Creators, Conquerors, and Citizens: A History of Ancient Greece

by Robin Waterfield

"We Greeks are one in blood and one in language; we have temples to the gods and religious rites in common, and a common way of life." So the fifth-century historian Herodotus has some Athenians declare, in explanation of why they would never betray their fellow Greeks to the enemy, the "barbarian" Persians. And he might have added further common features, such as clothing, foodways, and political institutions. But if the Greeks knew that they were kin, why did many of them side with the Persians against fellow Greeks, and why, more generally, is ancient Greek history so often the history of internecine wars and other forms of competition with one another? This is the question acclaimed historian Robin Waterfield sets out to explore in this magisterial history of ancient Greece.
With more information, more engagingly presented, than any similar work, this is the best single-volume account of ancient Greece in more than a generation. Waterfield gives a comprehensive narrative of seven hundred years of history, from the emergence of the Greeks around 750 BCE to the Roman conquest of the last of the Greco-Macedonian kingdoms in 30 BCE. Equal weight is given to all phases of Greek history-the Archaic, Classical, and Hellenistic periods. But history is not just facts; it is also a matter of how we interpret the evidence. Without compromising the readability of the book, Waterfield incorporates the most recent scholarship by classical historians and archaeologists and asks his readers to think critically about Greek history. A brilliant, up-to-date account of ancient Greece, suitable for history buffs and university students alike, Creators, Conquerors, and Citizens presents a compelling and comprehensive story of this remarkable civilization's disunity, underlying cultural solidarity, and eventual political unification.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Greece, Ancient History, Ancient, World History, Classics

511 pages, Hardcover

First published January 2, 2018

About the author

Robin Anthony Herschel Waterfield is a British classical scholar, translator, editor, and writer of children's fiction.

Reviews

[Chris Jaffe · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is by no means a bad book, and if a person hasn't read much about the ancient Greeks, this would be a perfectly fine place to start. But it's a rather generic book. If you have read about the ancient Greeks before, this is mostly just a rehash as it covers the Greeks from their emergence until the conquest of the area by the Romans. If there is one thing I can say about this book: it offers fairly even coverage of the eras of the ancient Greeks instead of just focusing on the glory years. There are 25 chapters in the book, and the Persian Wars is Chapter 8, and the Peloponnesian War is chapter 14. So you get a lot more of the stuff normally glossed over. True, but then again spending so much time on the post-peak period of ancient Greek history did highlight to me why people often focus on that glory year stretch instead.

There is good stuff here. Athens was divided on their attitude toward Sparta after the Persian Wars. Cimon wanted Sparta and Athens to share pan-Hellenic leadership while Themistocles wanted to see Athens chart more its own course. The author thinks the idea of an "Athenian Empire" during the Delian League is overblown. That's an interesting idea, but I think he takes the notion of empire too literally. Unless it's overt imperialism, then it isn't imperialism for Waterfield. Near the end of the Peloponnesian War, there was a big slave uprising in Athens, when over 20,000 who worked in the silver mines tried to escape. Athens' grain came from the northern Black Sea area. In 451, Athens passed a marriage law that restricted legal partners. This was an attempt to separate Athenians from others. The Peloponnesian War was arguably more a series of wars than one. The first phase was teh Archidamian War, which ended with a treaty in 421. Then Athens had their Sicily expedition in 415. After the Peloponnesian War, Sparta won the Corinthian War (395-86 BCE), which made them more dominant than ever. Then Thebes beat them to becoem #1. Alexander the Great's mother, wife, and son were all killed by one of his successors (Cassander). Another successor killed Alexander's illegitimate son. By the time all of them had been killed, his only remaining relative was his half-sister, who was also killed, despite being past childbearing years. Greeks cities became increasingly aristocratic dominated in the Hellenistic Era. And they increasingly belonged to confederations instead of being independent city-states.

[Elentarri · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nicely written, easy to understand if somewhat bland, introductory history book about Ancient Greece. The author covers the Archaic, Classical, and Hellenistic Eras of Greek history in more or less even spacing, with chapters devoted to thematic topics like the economy and social stratification. Maps and photographs are included.

OTHER BOOK:
Ancient Greece: From Prehistoric to Hellenistic Times by Thomas R. Martin.

[Zachery Tyson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply the best single-volume history of archaic, classical, and Hellenistic Greece I've ever read. An entire graduate survey course in one book. In a word: magisterial.

