The Shortest History of Greece, James Heneage
The Shortest History of Greece, James Heneage
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The Shortest History of Greece
The Odyssey of a Nation from Myth to Modernity

Author: James Heneage

Narrator: Gareth Richards

Unabridged: 6 hr 36 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 05/23/2023

Synopsis

Philosophy, art, democracy, language, even computers—the glories of Greek civilization have shaped our world even more profoundly than we realize. Pericles and the Parthenon may be familiar, but what of Epaminondas, the Theban general who saved the Greek world from Spartan tyranny? Alexander the Great's fame has rolled down the centuries, but the golden Hellenistic Age that followed is largely forgotten. "Byzantine" conjures decadence and deadly intrigue, yet the thousand-year empire that ruled from Constantinople and saved Europe twice from invasion was, in fact, Greek.

Greece's modern chapter, too, tells of triumph and calamity—from liberation and expansion to schism, homegrown dictatorship, Nazi occupation, and civil war. Today's nation is battered by austerity, encroaching climate change, and a refugee crisis—yet unwavering in its ancient values.

James Heneage captures the full Grecian drama in this riveting, short history, revealing Greece as the wellspring of Western civilization—and a model that may yet save modern democracy.

About James Heneage

James Heneage is the author of four bestselling historical novels set in Byzantium. He founded the Ottakar's chain of bookshops (now owned by Waterstones), chaired the Cheltenham Literary Festival, and set up his own festival dedicated to history with author James Holland: the Chalke Valley History Festival, now in its ninth year. He lives in Wiltshire, England.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Ilse on February 01, 2023

During a short stay in Greece twenty years ago and wondering about which book to read on its history, a student of urban history gave me Modern Greece: A Short History(by C.M. Woodhouse) to read, a book which covered the period from the foundation of Constantine until the defeat of Papandreou and th......more

Goodreads review by Mark on January 31, 2023

I think I know a little about Greek Mythology, some of the philosophical works, the interaction with the Roman Empire, the 2004 win in football’s Euros and the Athens Olympics in the same year. I’m also aware it’s a beautiful country. The Shortest History of Greece by James Heneage has filled in the......more

Goodreads review by Julian on January 31, 2024

There's a lot of history to cover and this book manages to provide the right amount of information and interesting anecdotes to keep the reader enraptured for the entire time. I think one area where it might be criticised is in its assertion that Athens was the birthplace of democracy when it really......more

Goodreads review by Sophia on April 23, 2022

Read it in one shot, in less than 10 hours. Beautifully storified and paced, the author retells all of Greek history (well, ok, the salient points, but all 3000 years of them!) in a manner that makes it difficult to put the book down. Having lived through the last few decades, heard many stories abo......more

Goodreads review by Michael on January 02, 2022

The back of this book greatly overestimated my reading ability when it said I could finish it in a day.......more

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