• The best books on Modern Greek History - Freedom and Death by Nikos Kazantzakis
  • The best books on Modern Greek History - Che Committed Suicide by Petros Markaris
  • The best books on Modern Greek History - That Greece Might Still Be Free by William St Clair
  • The best books on Modern Greek History - A Concise History of Greece by Richard Clogg
  • The best books on Modern Greek History - Byron's War: Romantic Rebellion, Greek Revolution by Roderick Beaton

The best books on Modern Greek History, recommended by Yanni Kotsonis

If you’re heading to Greece this summer, it might be worth learning more about the modern history of the country you’re visiting. Yanni Kotsonis, a professor of history at NYU and author of The Greek Revolution and the Violent Birth of Nationalism, recommends a variety of books to get you started, from a short history of Greece to a novel by one of the country’s greatest writers.

  • The best books on Ancient Greece - The Iliad by Homer
  • The best books on Ancient Greece - Histories by Herodotus
  • The best books on Ancient Greece - Medea by Euripides
  • The best books on Ancient Greece - Democracy: A Life by Paul Cartledge
  • The best books on Ancient Greece - 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 Sparta - Histories by Herodotus
  • The best books on Sparta - Spartan Reflections by Paul Cartledge
  • The best books on Sparta - Spartan Women by Sarah Pomeroy
  • The best books on Sparta - Gates of Fire: An Epic Novel of the Battle of Thermopylae by Steven Pressfield
  • The best books on Sparta - Property and Wealth in Classical Sparta by Stephen Hodkinson

The best books on Sparta, recommended by Andrew Bayliss

Their reputation for self-discipline and self-denial made their way into the English language, but what the ancient Spartans were really like remains a source of debate among scholars, not least because they wrote little themselves. Andrew Bayliss, Senior Lecturer in Greek History at the University of Birmingham and author of an excellent, short book on The Spartans, talks us through what we know about the heroes of Thermopylae, including the darker sides of their culture and society.