[Alan Vanneman · Rating 2 out of 5]

A largely disappointing attempt to tell the full story of ancient Greece, from 750 BC to the Roman Conquest, circa 230 BC. The author says he’ll utilize modern developments in archeology, etc. to add to the traditional story, but, as far as I can see, fails to do so. Waterfield provides a nice picture of Greek social structure, but then opts for standard narrative for the “Classical Period”, notably the Persian and Peloponnesian Wars, which is perhaps inevitable, but then does the same for the period following the death of Alexander the Great, when the three major fragments of his empire fought endlessly and fruitlessly until the Romans intervened. I suspect Waterfield borrowed heavily from one of his previous books, Dividing the Spoils: The War for Alexander the Great’s Empire.

While Waterfield seems to know a great deal about the visual arts, his judgments in philosophy and mathematics can be stunningly philistine. He tells us that the Cynics and the Stoics were more important than Plato and Aristotle, because “cynic” and “stoic” are words in common usage, while “Platonist” and “Aristotelian” are not, and that Archimedes is better known for having said “Eureka” than for his mathematics. In fact, Archimedes is universally recognized as one of the greatest mathematicians who ever lived. His portrait is on the Field Medal, the Nobel Prize for mathematicians. Galileo called him “superhuman.”

All of Waterfields’ footnotes are to classical sources, an unsurprising affectation in a classical scholar, but the bibliography comes as a huge surprise, extensive, up to date, and with copious and impressive commentary—really, the best part of the book. Strange!

[Faustibooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book by Robin Waterfield. In it, he summarizes the history of Ancient Greece from the emergence of the Greeks until the Roman conquest. Aside from the typical discussion of war, Waterfield also looks at other very interesting topics, such as the Greek religion, politics in different cities, art, sculpture, literature, philosophy, drama, science, sexuality and the lives of women in Ancient Greece.

Waterfield writes in a very readable manner and never delves too deeply into detail, which is a pity when missing the chance of inserting some fitting anecdotes, but it is also completely understandable when the goal of this book as a summary is clear. From complex events such as the Peloponnesian War to the history of Greek Sicily, Waterfield does an outstanding job of keeping the text coherent and easy to understand. It is because of this, that I can confidently say that I can recommend this book to anyone who wishes to know more about Ancient Greece. From people who barely know anything, to people who already know a lot, this book is great for anyone. With plenty of images of sculptures, artefacts and buildings and a multitude of maps at the beginning of the book, I truly think that this book did a great job at summarizing the complex and rich history that is that of the Ancient Greeks. A well-deserved five-star rating!

[Angelique Simonsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book explains Greece and its idea of itself. It explains how the country worked from the bottom to the top. Interesting but dry.

[Lewis Edwards · Rating 4 out of 5]

Waterfield presents a sweeping overview of ancient Greece, a socio/political history predominantly, which places the Greeks as a people of one, 'panhelles', yet of many city states.

As a beginner to this period, I cannot provide much insight into whether Waterfield has any hot takes on the era, but his wit and writing style is enjoyable. It can, admittedly, get overwhelming in its tour-de-force precision; expect quick jumps from a Macedonian perspective in one paragraph to an Egyptian one in the next. But then, he is condensing 720 years of Greek history (he begins in the Archaic period, 750 BCE to the Roman period, he ends his tale in 30 BCE) into just 460 pages.

When Waterfield goes into areas of history which I am familiar with, it is sublime. His passage on Diogenes and the Cynics was a particular favourite, perhaps when I am less of an ignoramus on Greek history I will give it 5 stars!

If you are familiar with the geography and politics of this period, you'll find it a great pleasure, from an outsider's perspective it read like an Ancient Greek best hits, where the reader thinks, 'ah yes, that period was tricky for the Spartans', so on. A fun read, with a poignant conclusion to wrap up, and the Folio copy is just an excellent tactile reading experience. Full colour illustrations on plates, wonderful photography and some drawings. The cloth binding eases the weight from the enormity of the volume (yes, it's a BIG book), but a beautiful addition to the shelf. For me this was a birthday present, these editions are very expensive, but worth it if you are willing to splash out.

Also, full references and notes, and high-quality maps so that you can explore the time period and historiography with unbounded nerdery.

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

** I received a copy of this book for free through a Goodreads giveaway. My son read it and this is his review. **

This was a great book if you are interested in the Greeks or Greek history and want more than stories or information about their gods. This book has a good overview of the real history of Greece, with a fairly easy to read style that does not skimp on details. There are detailed descriptions of small skirmishes and small hamlets and towns that would most likely be overlooked in more general overviews. There is also attention given to the life of the common man in Ancient Greece and how difficult life was in comparison to the lives of the elite (which unfortunately, is still true today!). I appreciated the fact that the author did not try to gloss over the ugly parts of life in Ancient Greece and I really loved the detailed maps that give you a sense of scale and a way to determine where in today's world these hamlets and towns existed. I would definitely recommend picking this up.

