Ancient Greece As It Was, by Eric Chaline

“According to legend, Hephaistos was so enamored of the virginal Athena that he attempted to rape her. The goddess escaped but his seed fell upon the earth, and Erechtheus, half-man, half-snake, was born. The child was taken by Gaia, the earth, to the Acropolis and given to Athena to raise. She in turn entrusted him, hidden in a basket, to the three daughters of Kekrops: Pandrosos, Herse, and Aglauros. Herse and Aglauros were so curious that they opened the basket, went mad when they saw the child, and jumped to their deaths, while the dutiful Pandrosos survived. When he was fully grown, Erechtheus became king of Athens and founded the first temple to Athena Polias.”

Being the History aficionado that I am, I’ve read several History books along my life. I believe my Father is to be blamed on this, since the first History book I read was offered by him when I was a kid. It was a small book about ancient Greece (which I still have), and I recall its mesmerizing illustrations in black, orange, and white. Two and half decades later here I am, returning to the Greeks.

When I laid my eyes on this Ancient Greece As It Was I wasn’t so sure with what to expect of it. It presented itself as a travel guide to Greece as if it was written in 415 BC. Hum, this is probably just something silly for idiots to buy. But, with a price bellow five euros at the bookstore… why not? Besides, I love travelling, and usually buy a lot of travel guides, so I’m widely familiar with the style.

Oh, Zeus, how I looove being wrong. The book is far from being silly. It is one of the most creative and intelligently assembled History books I’ve read so far. It is edited precisely as a travel guide, presenting information about demographics and the geography of Attica (the region of Athens), and even being so amusing as this: “If you are coming from Athens, exit from the Diplyon Gate and walk along the two-lane road outside the northern long wall. The distance of 50 stadia will take you two or three hours depending on the traffic”. This is priceless! Who could have guessed that you could ACTUALLY write a travel guide in Athens 415 BC exactly as you do in 2015 AD? You even have a chapter named “Entertainment on a Budget” and the always present How to Get There, Food and Drink, and – obviously! – Shopping.

Again, I insist: it is in no way a kitsch thing. Each of the entries is marvelously written with all the attention to historical detail, and with all the juicy content that a traveler in 415 BC would want to learn about life, tradition, and History. Even architecture is widely explained, with text boxes explaining the differences, for instance, between Doric and Ionic columns.

Our travel guide starts with a brief highlight of the History of Greece. Needless to say that talking about the History of Greece in 415 BC is recounting the deeds of Theseus, Herakles, and all the praised heroes of yonder. The episodes are ingeniously inserted amidst the chapters that present the structural wonders of Athens, such as the Acropolis. Throughout several pages we are introduced to all the buildings that exist in the Acropolis – not just the Parthenon – where it is explained (when there is information available) who ordered its construction, what are the materials used, and what rituals are performed. It is magnificent the amount of wide spanning information that is cramped in each entry.

The sanctuary of Zeus Polieus (Zeus of the City) overlooks the north of the Acropolis and is divided into two enclosures: the first has a small temple and altar; while the second provides stabling for the oxen sacrificed during the Bouphonia, or ox-killing festival, held in late summer. The altar is a bronze table on which barley cakes are offered. Oxen are driven around the table until one eats the cakes. The guilty ox is sacrificed with an ax by the bouphonos (ox-killer), who immediately drops the ax and runs off. The ax is then tried, cursed, and thrown into the sea. The ox is “resurrected”, with its hide stuffed and displayed in the precinct.

As you didn’t have photos or Google Maps at the time, the book is enriched by many maps and hand-drawn depicted scenes of daily life. It is so well assembled that you can actually imagine the countless blacksmiths working the bronze around the temple of Hephaistos. Your imagination starts buzzing when you try to feel the pulse of the polis of Athens, whose low fertile surrounding terrains pushed the city to become a marvel of industrializations, with countless pottery workshops and amphorae full of olive oil being transported along the roads, to be traded overseas by the much needed cereals and vegetables. This isn’t just a clever History book disguised as a travel guide; this is a jewel that makes you understand who those people were, why they were like that, and captivatingly helps you envision ancient Greece as it was. In the best tradition of Homer, this book addicts you in the History of Greece.

I am unable to enrich this article with further information and images, because, according to the Internet, the book doesn’t exist! You barely can find any info about the book, encountering different versions, titles, even author names (as in the cover that is presented below). And when you search in the publishers’ website (Lyons Press)… you get no results! Yup, just like ancient Greece, I have a thing of myth!

I also have the remaining collection of the series: Ancient Rome As It Was and Ancient Egypt as It Was. I only regret that there isn’t an Ancient Olisippo As It Was.

Oooh, yes: now I have picked your interest. Now you feel compelled to go to Wikipedia and find out “what the heck is Olisippo”. Well, I can only wish you an interesting voyage, and… send my regards to Odysseus. Yes… that one.

Ancient Greece As It Was – Eric Chaline, 2008, Lyons Press