to Socrates as a philosopher, and one doesn't have to be as critical of Socrates as Izzy Stone to know that Fox is almost gushing.
On the literary side, for Fox to call Plato "the greatest prose-writer in all world literature" is something I will kindly let pass without further comment.
And, on the scope of things, less than 600 pages of body text for a book this broadly ranging means Fox is painting with a single, thin application of watercolors.
It almost seems he constrained himself into a subtitle's alliterative straitjacket. Why not "Alexander to Antoninus Pius" or "Macedon to Marcus Aurelius" instead? Lop 500 years of time off the front end of the book and focus it more.
In short, compared to "Pagans and Christians" as Fox's top work, this is somewhat a disappointment.
Customer Rating:
Summary: A great overview
Comment: I knew a lot about bits and pieces of classical culture and history, but this book put it all together nicely. It would defenitely be best for people who have an interest in the topic going in. It gets a bit encyclopedic in places, but overall a good and informative read.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Fill-in the gaps in your knowledge of history and have fun doing it
Comment: I enjoy reading history and decided on this book to give me information about an era I know little about, ancient Greece and Rome. This work is an excellent introduction to this topic and is quite enjoyable to read. The chapters are generally twelve pages or less, so it is convenient to sample the material in small doses. And those doses prove to be fascinating enough to tempt the reader to push on through succeeding chapters even as the eyelids grow heavy at night.
This is a narrative history which chronologically traces the developments of both societies. It is heavy on political events, but provides enough social history to make the period come alive. Fox's work can serve as a fine springboard for later reading in more concentrated areas that the reader may wish to explore. For the person with an interest in history, Professor Fox lays a basic foundation and provides a strong sense of understanding what made Grecian and Roman societies work. In an engaging style, he helps us understand how many traditions, practices, and values evolved in western civilization.
Customer Rating:
Summary: The Classical World is an excellent introduction to the ancient world for the general reader
Comment: Rome was not built in a day. Neither was Athens or Alexandria or your knowledge of the ancient world! "The Classcial World" is a long book with
small print which will give you a good working understanding of the classical world from Homer (8th century BC) to Hadrian the Roman ruler of the second century AD.
Fox is an Oxford Scholar best known for his book on Alexander the Great used by Oliver Stone in his making of the movie "Alexander." In being forced to cover over 900 years of history it is impossible for Fox to cover, in detail, all the political, social, literary and scientific advances made in that near millenium. Rather, Fox gives us a political survey of the times with some social history included. The chapters are short and digestable. We learn of what is what like to live in the Athens of Pericles or the Rome of Julius Caesar. Fox teaches us about blood sports, sexual morality, literature and the complicated politics of the distant past over 40 generations ago. We meet such seminal figures in Western culture as Homer, Plato, Aristotle, Alexander the Great, Caesar, Cleopatra, Mark Antony and Latin authors such as Tacitus, Virgil, Suetonius as well as Greek historians Herodotus & Thucydides. The philosophy of Plato and Aristotle is explored. We see empires rise and fall. We meet early Christians such as Paul and see the impact of Christianity on the Roman Empire.
This book is written in a plain easy to comprehend style. The book is well illustrated containing good maps. The most interesting section, to this reviewer, was the fall of the Roman Republic and the rise of emperors in the first century BC. Emperors from the Julian-Claudian dynasty are fascinating. Caesar, Augusutus; Tiberius; Caligula; Claudius; Nero are well drawn.
Fox says three major themes are apparent in the way ancients looked at the world" Freedom-from Athenian republicanism to the tyranny of Roman emperors; justice issues were important to the ancients as were the role of luxury in life. The Spartan Greeks would have been appalled at the wanton luxury and sybratic lifestyle of the Roman aristocracy.
This book would do well as a basic textbook for Ancient History 101.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Sweeping history of the Classical World
Comment: Robin Lane Fox has authored a sweeping history of what he calls "The Classical World," from Homer's Greece to Hadrian's Roman Empire. While a work of such scope means that there cannot be great depth in discussing any point in that era; on the other hand, it provides a bird's eye view of issues, themes, and change over time. The author himself notes that (page xv): "It is a challenge to be asked to write a history of some none hundred years, especially when the evidence is so scattered and diverse, but it is a challenge which I have enjoyed."
Some definitional issues. Lane defines "The Classical World" as (page 1) ". . .the world of the ancient Greeks and Romans, some forty lifetimes before our own but still able to challenge us by a humanity shared with ours." Fox ceases his narrative with the reign of the Roman Emperor Hadrian. Why? Lane says (page 2): ". . .'classical literature' ends in his reign. . . ." Even more important Page 2), ". . .is that Hadrian himself was the emperor with the most evident classicizing tastes."
First, Fox focuses on three themes across this span of history--freedom, justice, and luxury. He believes that each of these--and the changes that occurred with time--can help explain the sweep of events.
Second, he divides the time span into several eras, and treats each separately, although noting how the themes of freedom, justice, and luxury play out in each. "The Archaic Greek World" begins with Homer's Greece and concludes with the great Persian Wars. The next time period is what Fox refers to As "The Classical Greek World." This period runs from the rise of democratic Athens, the Peloponnesian War, Socrates, the rise of Philip of Macedon. The next phase is what he terms "Hellenistic Worlds," beginning with Alexander the Great's incredible success and the development of one of the world's largest empires. This frame runs until the final struggles between Carthage and Rome. Fox then moves on to a discussion of "The Roman Republic." Here, he considers the increase in luxury in Rome, the intrigues among Pompey, Julius Caesar, and Caesar's death. He follows this with a discussion "From Republic to Empire." The chapters in this segment include the rise of Octavian (to Augustus), his conflicts with Mark Antony, the Civil War against the assassins of Caesar, and so on. The last portion of the book, "An Imperial World," traces the post-Augustan period, concluding with Hadrian's rule.
Under Hadrian, according to Fox (page 571): ". . .the two worlds of this book, the classical Greek and the Roman, came closely together. Hadrian's love of Greek culture is evident in his patronage, his favours for Greek cities (especially Athens) and his personal romantic life."
In a history as large as this, one sacrifices depth for breadth. It is interesting to note Fox's rather dismissive treatment of Julius Caesar and Octavian/Augustus, as compared with more sympathetic treatments of each in the recent biographies by Goldsworthy and Everitt. Also, Everitt's biography of Cicero provides greater depth on that key figure in the period of time when the Republic was moving toward Empire. All in all, this is a well written book and worth looking at by those interested in this slice of history.
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Editorial Reviews:
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The classical civilizations of Greece and Rome once dominated the world, and they continue to fascinate and inspire us. Classical art and architecture, drama and epic, philosophy and politics-these are the foundations of Western civilization. In The Classical World, eminent classicist Robin Lane Fox brilliantly chronicles this vast sweep of history from Homer to the reign of Hadrian. From the Peloponnesian War through the creation of Athenian democracy, from the turbulent empire of Alexander the Great to the creation of the Roman Empire and the emergence of Christianity, Fox serves as our witty and trenchant guide. He introduces us to extraordinary heroes and horrific villains, great thinkers and blood-thirsty tyrants. Throughout this vivid tour of two of the greatest civilizations the world has ever known, we remain in the hands of a great master.
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