Greek as a Treat: An Introduction to the Classics

Greek history, drama, science, philosophy and art have had a lasting effect on our culture. Once, a grounding in Greek was a sign of being educated, but today a knowledge of all things Greek is not deemed to be relevant, and over the last 50 years classical Greece has suffered its greatest demise ever. The Marathon now, to many people, means thousands stampeding across Westminster Bridge, the Hippocratic Oath is something to do with the National Health Service, and Platonic means friendship without fun. Have we lost something of value, or has the entire educational system over the centuries been a massively successful confidence trick? This book sets out to revive and celebrate some of the lost excitements of what used to be called the Golden Age, and to rediscover a people who, for centuries, were thought to have known best how to live.