Ancient Athens on Five Drachmas a Day by Philip Matyszak
Matyszak's witty new book, a companion volume to his bestselling Ancient Rome on Five Denarii a Day, is a journey through the ancient Greek city-state written in the style of a Lonely Planet travel guide. The Athens of 431BC is divided up into nine useful chapters from Getting There (advice on how to reach the city while taking in the views at Thermopylae, the site of the epic battle between 300 Spartans and the might of the Persian army), to Must-See Sights, a guide to the most stunning of the ancient monuments that Athens has to offer. Matyszak, the author of several books on the ancient world, has plenty of sage advice (never travel the road to Delphi without a stout rod and a doughty donkey), entertaining factoids (two Spartans survived the battle at Thermopylae - one committed suicide later from shame) and useful phrases (Give me back my money! - apodos moi to argurion!) to keep his readers entertained. Ancient Athens achieves that elusive balance of being both well researched and extremely funny.
Thames & Hudson £12.95 pp128

It's All Greek To Me by Charlotte Higgins
The noble premise behind this book is to celebrate and acknowledge our debt to “the most exciting intellectual revolution the world has ever seen”. At a time when the classics are slipping off syllabuses, Higgins hopes to gain some perspective on our society by re-examining the cultural legacy of ancient Greece. The result is a highly entertaining bluffer's guide to Greek culture, philosophy and politics, complete with maps, timelines and chapter-by-chapter synopses of The Odyssey and The Iliad. One of the most spirited chapters deals with the role of women in Greek literature, which, although mainly characterised by misogyny (in Hesiod's Theogony, woman is made by Zeus as a punishment for men), throws up the occasional “proto-feminist” in the form of Odysseus's wife Penelope or the canny Artemisia. At the heart of this book is Higgins's passion for Homer, the “fountainhead of European thought”, whose talent for drama, action and subtle characterisation has a strong influence on our cinema and literature to this day.
Short Books £12.99 pp246

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