Covering the whole of the ancient Greek experience from its beginnings late in the third millennium BCE to the Roman conquest in 30 BCE, Out of One, Many is an accessible and lively introduction to the Greeks and their ways of living and thinking. In this fresh and witty exploration of the thought, culture, society, and history of the Greeks, Jennifer Roberts traces not only the common values that united them across the seas and the centuries, but also the enormous diversity in their ideas and beliefs.
Examining the huge importance to the Greeks of religion, mythology, the Homeric epics, tragic and comic drama, philosophy, and the city-state, the book offers shifting perspectives on an extraordinary and astonishingly creative people. Century after century, in one medium after another, the Greeks addressed big questions, many of which are still very much with us, from whether gods exist and what happens after we die to what political system is best and how we can know what is real. Yet for all their virtues, Greek men set themselves apart from women and foreigners and profited from the unpaid labor of enslaved workers, and the book also looks at the mixed legacy of the ancient Greeks today.
The result is a rich, wide-ranging, and compelling history of a fascinating and profoundly influential culture in all its complexity—and the myriad ways, good and bad, it continues to shape us today.
Jennifer T. Roberts is professor of classics and history at the City College of New York and the City University of New York Graduate Center. Her many books include The Plague of War: Athens, Sparta, and the Struggle for Ancient Greece, Herodotus: A Very Short Introduction, and Athens on Trial: The Antidemocratic Tradition in Western Thought (Princeton).
"Roberts’s clever close readings and personality shine through. For example, there are engaging asides and examinations of ancient Greek thought that may seem particularly new or distinctive to modern readers. . . . What makes this title different is its admirable spotlight on women’s lives. . . . An entertaining and witty exploration of Greek history that will introduce readers to a variety of beliefs from ancient Greece."—Library Journal
"[A] beautifully written, thoroughly engaging, thoughtful, wide-ranging, informative and humane take on the ancient Greeks."—Peter Jones, Classics for All
"[Roberts’] conversational style and emphasis on social tropes such as gender roles and class tensions make this an engaging volume for newcomers to the field. . . . A welcome updated introduction to the Greeks and why they continue to fascinate us."—Choice Reviews
“Jennifer Roberts, a renowned historian of ancient Greece, extends her purview to the maximum in this book. The quick and the dead, the free and the enslaved, male and female, human and superhuman—all are treated here, accessibly, with the scholarship and attention they merit. An enthralling read from start to finish.”—Paul Cartledge, author of Thebes: The Forgotten City of Ancient Greece
“This is a fine introduction to ancient Greek modes of thought. Roberts walks the reader through various aspects of ancient Greek culture, ranging from history to literature to philosophy, in an engaging and consistently entertaining style. Her impressive ability to explain complex concepts in succinct terms makes this book essential reading for those who have always wanted to learn more about the ancient Greeks.”—Christopher Waldo, University of Washington