[Michael-Alan Henry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a text book at all, but my prof. used it it as our text book for Greek Golden age history and it was amazing! It doesn't read like a history book at all; the writing was very engaging and smooth, I didn't feel like I wanted to fall asleep like most history books. Worth the read even if your not in school.

[Gretchen · Rating 3 out of 5]

i told you i’d finish this if it was the last thing i did

[Mira · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spot read this—incredibly informative if you are interested in specific topics of the Ancient Greek world. It can be dry at times, but I think that’s a function of the genre. Also gave a good overview of all eras of Ancient Greece (not just classical/hellenistic).

[Aislinn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Phew! This is one of the most academic books of the long list of academic books I've encountered. It is incredibly informative, but it is also so dry that my soul withers away a little with every word I read.

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My knowledge of Ancient Greece has always been fragmentary, and I've been looking for a systematic work that could help me synthesize my scattered impressions of this extraordinary existence. Unfortunately, this book does not manage to accomplish that task.

I find it difficult even to categorize this book: it is kind of history, but it also branches off into Greek political culture, religious beliefs, legal system, art/literature, women's rights, and you-name-it. Inevitably, what I get is a hodgepodge that is at the same time remarkably instructive and painfully confusing.

The book broadly splits ancient Greek history into three periods: Archaic, Classical, and Hellenistic. (The poor Romans and their conquest are glossed over in about 20 pages.) But beyond this basic sequence - in other words, when the book delves into each of the individual periods - it nearly dumps the idea of a strict chronology.

Instead, the book divides each period into chapters of "themes" or "topics," and within each chapter, the "themes" are further divided into "sub-themes." For example, in a chapter centered on the "theme" of Archaic Greek constitutions, we might first get a sub-chapter on Athens, then another on Sparta, then another on "the rest." In this process, the timeline twists and turns merrily, sometimes jumping across an entire century within a sub-chapter before looping back to the beginning as the book moves on to the next. I found it almost impossible to follow the events without constantly referring to the timeline provided.

Admittedly, the chapters are still largely, sort of, more or less chronological; admittedly, when it comes to thematically arranged works, illustrating the theme will take precedence over sticking to the space-time continuum. Nevertheless, the themes could perhaps have been better arranged, so that the readers may find the reading experience a bit more structured.

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The fundamental problem, I would argue, is that the book can't really decide who its audience is going to be. In the Recommended Reading section, the author prefaces the list with the following:

The bibliography for the hundreds of years of history covered in this book is vast; the history and culture of ancient Greece have been extensively and intensively worked on for over two hundred years. Since the primary readership of this book will not consist of hard-core scholars (who, in any case, know where to go for reading material), I have limited this bibliography to what I consider to be the next level of accessible books to read after this one. There are, of course, further levels beyond that, and many of the books I have listed contain good bibliographies to guide the curious reader into the byways of scholarship. (p. 478)

It's obvious that the book is not for the "hard-core scholars." Its breadth means that even for a book of 467 pages (excluding the bibliography), it can't really be an in-depth analysis of anything.

But for me, the book doesn't read like it's an introduction to Ancient Greece for the "general audience" either. Plenty of knowledge seems to be presumed. Apart from the chronological issue, the book throws around the names of the many, many Greek poleis and leagues - almost nonchalantly - and expects you to know where they were, what their significance was, and why you should remember them.

This breezy treatment is also applied to the Greek figures themselves, where names fly about but little else is provided. As I close the book, I feel I've learned another hundred or so prominent Hellenistic scholars/politicians, not counting those I already knew. Of these men, I remember about ten by name; I can describe clearly and effectively by life and deed, about none.

In the end, what I gained from the book was not a structure to organize my fragmentary knowledge of Ancient Greece, but more fragments floating around in my head like mosaic pieces that (still) don't fit together.

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And yet, even when it comes to the mosaic pieces themselves, my opinion is somewhat reserved.

Strictly speaking, this book has no bibliography, only a Recommended Reading section. Every single source cited in the book is a primary work written by an ancient Greek or, later, Roman author. Open any page; look at the footnotes; expect to find names like Thucydides, Xenophon, Plutarch, and so on, but never expect to see a single author who came after Christ.

Quoting extensively from primary sources isn't a problem. (Except ... perhaps a little, since Waterfield rarely analyzes the reliability of these very ancient sources.) Still, I'd say that quoting exclusively from primary sources deserves a little more questioning.

I do not doubt that Waterfield is an experienced scholar in this field. In fact, I'm deeply impressed by the sheer volume of ancient works he's read; besides, within his list of Recommended Reading, most works he offers for further readings are indeed written by his contemporary classical scholars, which means that although he doesn't cite them, he has certainly engaged with them.

