I haven’t done a “Halfway Review” since the beginning of the year - the other books I read didn’t require it, or I broke up the review into multiple parts, like with The Brothers Karamazov.
The Greek Way by, Edith Hamilton definitely requires a midway review - there is so much information that I need to do it justice. The Greek Way is non-fiction, and Hamilton has been revered for her extensive knowledge on Ancient Greece and Rome and was even made an honorary citizen of Athens, due to her writings.
I decided to read The Greek Way because it’s been 11 years since my Greek Civilization class and 9 years since my Greek & Roman Warfare class (that latter was literally the hardest class I’ve ever taken. It was so hard it came with a disclaimer. Ya girl Aced it!). I need a refresher on some of the the cultural, religious, political and literary aspects of Ancient Greece, as my notes and texts from school are somewhere buried at my parents’ house.
Within the first couple of pages I was floored by Hamilton’s writing style - it’s gorgeous! It’s simple yet lyrical and it’s evident that she absolutely adores the Ancient Greeks. This book almost reads like a love letter to them and it’s difficult not to be swept away by her enthusiasm. I have a more difficult time reading non-fiction because I tend to space out, but not with The Greek Way; I’m completely enthralled!
Hamilton begins by explaining what sets the Ancient Greeks apart from other ancient civilizations, such as the Egyptians or Persians. She makes the argument that the Greeks are doing something completely different and that without their accomplishments, Western civilization could not be birthed.
“None of the great civilizations that preceded them and surrounded them served them as model. With them something completely new came into the world. They were the first Westerners; the spirit of the West, the modern spirit, is a Greek discovery and the place of the Greeks is the modern world.”
The Ancient Greeks were rationalists, putting emphasis on reason, logic and intellect. They broke away from a structure of society in which priests were the head and centered society on the importance of independent thought. The Ancient Greeks would argue that with priests at the head, knowledge and power are controlled by the religious institution - control knowledge and power and one controls people. From here, we see the birth of personal autonomy, the value of independent thought and free speech.
“The right of a man to say what he pleased was fundamental in Athens. ‘A slave is he who cannot speak his thought,’ said Euripides.”
This was a society that loved knowledge and this is the type of society in which those seeking knowledge can flourish.
“The Greeks were intellectualists; they had a passion for using their minds. The fact shines through even their use of language. Our word for school comes from the Greek work for leisure (σχολή).”
The Ancient Greeks embraced the human condition, which can clearly be seen in their literature. The style of their writings is quite binary, often blatantly displaying good and bad, black and white, grief and joy, simultaneously within a text, often at the same time. This coexistence of polar opposites reveals how the Ancient Greeks acknowledged the complexities of life. Think of the Greek Tragic Hero/Heroine - they are the embodiment of strengths and flaws and are not immune to disasters, sometimes of their own doing.
What also sets their literature apart is how direct and matter-of-fact it reads. Greek is a very difficult language to translate; they have multiple words for just one word in English - for example, they have 6 different words to indicate different types of love. In English, we’d have to use multiple descriptors to explain the type of love of which we are referring.
“It often seems, when translated with any degree of literalness, bare, so unlike what we are used to as even to repel.”
The Ancient Greeks saw no need for flamboyant, flowery, exaggerated descriptions - they practically wrote about what they saw. If they were to read a Victorian novel, they would think it absolute nonsense and unnecessary and would tell them to “Get to the point!”
“A skylark was just a skylark. Birds were birds and nothing else, but how beautiful a thing was a bird, ‘that flies over the foam of the wave with careless heart, sea-purple bird of spring.’”
For the Ancient Greeks, their literature is bold and even vulgar. Hamilton says, “…Aristophanes capable of more kinds of vulgarity and indecency than Shakespeare ever dreamed of.” Aristophanes in particular wrote comedic plays and during this time, no one was off limits.
Honestly, I think the Ancient Greeks would scoff at today’s obsession to be ‘politically correct’ because in doing so, one is trying to overly correct the complexities, contradictions and quirks that makes us so fascinating and yes, uncomfortable. It also provides good comedic material they would say the a civilization that can laugh at itself is a healthy society.
Lastly, the halfway point of The Greek Way ends with Herodotus, who can arguably be considered the first historian. In fact, our modern concept of history stems from Herodotus, since the word ‘historia’ literally means investigation. Herodotus traveled widely and wrote about what he saw and the people he met, even if he didn’t necessarily believe all that was told to him. For Herodotus and the Ancient Greeks, “the idea of Truth to which personal bias and prejudice must yield.” In other words, write what you see, examine what you see, leave your feelings at the door. I like this, I like this a lot. It’s refreshing because in today’s culture, people’s feelings and perceptions become their truth, even if the actual truth is towering in front of them, people will turn a blind eye to what doesn’t validate their feelings. As I like to tell people, “You know… you can FEEL WRONG!”
It’s got to be obvious to you, by the length of this halfway review, how much I’m enjoying this intelligent text. The Ancient Greeks are so fascinating to me, I never tire of learning about them and reading their works. The Greek Way has definitely helped some of the content discussed in my classes to come back to memory and I’m looking forward to reading the rest of the book.
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