Scholars often write about Athens being the cradle of justice and democracy, about its embellishment, the magnificent temples, public buildings, sculptures, exquisite pottery, and above all the drama, literature, rhetoric, and philosophy that flourished in Classical Greece; but scarce are the commentaries on the soul of the Golden Greeks. Thus, in his funeral oration, Pericles says:
"I wish rather to set forth the spirit in which we faced them [battles], and the constitution and manners with which we rose to greatness."
The philosopher Heraclitus said: "Character is destiny."
Along these lines, this book will emphasize the inner forces that formed the spirit and character of the ancient Greeks, rather than the outside forces. So, conjugal devotion, honor, love, and fidelity shaped their greatness. In ten intensive keys we shall read about the Greek Gods, the poet Homer, The Iliad, the Odyssey, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Themistocles, The Historians (Herodotus, Xenophon, and Thucydides), culminating with "the first citizen" of Athens: Pericles.
And to have a complete vista, we include appendices about the Mycenaean and Minoan cultures, the curse of the House of Atreus, a summary of the
Iliad
and the
Odyssey,
and a brief list of Greek Gods, and goddesses.
This book dispenses with footnotes, indexes, or scholarly language; it is for the soul-searching, self-taught, self-made individuals who thirst to educate themselves.