Nevertheless: within the actual content of the book, Waterfield quotes exclusively from primary sources. My concern is simple: even with Ancient Greece, as "written" a culture almost as any ancient civilization can be, we simply don't have enough records to support a book of nearly 500 pages. We always have to resort to broad generalizations and guesswork. This is where the lack of secondary sources becomes a problem.

For example, take a look at this paragraph on the cultural development in the Hellenistic period:

All over the Hellenistic world, royal patronage was the main engine of cultural development in science, mathematics, medicine, technology, art, and literature. Some philosophers stayed away, expressing horror at the decadence of court life and preferring the lively philosophical scene in Athens, but others became tutors to princes and Royal Pages, and most scholars took patronage as an honor, a sign that they had won or deserved internal renown. Hence artists and writers paid for their privileged lifestyles with fulsome praise of the king - like Theocritus' sixteen Idyll, in which Ptolemy II is the perfection of military prowess, piety, munificence, and so on. Callimachus' quasi-historical poem Aetia made Ptolemaic Alexandria the culmination of Greek cultural evoluion. By means of such poems, the residents of the Museum vied with one another, and with other courtiers, for the king's attention and generosity. (p. 426)

This paragraph illustrates my reservations about the book. It often throws out sweeping statements with minimal quantification, boldly telling the reader that a particular group ("royal patronage"/"most scholars [in the Hellenistic world]"/"the residents of the Museum") was this or that - but because the book does not cite secondary sources, we are left with incredibly broad, yet somewhat absolute-sounding, generalizations that come from the author alone. When the book does cite primary sources to support the generalization, they have little context and are often glossed over ... with even more generalizations!

(Just what exactly did Theocritus and Callimachus write? What were their backgrounds? Can we trust them to be representative of "most scholars" in the Hellenistic world?)

Again, I don't doubt Waterfield's expertise or integrity. The Recommended Reading section takes up 19 pages; when Waterfield does acknowledge contemporary works, he provides detailed comments and generous praise of them.

Perhaps because of this, I find it a curious choice that he doesn't refer to any secondary sources in the book proper, when he intends to pay due respect to the works of his predecessors and colleagues anyway.

Whatever his considerations may be, what I get as a reader is an experience like this: the book lists one or two interesting primary sources, then it goes on for three pages of blanket conclusions "summarizing" what these primary materials tell us, without a single source from another contemporary historian to support its conclusions.

Speaking solely as a reader, this choice makes it all the more difficult for me to judge how much is Waterfield's own interpretation and how much is "established scholarly consensus," non-existent as that term may be.

My omnipresent paranoia certainly distracted my attention quite a bit; as a result, I probably retained even less knowledge than I would have from a thoroughly academic work.

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There is, however, one positive exception. The last chapter of the book is undoubtedly Waterfield's own opinion on the political culture of Greek history, and it is a chapter that I find immensely enjoyable.

Here, for instance, Waterfield (rightly) calls out the historical and political context in which the West has come to ascribe an almost mythical, at times pseudo-religious, quality to ancient Greek civilization:

Greek political culture has been the main subject of this book, and the quality for which the Greeks have most commonly been admired is freedom. This is due partly to the emphasis they themselves placed on political freedom, and partly to the fact that the time of the rediscovery of Greece - the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, when the country first began to receive regular visits from northern Europeans - was also the time when the Greeks were beginning their struggle for independence from the Ottoman Empire. Inevitably, the alleged freedom of the ancient Greeks was contrasted with the submission and submissiveness of contemporary Greeks. This led, in the Victorian era and the early twentieth century, to quite a bit of silly idealization of the ancient Greeks as the originators of all that is good and noble, but there was a kernel of truth: the Greeks clearly did value their freedom. (p. 461)

As with all things human, the reality is more complicated. There is no doubt that "Greeks" share a certain cultural unity. But it is also the Greeks, more than any other "barbarian" oppressors, who are most enthusiastic about crushing and enslaving their fellow "Greeks." Identity and allegiance flip-flop almost every generation, let alone every century:

I spoke earlier in the book of different tiers of identity [of the ancient Greeks], such that a man was at the same time Greek, Dorian, and from Argos, let's say. At any given moment, external events, moral persuasion (by a speech, or a tract, or a politically engaged theatrical production), or his own internal motivations might prompt him to accept one tier over the others. Every moment had the potential for a switch from one tier to another. The events of history happen when enough people share the same framework in a sufficiently coherent form, and choose the same set of loyalties. Then they act as Greeks, or as Dorians, or as Argives, or as a political faction. Coherent and long-term identification was needed with the top tier, with Greekness, before full unification was possible or even conceivable. (p. 462)

This is a very apt description. Interestingly, I feel that this summary can be applied to pretty much any human settlement that arises before the enshrinement of the nation-state as the "final" destination of every human society. This tension is perhaps particularly pronounced in empires/cultures that have a long history and extensive diasporas.

