M. Ashraf's Reviews > The Life of Greece

The Story of Civilization, after Our Oriental Heritage I decided that I'm going to finish this epic story, one way or another, and it 'd be great if I not only read the book but other referenced books in it and so my journey begun with The Life of Greece earlier this year :) I started the first chapters, then jumped to the greats - The Iliad and the Odyssey by Homer - I re-read Politics by Aristotle and The Republic by Plato, I added the rest of the dialogues to my to read list and got introduced to The Literature of the Golden Age, great books to be read.

From the rise of Crete, The Troy war, the Legends, the story of Athens, the Greek mythology, the democratic experience, the Persian wars, Sparta and its great history, Macedonia and Alexander the great!!! The rise and fall of the Civilization.
And from history to philosophy and dialectic... to Theater, Drama, Comedy, Poems and music. To Science, Math, Geometry and Astronomy.

Till the coming of The Roman Empire!

Our Greek Heritage
Civilization does not die, it migrates; it changes its habitat and its dress, but it lives on. The decay of one civilization, as of one individual, makes room for the growth of another; life sheds the old skin, and surprises death with fresh youth. Greek civilization is alive; it moves in every breath of mind that we breathe; so much of it remains that none of us in one lifetime could absorb it all.

A great history book is a small word to describe this one, I <3 it, I enjoyed it, it is a very good read! it worth the effort and time.

Next Year It is going to be with The Great Roman Empire :) With Volume III - Caesar and Christ.

Our state is pregnant, shortly to produce
A rude avenger of prolonged abuse.
The commons hitherto seem sober-minded,
But their superiors are corrupt and blinded.
The rule of noble spirits, brave and high,
Never endangered peace and harmony.
The supercilious, arrogant pretense
Of feeble minds, weakness and insolence;
Justice and truth and law wrested aside
By crafty shifts of avarice and pride;
These are our ruin, ...!—never dream
Of future peace or safety to the state;
Bloodshed and strife will follow soon or late."
Theognis of Megara

All things take place by necessity and by harmony

The wise man will cultivate thought, will free himself from passion, superstition, and fear, and will seek in contemplation and understanding the
modest happiness available to human life.

Idealism offends the senses, materialism offends the soul; the one explains everything but the world, the other everything but life.

The excess of liberty, whether in states or individuals, seems only to pass into slavery . . . and the most aggravated form of tyranny arises out of the most extreme form of liberty.

Herodas writes: “Alexandria is the house of Aphrodite, and everything is to be found there—wealth, playgrounds, a large army, a serene sky, public displays, philosophers, precious metals, fine young men, a good royal house, an academy of science, exquisite wines, and beautiful women.”

No great nation is ever conquered until it has destroyed itself. Deforestation and the abuse of the soil, the depletion of precious metals, the migration of trade routes, the disturbance of economic life by political disorder, the corruption of democracy and the degeneration of dynasties, the decay of morals and patriotism, the decline or deterioration of the population, the replacement of citizen armies by mercenary troops, the human and physical wastage of fratricidal war, the guillotining of ability by murderous revolutions and counterrevolutions.