A Culture of Freedom: Ancient Greece and the Origins of Europe

Front Cover
OUP Oxford, Sep 22, 2011 - History - 315 pages
Historians and President of the German Academy for Language and Literature in Darmstadt and in 2003 received thee prestigious Jacob Grimm prize for German literature. culture so special? A Culture of Freedom attempts to answer this question - to find the key to the 'miracle' of ancient Greece. The book takes us on a tour through the rich spectrum of Greek life and culture, from their epic and lyric poetry, political thought and philosophy, to their social life, military traditions, sport, and religious festivals, and finally to the early stages of Greek democracy. Running as a connecting thread throughout is a people's attempt to create a society based upon the freedom rather than power. It is this which, Meier argues, is the distinctive key to Greek culture, marking it out from all that had gone before, including the ancient societies of the Middle East from which the Greeks otherwise borrowed so much. The ancient Greeks managed to build a society founded on the concept of freedom - and by doing so helped mould the Europe that we live in today.
 

Contents

PART II The Rise of the World of Poleis
47
Epilogue
286
Glossary of Greek terms
290
Sources and Further Reading
291
Picture Acknowledgements
303
Index
304
Copyright

Other editions - View all

Common terms and phrases

About the author (2011)

Christian Meier is one of the foremost classical historians of his generation and the author of numerous books, both on the classical world and in the sphere of cultural history. He was formerly Chairman of the Association of German Historians and President of the German Academy for Language and Literature in Darmstadt and in 2003 received the prestigious Jacob Grimm prize for German literature.