In my current view, the transition from amorphous "cultural" kinship to concrete "political" unity lies at the heart of the many global upheavals of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. With the advent of fully-fledged Western nation-states, the rest of the world - with its tribes, kingdoms, and empires, which had by all accounts been the "norm" for much of human history - was forced to adjust their identity in the West's image and to forge, too often by violence, an absolute prioritization of the top tier identity. When this attempt failed, fear and hatred ensued - emotions that perhaps laid and continue to lay the foundation for the staggering number of genocides and general internecine atrocities in the modern world.

To transform a historically multi-layered identity into a largely uniform one, whether one based on the majority ethnicity or majority ideology - we see this struggle in the Ottoman Turks, the Indian Hindus, the Han Chinese, the Soviet Russians, the Yugoslav Serbs ... many of whom arguably still haven't completed their metamorphosis, and many of whom never will.

Of course, the modern Greeks themselves aren't immune to this struggle. The language debate over Katharevousa and Demotic provides yet another fascinating example of a young culture-cum-nation's attempt to hammer out a "modern" and, most importantly, united political identity.

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In conclusion, this is a book from which I learned a lot, just not in the way I had hoped. I think it is childish to complain that an academic work is "too academic," but I also firmly believe that any book could and should be made more accessible.

Despite my mixed feelings about the book, I agree with Waterfield on one point. When it comes down to it, Ancient Greece was exactly what the title describes - a remarkable existence that was almost a one-off miracle; a civilization full of vibrancy, bloodshed, and soul-searching; perhaps most improbably, Ancient Greece was a tiny corner of the ancient world inhabited at once by creators, conquerors, and citizens.

[Nathan Schmidt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this book through Goodreads First Reads and am grateful for the opportunity.

Ancient Greece has a complex and diverse history, and to even cover a portion of that history has often taken entire books on their own, as with Herodotus and Thucydides. When I heard that Waterfield intended to cover the entirety of ancient Greece's history, while also exploring the cultural elements of the setting, I was intrigued but also skeptical. Could he truly achieve such a stunning endeavor? I am happy to say that he has exceeded all of my expectations.

Waterfield's work is an in-depth look at Greece's saga, all the way from the development of key city-states such as Athens and Sparta to the region's loss of autonomy under the Romans. The author takes considerable effort in explaining what life was like throughout that ever-changing time period, exploring the economy, religious philosophy, and arts of Greece among other topics even while pushing forward with the historical narrative.

I like how Waterfield is not afraid to admit where he and other historians have to guess yet also strives to give us as best a picture he can of the history. Given how most of the historical records were by the wealthy elites rather than the common worker, the information we can draw upon is often limited, and it is good that he acknowledges those gaps and works to consider what might have occurred but was not recorded. He is also willing to clarify common misunderstandings we have of Greek history such as how Athenian democracy emerged and certain myths about Spartan society.

All throughout the history, we are treated with various maps of the Hellenic world and pictures of Greek artifacts to illustrate the world he is retelling to us. Moreover, Waterfield has a gift for helping us understand how the Greeks saw the world and connect with them for a better grasp of their culture and history. In addition, Waterfield supports his work with a comprehensive bibliography, albeit one that he had to pare down to the best of the best due to the vast range of works; I suggest looking at his recommendations on specific books for key topics in Greek history, as he offers useful tips on how to learn more about the world of ancient Greece.

There are only a couple small issues I had with the book. First, while Waterfield does put considerable attention into exploring the diverse aspects of the Greek city-states, he tends to put the most attention on the key players of the Peloponnesian War, Athens and Sparta; other Greek polis come up here and there, but if you were looking for a comprehensive history of specific city-states other than the aforementioned two above, you may wish to consult other materials. Second, due to the sheer amount of different topics, Waterfield's organization sometimes seems a little off, as he will cover the historical narrative for some time, go off on some cultural tangents in a few chapters, and then return to the overall narrative. Things become especially disjointing in the final sections when we get into the spread of Hellenism across the Near East; as the post-Alexander wars break out, it becomes difficult to keep track of what is actually happening in Greece and what is taking place abroad.

That said, I really cannot fault Waterfield too much for these issues, as they are ones that I expect naturally emerge when making such a history book. Any more information would have likely bogged down the narrative, so I am forgiving of the absence of other Greek cities from the overall focus of the history. In making sure that he covers all of the elements of Greek history, it is difficult to organize them in a perfectly-organized fashion, and I admit that I do not know how I would arrange the chapters any better than he did. As for the expanding lens to the Near East, since a key aspect in the later chapters is the spread of Hellenic culture, I understand why Waterfield had to start splitting his attention between Greece and foreign areas, even if I still think that he could have done better.

