History of Greek Culture by Jacob Burckhardt (PDF)

Description

This monumental work by a distinguished European scholar presents a scrupulously realistic approach to ancient Greek civilization. Professor Burckhardt dispenses with superficial and sentimental views of ancient Greece to embrace a more sophisticated and accurate vision of a complex culture that practiced both the best and worst elements of the social contract. A penetrating thinker with a genius for concrete illustration, Burckhardt begins with a thorough account of the development of the polis, or city-state, exploring its regional variations and offering a balanced appraisal of its virtues and faults. In the second part, he discusses fine arts and their expression, with particular focus on sculpture, painting, and architecture. Part Three examines poesy and music, with an in-depth account of Homeric traditions and their role in maintaining the form and order of Greek beliefs and myths, as well as a consideration of other poetic forms, including the classical theater. The final part comprises perceptive accounts of numerous and enduring Greek achievements in philosophy, science, and oratory. In addition to an excellent glossary, the work is profusely illustrated with 80 photographs and many fine drawings.

User’s Reviews

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐Burckhardt gave a series of lectures on Greek culture but never published a book on the subject. After his death, notes from his lectures were published. There are two books in English covering selections from these lecture notes – this book and The Greeks and Greek Civilization. There is very little overlapping of material covered, so it is best to read both books. This book has a limited glossary and some plates, but no notes nor index. The Greeks and Greek Civilization does have notes and an index. In this book you may find an occasional typo or misprint which , unfortunately, is not unusual these days. If you are interested in Ancient Greece, you should find these books interesting.

⭐I read this book because Burckhardt is (in my mind) the first “modern” historian. I’ve seen his more well known “History of Renaissance Italy” around, but this was the first time I had encountered his History of Greek Culture. Unpublished during his lifetime, this book is more a compilation of his lecture notes from the University of Basel then a classic history text. Most impressive about this book is that despite it’s age, it is still completely readable to a contemporary- try comparing the readability here to what the Brits were turning out in the history department in the mid 19th century- yikes.It’s also interesting because it is an example of the roots of the discipline of history in the west- specifically, the History of Greek Culture is only partially “objective” and exists primarily to extol the primacy of greek culture. Frankly I found the non-pc “white man” take to be refreshing- no hemming and hawing here- just straight up declarations about greek culture- no attribution required (because their lecture notes.)I read the abridged version and still skimmed maybe 50 page of the 300 page book. The end of specific chapters often devolves into Burckhardt giving his opinion about the merit of every greek playright, for example.

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