Sailing the Wine- Dark Sea: Why the Greeks Still Matter by Thomas Cahill

Sailing the Wine- Dark Sea: Why the Greeks Still Matter by Thomas Cahill

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Book Review
Sailing the Wine- Dark Sea: Why the Greeks Still Matter by Thomas Cahill

With this book, the author has set himself the task to make the ancient Greeks accessible to a modern audience. By most accounts he succeeds and in a highly readable and entertaining fashion. The book is a vivid, tangible look at who the Greeks were, and what they have come to mean in our modern world.
Your Book Review should follow these guidelines:
1. 5-6 pages in length, double-spaced and typed
2. The first part (3-4 pages- at least one paragraph answer for each) should answer the questions that will be posted below.

3. The second part (1-2 pages) should be a summary of the books strengths and weaknesses, with your final assessment of the book.

   Questions:

   1. In his analysis of Homer’s The Iliad. Cahill cites the epics intense depictions of loyalty, villainy and the honorable way to fight. Yet Homer ascribes noble behavior to both the Trojans and the Greeks. What parallels do you see between Homer’s perception of heroism and our own? Does the Trojan War reveal any truths about why we do battle?

   2. The book addresses the question of luck vs. prowess in the rise of a powerful civilization(page 49). Intellect and drive obviously contributed to the Greeks’ success, but do you consider them to be fortunate as well? If so, how and why?

   3. In your opinion was Pericles’s version of democracy too inclusive or not inclusive enough? Why? How does his version of democracy influence later History, especially the history of the United States?

   4. The Greco-Roman world was in many ways a hostile location for the beginnings of Judeo-Christian values. Yet Greek was the language of the New Testament, and the geographic strongholds of the “Latin West” and “Greek East” survive to this day (think of your civilization chart- Western and Orthodox.) In what ways did the ancient Greeks help to shape Christianity?

   5. Was hubris at the heart of the Athenians fall from prominence? What lessons could they teach todays superpowers?