All in all, this is a magnificent book with countless stories hidden inside it. There is so much to learn from the book, I could reread it day after day and find something new each time. This book will become a treasured part of my history collection, and I highly recommend it to all people curious about the history and culture of ancient Greece.

[André Jan · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's all Greek to me!

hehehehehe

[JRT · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The Greeks found it impossible to live at peace with one another.” This assertion toward trhe end of the book sums up the tenor of this historical work on the ancient Greeks. The common theme of “Creators, Conquerors, and Citizens” is that the history of the Greeks is a history of a people with a common identity but violently competing sociopolitical destinies. Author Robin Waterfield does a great job highlighting the development of Green society during pre-historic, archaic, classical, and Hellenistic periods.

I was fascinated by Waterfield’s descriptions of the development and evolution of Athenian democracy in 5th Century BCE. Classical Athens was direct democracy insofar as it allowed its citizens (Athenian-born men who were not slaves) a direct say on policy via the vote. Athenian democracy served as the basic for other democratic forms in Greece, as well as the rest of the Western world going forward. The book also discussed the rise and development of Sparta, the strongest Greek state during its heyday. Sparta had some extremely weird customs, including institutionalized male-to-boy pedophilia, and it was also the maverick of the Greek world, resisting various cultural and political movements that captured the rest of Greek society.

The chapter on the ancient Greek economy was especially interesting, particularly the descriptions and explanation of Athens as a “slave society” completely dependent on slave labor. Many Greek city-states were so dependent on slavery that the ownership in slaves was ubiquitous throughout populations, and not just concentrated among the rich. Slave ownership was a practical necessity, rather than a luxury, and most slaves came from near-Eastern Europe / Western Asia. Notably, Black African slaves were rare in Classic Greek times. Slaves were treated very poorly in Athens and throughout Greece (subjected to all forms of physical and sexual abuse), and were seen as “animate tools” in the words of Aristotle.

Finally, while much of the ancient world was steeped in patriarchal traditions, it was striking to read just how overt and demeaning Athenian patriarchy was. Elite Women had absolutely no public life. Ironically, it was poor women who had greater degrees of freedom, as necessitated by the family’s economic need. Nevertheless, Athenian women were generally tied to the household and had no citizenship rights whatsoever.

Ultimately, this book covered the major wars of the Ancient Greek times, as well as the rise and fall of the major polities and the ultimate takeover of Greek society by the Macedonians, and then Romans. I recommend this book for anyone who wants to learn about the foundations of Western civilization.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

How I wish this book had been available four or five years ago when I first started to read Greek history books.
If you are relatively new to the subject, this is an excellent book to start with. If, like me, you have already read much of the "layman's" history on Greece, you might well find much of the content repetitive. In fact the chapters on the post Alexander period seem to have been borrowed from the author's other work "Dividing the Spoils" and I think the author went into too much minute detail here as he was obviously on familiar ground.
Nevertheless I did gain some new insights into the history of the Greeks, especially on the origins of the rivalry between Athens and Sparta which now I know, thanks to this book, started a long time before the Persian wars. Indeed the chapter on the Peloponnesian war was for me by far the best in the book giving much more background information than I have read elsewhere not only on the course of the war itself but also on its origins and its consequences.

[grace · Rating 3 out of 5]

I FINISHED IT!!!
this was good but also was very long and a yet the most simplistic overlook?
Anyway go me!!!!

[Larry Norton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have recently become interested in ancient history. I was looking for one volume histories of Rome, Greece, etc. I started with Rome, reading Mary Beard’s SPQR,, which was excellent. Next, I tackled Creators, Conquerors and Citizens, by Robin Waterfield, the subject of this review. I plan to work my way around the Mediterranean looking next to read a good one volume history of the Persian Empire.

Waterford’s history of Ancient Greece spans three main periods: The Archaic Period (750-480 BCE), the Classical Period (479-323 BCE) and the Hellenistic Period (323-30 BCE).

The Archaic Period starts with the emergence of the Greek city states. In this section, Waterford introduces of theme as Greece as both “many and one”. The Greeks were “many” in that they were divided into thousands of city states, some quite small, maybe a few thousand residents, to some as large as 3-400,000. Each of these states had their own constitutions and were usually either tyrannies, oligarchies, or democracies and often changing from one form of governance to another based on the internal issues of the city. These city states were fiercely independent, suspicious of their neighbors and always looking out for their own interests. The Greeks were one in that they shared a common language, worshipped common gods and had a shared interest in the arts, be it theater, sculpture, painting or architecture. The “many” dynamic lasted throughout the period of history covered in this volume and Waterford points out that it wasn’t until 1832 that Greece finally become a proper nation-state with its own territory, government, history, religion, language and culture.

