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Classics: A Very Short Introduction
Classics: A Very Short Introduction | Mary Beard, John Henderson
4 posts | 3 read | 5 to read
This Very Short Introduction to Classics links a haunting temple on a lonely mountainside to the glory of ancient Greece and the grandeur of Rome, and to Classics within modern culture-from Jefferson and Byron to Asterix and Ben-Hur. We are all Classicists - we come into touch with the Classics daily: in our culture, politics, medicine, architecture, language, and literature. What are the true roots of these influences, however, and how do our interpretations of these aspects of the Classics differ from their original reception? This introduction to the Classics begins with a visit to the British Museum to view the frieze which once decorated the Apollo Temple at Bassae. Through these sculptures, John Henderson and Mary Beard prompt us to consider the significance of Classics as a means of discovery and enquiry, its value in terms of literature, philposophy, and culture, and its importance as a source of imagery. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.
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rwmg
Classics: A Very Short Introduction | Mary Beard, John Henderson
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Pickpick

Interesting. Not so much about the Greeks and the Romans as about how the Greeks and Romans are the same as and different from us and the similarities and differences between the ways people have regarded them in different generations. A lot to get through in just 120 pages.

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rwmg
Classics: A Very Short Introduction | Mary Beard, John Henderson
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IntellectualHermit
Classics: A Very Short Introduction | Mary Beard, John Henderson
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Mehso-so

"So much of Western culture turns on centuries of exploration of the legacy of the classical works that it lies somewhere at the roots of pretty well all we say,see, or think."

I cannot say I was overly enthusiastic with this book, it seemed as it was a slow trudge to set up a frame of reference for someone who had no knowledge of the Greek and Roman classical impact on modern cultures.

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IntellectualHermit
Classics: A Very Short Introduction | Mary Beard, John Henderson
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To be interested in the classical word has often mane literally to go there, to embark on a voyage into the unknown.