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  • Experts

Ancient Greece

Most Recommended Books

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

“This is by Madeline Miller who is an American academic. It was her debut novel and it won the Orange Prize. For some reason I came across it when it first came out, before anyone else knew about it, and I absolutely loved it. I really appreciated the deft, spare beauty of the writing and I like the way it came at the story from Patroclus’s point of view. I loved the richness of the language, the descriptions. She really made me feel I was in ancient Greece — the smells, the whole environment.”

Lucy Coats, Children's Author

Read more

The Iliad by Homer

“It is worth remembering of course that Homer’s Iliad doesn’t cover the causes of the War … the Apple of Discord, the Judgement of Paris, birth of Achilles and Abduction of Helen and so on – nor the end of the war. The action of the Iliad begins in the final year of the ten year siege of Troy and dramatises the weeks that begin with the feud between Agamemnon and Achilles and end with the death of Hector.”

Stephen Fry,

Read more

Ancient Greece provided many of the foundational ideas of human civilisation, in art, philosophy and politics. Here you can find interviews exploring its culture, language and enduring influence.

Professor Christopher Pelling chooses his best books on Ancient Greece, and classicist Paul McMullen chooses his best books on learning Ancient Greek.  On Greek philosophy, Edith Hall of King’s College London chooses her best books on Aristotle; Professor M M McCabe looks at Socrates; and Professor James Warren considers the best books on the Epicureans. Children’s author Lucy Coates delves into Greek myths and Johanna Hanink of Brown University chooses her best books on Thucydides.  Emily Wilson, translator of the Odyssey, chooses her best books on that poem.

A number of our interviews trace the continuing influence of Ancient Greece.  Daniel Mendelsohn—an author, critic and translator—gives us his best books on updating the classics, while legendary Cambridge classicist Mary Beard looks at ancient history in modern life. Going straight to the local source, we have the Greek novelist Christos Chomenidis discussing the best books on the real Greece, while Bettany Hughes, the historian, author and broadcaster, looks at divine women. If you want a contemporary introduction to Greek mythology, Stephen Fry’s Mythos: A retelling of the myths of Ancient Greece has proved very popular.

    The best books on Leadership (from Ancient Greece and Rome), recommended by Jeffrey Beneker

  • Read
    The best books on Leadership (from Ancient Greece and Rome) - The Rise and Fall of Athens: Nine Greek Lives by Ian Scott-Kilvert & Plutarch

    1

    The Rise and Fall of Athens: Nine Greek Lives
    by Ian Scott-Kilvert & Plutarch

  • Read
    The best books on Leadership (from Ancient Greece and Rome) - The Greek Alexander Romance by Richard Stoneman

    2

    The Greek Alexander Romance
    by Richard Stoneman

  • Read
    The best books on Leadership (from Ancient Greece and Rome) - Atticus by Cornelius Nepos & Nicholas Horsfall

    3

    Atticus
    by Cornelius Nepos & Nicholas Horsfall

  • Read
    The best books on Leadership (from Ancient Greece and Rome) - Agricola by Harold Mattingly, James Rives & Tacitus

    4

    Agricola
    by Harold Mattingly, James Rives & Tacitus

  • Read
    The best books on Leadership (from Ancient Greece and Rome) - Lives of the Eminent Philosophers Diogenes Laertius (ed. James Miller, trans. Pamela Mensch)

    5

    Lives of the Eminent Philosophers
    Diogenes Laertius (ed. James Miller, trans. Pamela Mensch)

The best books on Leadership (from Ancient Greece and Rome), recommended by Jeffrey Beneker

Whatever modern leadership books may say about what’s required to be a good leader, for the ancients there was only one vital requirement: studying philosophy. Jeffrey Beneker, Professor of Classics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, talks us through what ancient biographies reveal about how to be a leader.

    The best books on Ancient Greece, recommended by Christopher Pelling

  • Read
    The best books on Ancient Greece - The Iliad by Homer

    1

    The Iliad
    by Homer

  • Read
    The best books on Ancient Greece - The Histories by Herodotus

    2

    The Histories
    by Herodotus

  • Read
    The best books on Ancient Greece - Medea by Euripides

    3

    Medea
    by Euripides

  • Read
    The best books on Ancient Greece - Democracy: A Life by Paul Cartledge

    4

    Democracy: A Life
    by Paul Cartledge

  • Read
    The best books on Ancient Greece - Greek Fire by Oliver Taplin

    5

    Greek Fire
    by Oliver Taplin

The best books on Ancient Greece, recommended by Christopher Pelling

Ancient Greece’s legacy can be seen all around us, including in our political system — but many of us don’t know that much about it. Fortunately, we have someone who has devoted his life to studying this remote time and place to give us a reading list. Chris Pelling, Emeritus Regius Professor of Greek at Oxford, recommends his top five books on Ancient Greece.