The Archaic period covers many of the most famous events and people of Greek history, including Alcibiades, Pericles, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, the Peloponnesian Wars and the conquests of Alexander the Great. One of the chapters in this section book is entitled “The Futility of War” and this chapter could well serve as the theme of the Classical Period, if not of all of Greek history. The Greeks were constantly at each other’s throats, forming and breaking alliances, deposing tyrants, murdering enemies, razing cities, sinking navies. It takes some patience to follow the constant back and forth of these wars and the personalities involved. Also, make sure you keep your maps handy, as Waterford frequently refers to a wide range of cities, and geographical locations throughout. Waterford doesn’t just focus on war, though. As context to this carnage, he has interesting insights on the economy of Greece; women, sexuality and family Life; and the emergence of science and philosophy as we know them today.

The Hellenistic period covers what happened to Greece after the death of Alexander the Great. Alexander's empire devolved into several rival kingdoms, with democracy all but disappearing. The “successor kings” again were at each other’s throats, and there was much death and destruction. Ultimately, Greece’s inability to unite led to its conquest by Rome in 27 BCE. However, in spite of this horrendous landscape of internecine warfare or maybe because of it, the Greeks sought solace in the arts and philosophy leaving us with a legacy of some of our finest examples of creative and intellectual culture.

Waterfield’s book offers a deft combination of scholarship and popular history. He reminds us often of how little we truly know about the Greeks and touches on some of the academic disputes animating current scholarship, but he doesn’t lose the reader in these details, keeping the narrative moving, offering interesting insights and challenging opinions along the way.

[Ron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ancient Greece is a perennial topic that crops up in history, literature, and science. Ancient Greece was the lynch pin of interactions from the East and the West. toward each other. However, most readers do not grasp the role ancient Greece played in the formation of modern society. In Creators, Conquerors, and Citizens, Robin Waterfield seeks to remedy that lack of context.

Robin Waterfield opens with a discussion of Archaic Greece - in other words, the Greece before Homer where the megalithic tombs that earlier archeologists thought belonged to Agamemnon and Odysseus and their ilk. He covers the founding of Athens and Sparta and the growth of the aristocracy. Then there are chapters on the Persian Wars. The next major period of Greek history is the Classical Time with the Peloponnesian War, Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle along with the Western Greek colonies in Italy and Sicily. The Classical Period ends with the conquest of Greece by Phillip and Alexander of Macedon which ushers in the Hellenistic Period. This is the time of Greek expansion across the former Persian empire all the way to India and south into Egypt. The time of the Successors is a specialty of Waterfield who really shines in highlighting how this period really set the stage for Greek thought and culture flooding the world.

In Creators, Conquerors, and Citizens, Waterfield presents a very readable political history of ancient Greece while also providing chapters on Greek religion, art, literature and social constructs in context. It is appreciated that the Hellenistic period got equal treatment to the Archaic and Classical periods.

[Elite Group · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extremely interesting Hellenic history is not too Greek for us!

Many famous academics, scripters, theorists, conquerors, leaders of assembly, monarchs, mathematicians and athletes originated from Greece (also locally called Hellas). Tragedies typically came from there such as wars between the city-states (polis) and invasion by the powerful foreign nations.

Democracy was invented by the Athens’ assembly, however, it was not really a democracy and compared with modern communist China and unelected EU commissioners. Oligarchies have existed since the dawn of civilisation.

There are many Greek words in our English vocabulary such as strategy (strategos) and economy (oikosnomia) etc. Today’s jury system in our Crown Courts originated in Greece, although there was no judge, and verdicts are still being upheld by the majority of jurors.

It is really incredible that our modern civilisations remain based on the Greek model, and later the Roman system, for the last three thousand years. I hope Robin Waterfield will write about Rome or Egypt!

Caesar13

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.

[Gregory Bruno · Rating 4 out of 5]

It gets the job done. Good index, glossary, and Recommended Reading.

There are some editing oddities. In the body of the text the author refers to himself, saying "I think," or "I already mentioned," which is stylistically inappropriate for treatises--and made me wonder whether Waterfield was as ignorant of the substantive history as he was of writing conventions.

Waterfield also glosses over a wild fact that should have gotten at least brief historiographical scrutiny; his anecdote that all Spartan soldiers had to have sex with each other. I've heard elsewhere that Lycurgan law was sensationalized in later eras.

This is one of the newest overviews of ancient Greek history. The reason I chose this book was in case new archeological finds had altered the history. But new archeology does not seem to come into Waterfield's narrative. As far as I can tell, this is a re-hash of prior treatises at best. Therefore, I would recommend an older book on this subject, from a more masterful historian/author.

