Sailing the Wine-Dark Sea

Why the Greeks Matter

By: Thomas Cahill

Narrated by: John Lee

Best selling history writer Thomas Cahill continues his series on the roots of Western civilization with this volume about the contributions of ancient Greece to the development of contemporary culture. Tracing the origin of Greek culture in the migrations of armed Indo-European horsemen into Attica and the Peloponnesian peninsula, he follows their progress into the creation of the Greek city-states, the refinement of their machinery of war, and the flowering of intellectual and artistic culture. Cahill credits the Greeks with creating Western militarism, shaping Christianity, and giving us the intellectual foundations on which we base everything from dictionaries to filing systems. Cahill ably demonstrates the fascinating uniqueness of ancient Greek culture, but also shows its startling reincarnations in contemporary contexts.©2003 Thomas Cahill (P)2003 Books on Tape, Inc.

Critic reviews

"He writes in an easy, relaxed vernacular. And he enjoys himself.' (The New York Times)
"In this elegant introduction to Greek life and thought, Cahill provides the same majestic historical survey he has already offered for the Irish, the Jews and the Christians...Cahill gracefully opens up a world that has provided so much of Western culture's characteristic way of thinking." (Publishers Weekly)
"Extraordinarily knowledgeable, informal in tone, amusing, wide-ranging, smartly paced....A rich, lively presentation." (New York Times Book Review)

Not what I expected

I thought it would be about what the Greeks discovered about science and farming or devices. The book went on and on about Greek mythology and literature with some philosophy added all narrated by a man with a lovely British accent that unfortunately only added to the supercilious tone of the writing. I managed to finally finish listening to it but I cannot say I enjoyed it at all.