    The best books on Aristotle, recommended by Edith Hall

  • Read
    The best books on Aristotle - Aristotle: His Life and School by Carlo Natali

    1

    Aristotle: His Life and School
    by Carlo Natali

  • Read
    The best books on Aristotle - Aristotle's Children by Richard E Rubenstein

    2

    Aristotle's Children
    by Richard E Rubenstein

  • Read
    The best books on Aristotle - Ethics With Aristotle by Sarah Broadie

    3

    Ethics With Aristotle
    by Sarah Broadie

  • Read
    The best books on Aristotle - Aristotle: Political Philosophy by Richard Kraut

    4

    Aristotle: Political Philosophy
    by Richard Kraut

  • Read
    The best books on Aristotle - The Lagoon: How Aristotle Invented Science by Armand Marie Leroi

    5

    The Lagoon: How Aristotle Invented Science
    by Armand Marie Leroi

The best books on Aristotle, recommended by Edith Hall

Aristotle, says Edith Hall, is “quite simply the most important intellectual who ever lived.” Here the author and classicist selects five key Aristotle books to further your understanding of the great philosopher’s life and work.

    The best books on Learning Ancient Greek, recommended by Paul McMullen

  • Read
    The best books on Learning Ancient Greek - Reading Greek by Joint Association of Classical Teachers

    1

    Reading Greek
    by Joint Association of Classical Teachers

  • Read
    The best books on Learning Ancient Greek - Introduction to Attic Greek by Donald Mastronarde

    2

    Introduction to Attic Greek
    by Donald Mastronarde

  • Read
    The best books on Learning Ancient Greek - Plato's Apology of Socrates: A Commentary (Ancient Greek) by Paul Allen Miller and Charles Platter

    3

    Plato's Apology of Socrates: A Commentary (Ancient Greek)
    by Paul Allen Miller and Charles Platter

  • Read
    The best books on Learning Ancient Greek - The Clouds by Aristophanes

    4

    The Clouds
    by Aristophanes

  • Read
    The best books on Learning Ancient Greek - The Histories (in Ancient Greek) by Herodotus

    5

    The Histories (in Ancient Greek)
    by Herodotus

The best books on Learning Ancient Greek, recommended by Paul McMullen

Interested in philosophy? Drama? History? Within a year you too could be reading seminal texts in their original language. Academic Paul McMullen recommends the best books for learning ancient Greek.

    The best books on Socrates, recommended by M M McCabe

  • Read
    The best books on Socrates - Apology by Plato

    1

    Apology
    by Plato

  • Read
    The best books on Socrates - The Clouds by Aristophanes

    2

    The Clouds
    by Aristophanes

  • Read
    The best books on Socrates - Theaetetus by Plato

    3

    Theaetetus
    by Plato

  • Read
    The best books on Socrates - Socrates: Ironist and Moral Philosopher by Gregory Vlastos

    4

    Socrates: Ironist and Moral Philosopher
    by Gregory Vlastos

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    The best books on Socrates - The Art of Living by Alexander Nehamas

    5

    The Art of Living
    by Alexander Nehamas

The best books on Socrates, recommended by M M McCabe

The classical Greek philosopher is credited with laying the foundation of Western philosophy – without ever having written a word. Here, the eminent scholar M M McCabe recommends the best books to read to understand Socrates and engage with the eternal question: How best to live?

    The best books on Greek Myths, recommended by Lucy Coats

  • Read
    The best books on Greek Myths - The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

    1

    The Song of Achilles
    by Madeline Miller

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    The best books on Greek Myths - The Greek Myths by Robert Graves

    2

    The Greek Myths
    by Robert Graves

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    The best books on Greek Myths - Ithaka by Adele Geras

    3

    Ithaka
    by Adele Geras

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    The best books on Greek Myths - Tales from Ovid by Ted Hughes

    4

    Tales from Ovid
    by Ted Hughes

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    The best books on Greek Myths - The Children's Homer by Padraic Colum

    5

    The Children's Homer
    by Padraic Colum

The best books on Greek Myths, recommended by Lucy Coats

Lucy Coats, author of one of the best books Greek myth books for children, recommends her own favourites. There’s one for children, one for teenagers, one for scholars, one to read out loud and one that’s very definitely adult in content…

    Daniel Mendelsohn on Updating the Classics (of Greek and Roman Literature)

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    Daniel Mendelsohn on Updating the Classics (of Greek and Roman Literature) - The Iliad by Homer

    1

    The Iliad
    by Homer

  • Read
    Daniel Mendelsohn on Updating the Classics (of Greek and Roman Literature) - Ransom by David Malouf

    2

    Ransom
    by David Malouf

  • Read
    Daniel Mendelsohn on Updating the Classics (of Greek and Roman Literature) - The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

    3

    The Song of Achilles
    by Madeline Miller

  • Read
    Daniel Mendelsohn on Updating the Classics (of Greek and Roman Literature) - The Lost Books of the Odyssey by Zachary Mason

    4

    The Lost Books of the Odyssey
    by Zachary Mason

  • Read
    Daniel Mendelsohn on Updating the Classics (of Greek and Roman Literature) - The Infinities by John Banville

    5

    The Infinities
    by John Banville

Daniel Mendelsohn on Updating the Classics (of Greek and Roman Literature)

Greek myths were themselves elastic so there is no reason the classics of Roman and Greek literature shouldn’t be updated, says classicist Daniel Mendelsohn. He talks us through some of his favourites.

About

We ask experts to recommend the five best books in their subject and explain their selection in an interview.

This site has an archive of more than one thousand interviews, or five thousand book recommendations. We publish at least two new interviews per week.

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