Panorama of the Classical World

by Nigel Spivey, Michael Squire

The book is organized in a novel way, concentrating on themes that run through the whole period and unite Greek, Etruscan and Roman culture. Chapter I begins with the centrality of the body and its presentation. Chapter II turns to the religious framework and looks at gods and heroes. Chapter III shows how beliefs crystallized in myth. Chapter IV considers the natural setting and its manipulation by agriculture. Chapter V deals with man as citizen - of the city (Greece) and the empire (Rome). Chapter VI treats the family, slaves and domestic economy. Chapter VII turns to ideas, the formulations of philosophy that are still with us. Chapter VIII explores the vivid difference between the realms of Dionysos (instinct) and Apollo (intellect). The last two chapters look at the Classical tradition of art (IX), and at the immense influence of the Classical world on later ages, right up to the present day (X).

Genres: History, Classics, Nonfiction, Art, Art History

368 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[Russell James · Rating 5 out of 5]

An unsurpassable introduction to the (mainly) Greco/Roman world. At first glance a picture book but no: a superb text, readable, hugely informative and involving. A big book in which I savoured every word.

[Michael McGuinness · Rating 3 out of 5]

I first came across this as one book in an apparent series, though confusingly, this is called "Panorama" while the other books are called "Complete"; "The Medieval World Complete" "The Renaissance Complete" except the book on the Enlightenment, which is called "Panorama of the Enlightenment". Who knows what motivated these name changes, or what goes on in the marketing departments of publishing houses.
This also differs quite a bit from the Medieval and Renaissance books, whose whole charm and appeal is that they are very illustration-heavy. This volume is very lavishly illustrated as well, but features considerably more text, rather than just captions to the pictures, which I found a refreshing approach in the Renaissance book.
There are better introductions to the Classical era, but this is a good one if you like big glossy coffee table books with lots of illustrations.

[Ann Tonks · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not sure I can truthfully that I've "read it". I've read parts of this book and browsed other parts of it. It's extraordinary dense in material and analysis with the most wonderful array of images. If you have a serious interest in ancient Greece and Rome, you must buy this book.

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice little overview of the classical era from a variety different perspectives. Illustration-heavy.