Rating: 8
April 21, 2007
This book started off slow, especially compared to the other books in this series. It was hard to see the significance of what Cahill was writing at first. But by the end, Cahill is off and running with his engaging, lucid prose, and sharing with us the importance of Greek culture to Western thought. The best chapter is on the birth of Greek philosophy — and how it influenced the way we think today.
It was fun to read how ancient Greeks gave us so much in terms of culture, arts, philosophy, science. They were also warriors, willing to fight for ideals. It was suprising to learn that they could party, and their society was highly sexualized: men hounded after lovers of both sexes, and often sought adolescent boys. Americans seem like prudes in comparison. Though Cahill doesn’t mean to, he does bring up questions about sexuality in its historical context that certainly frames the current debates in a new light.
The Greeks also had a profound impact on Christian thought as well, for good or for worse. They gave us words like soul and substance, and laid the groundwork for Christian philosophy that still shapes the faith today. The blend of Greek thought and Jewish values may have given the fledgling sect called “The Way” a chance to flourish at the start of the common era.
I now want to learn more about the Romans, and was hoping desperately that Cahill would write his next book on them. I was pleasantly surprised to find out he already has! The next book in this Hinges of History series, Mysteries of the Middle Ages, came out last October, and it focuses, in part, on how they became Italians. I’m hooked and can’t wait to read it, but I can be frugal at times: I’m waiting for the paperback edition.
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