[Jeremy Lucas · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's no question that Waterfield offers up a History of Ancient Greece that feels more entertaining, say, than a textbook alternative. But there's so much of it, with so many cities, so many territories, so many figures, that the author seems to often forget his readers, abruptly throwing in some new name of some new place or person either without context, or with a context long forgotten from 15, 20, or 100 pages briefly mentioned elsewhere. The author also has a tendency to insert himself into the narrative as a personal pronoun, which is a bit jarring. In other words, a good portion of this book puts the Greek novice at a disadvantage, a literary dizziness, if you will. But I won't pretend, having read this entire text cover to cover, that I didn't come away with a better, stronger sense of Ancient Greece. To that end, Waterfield did well.

[Bennett Rogers · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Greek political culture has been the main subject of this book, and the quality for which the Greeks have most commonly been admired is freedom." This is the author's extremely accurate, though possibly understated, summary of Creators, Conquerors, and Citizens. If you are interested in the political history of ancient Greece (and almost nothing else), you will love this book and give it 5 stars. But if you are looking for a large helping of intellectual history - of classic authors and works, philosophers and ideas - you will be disappointed. Though I belong in the latter category, I have definitely grown in my understanding of Greek history and cultural identity thanks to Waterfield's work.

P.S. The author's introduction to Plato's Timaeus (Oxford World Classics) is outstanding.

[Darcysmom · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley for free in exchange for an honest review.
Creators, Conquerors, and Citizens is an excellent overview of ancient Greek history. Robin A. H. Waterfield has written an engaging and accessible book that introduces the reader to the major periods and players of ancient Greece. I particularly enjoyed the chapters that focused on women, sexuality, and family life (chapter 13) and on social life and intellectual culture (chapter 23). I really like the recommended reading list that corresponds to each chapter of the book - making it easy to find specific, topical information.

[Piker7977 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a top notch history of the ancient Greek world. The study spans from Homer to the conquest of Rome and examines events through a political lens. The reader also gets insight into culture, economics, philosophy, and family life. Waterfield also incorporates some bold arguments into his writing. For instance, he challenges the idea that Athens was a traditional empire since its hegemonic outreach did not incorporate anyone who was not Greek. While I don't agree with this statement, it is an interesting observation that will inspire the reader to consider the definitions of larger themes within the context of ancient, classical, and Hellenistic history.

[Matthew Jacobs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very enjoyable book that gives a survey overview of all of Ancient Greece. Great introduction to the topic, and I loved it. Waterfield is an engaging author, and made the history interesting. With such a large amount of material to cover, it did suffer at times with being too brief, and having to cover too many events very quickly. Sometimes, it became hard to keep up with the amount of wars being described (also a difficulty Greek history necessarily involves). Overall, would definitely recommend.

[Evin McQuistion]

The Greeks started out as bronze age pirates and mercenaries and that explains a lot.

Tickled by the Hellenistic Greeks making a Theatre union due to their rapid immigration to the East and the demand for actors.

Favorite Spartan: tie between Cleomenes and Lysander.
Least favorite Spartan: Nabis, what a dumb name.

Favorite Athenian: Solon's fun, makes proto-democracy and then goes on vacation. Harmodius and Aristogeiton are funny.
Least favorite Athenian: too many to choose. Let's say Plato. Metaphysical dork.

[Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would like to thank Goodreads, the author, and publisher for sending my a Giveaway copy. In his exhaustively researched book, Waterfield offers a comprehensive survey of 'Greek' history. Well-written, clearly articulated, and neatly organized, Creators, Conquerors, and Citizens has a lot to offer for anyone looking to learn about Ancient Greece. Problems of geography persist, since the book focuses on the modern day Balkan peninsula despite admitting that the Mediterranean coast was dotted with cities and communities mirroring Greek social and cultural traditions. Waterfield's choice to open the book with an introduction on Enviromnetal background is telling: His book grounds the social world of Ancient Greece in the rocky geography attached to the surrounding seas, tying the civilizations together and including Ancient Greece in a web of other ancient Mediterranean people.

[Goodfelladh · Rating 5 out of 5]

As others have already said, a magnificent survey of Greek history from the archaic period all the way through the Roman conquest. Because of the scope of the entire project, there can’t be much depth on specific topics, but Waterfield wonderfully and concisely covers important aspects of Greek society - military, economic, social, religious, and more. An absolute masterclass in how to do this type of general history cover huge periods of time.

[Ross · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I learned a lot, but it was also an easy read. Waterfield does a nice job providing a comprehensive overview of Greek history. The coverage on the archaic and classical periods were excellent. However, the section on Macedonian history and Alexander the Great felt rushed. Overall, I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in brushing up on Ancient Greek history.