Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted at Wishful Endings, to spotlight the books we’re excited about that we have yet to read.
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Out of One, Many: Ancient Greek Ways of Thought and Culture by Jennifer T. Roberts
Expected publication: May 14, 2024 by Princeton University Press
A sweeping new account of ancient Greek culture and its remarkable diversity
Covering the whole of the ancient Greek experience from its beginnings late in the third millennium BCE to the Roman conquest in 30 BCE, Out of One, Many is an accessible and lively introduction to the Greeks and their ways of living and thinking. In this fresh and witty exploration of the thought, culture, society, and history of the Greeks, Jennifer Roberts traces not only the common values that united them across the seas and the centuries, but also the enormous diversity in their ideas and beliefs.
Examining the huge importance to the Greeks of religion, mythology, the Homeric epics, tragic and comic drama, philosophy, and the city-state, the book offers shifting perspectives on an extraordinary and astonishingly creative people. Century after century, in one medium after another, the Greeks addressed big questions, many of which are still very much with us, from whether gods exist and what happens after we die to what political system is best and how we can know what is real. Yet for all their virtues, Greek men set themselves apart from women and foreigners and profited from the unpaid labor of enslaved workers, and the book also looks at the mixed legacy of the ancient Greeks today.
The result is a rich, wide-ranging, and compelling history of a fascinating and profoundly influential culture in all its complexity—and the myriad ways, good and bad, it continues to shape us today.
Surprise surprise, another book about ancient history that I desperately want to read. It does sound like a really fascinating read, especially since it’s written by a woman. I’m always on the search for those!
Are you also looking forward to this book? What do you think of it?
Leave links to your Can’t-Wait Wednesday post so I can stop by!
The cover is so pretty, that alone would make me want to know more. I know you’ll be reading this, so I can’t wait to hear your thoughts!
The cover totally speaks to me. If I’d see it at the store I’d definitely buy it right away 😛
Ooooohhh I love this look of this!!!
Me too!!
What a fascinating book! It sounds as if it was written with you in mind, Stephanie.
Haha I feel the same!
Ancient Greece is just so fascinating, I love that there are so many books out there about it. Hope you’ll love this one!
I’ve always been fascinated by the Greeks so this looks like a fabulous read.
Could this be any more perfect for you?
Nope it is perfectly perfect for me hehe
I note this book, sounds interesting. For the time being I am reading a lot about Ancient Greece, and the Roman Empire. So inspiring and interesting.