Sailing the Wine Dark Sea

Why the Greeks Matter

By: Thomas Cahill

Narrated by: John Lee

In Sailing the Wine-Dark Sea, his fourth volume to explore “the hinges of history,” Thomas Cahill escorts the reader on another entertaining—and historically unassailable—journey through the landmarks of art and bloodshed that defined Greek culture nearly three millennia ago.

In the city-states of Athens and Sparta and throughout the Greek islands, honors could be won in making love and war, and lives were rife with contradictions. By developing the alphabet, the Greeks empowered the reader, demystified experience, and opened the way for civil discussion and experimentation—yet they kept slaves. The glorious verses of the Iliad recount a conflict in which rage and outrage spur men to action and suggest that their “bellicose society of gleaming metals and rattling weapons” is not so very distant from more recent campaigns of “shock and awe.” And, centuries before Zorba, Greece was a land where music, dance, and freely flowing wine were essential to the high life. Granting equal time to the sacred and the profane, Cahill rivets our attention to the legacies of an ancient and enduring worldview.©2003 Thomas Cahill; (P)2003 Books on Tape, Inc.

Enjoy history

I've loved Cahill's books. History that's interesting and very readable.

Enlightenment

While I first did not intend to listen, but. ,because it was offered on the heels of the previous, I journeyed on.
Then, I found that I was drawn to explore a history faint in my mind.
This rich history of so many belief systems was a compelling read given my Christian faith.
The interwoven past and current times inspired much introspection.
The narrator presented the passages in a way that was interesting while at a pace for thought while digesting so many intriguing facts in history.
This is truly one to revisit.
I’m pleased that re reading “How the Irish Saved Civilization “ led me to enjoy more thought provoking walks through history.

The title: concrete. The approach: not so much.

The author implies in his title that he is going to answer the question: Why do the Greeks matter? And then he doesn't really answer it directly. For that reason, I was disappointed with the book.

In the Introduction, he writes, ". . . I assemble what pieces there are, contrast and compare, and try to remain in their presence . . . and then I try to communicate these sensations to my reader. So you will find in this book no breakthrough discoveries, no cutting edge scholarship, just, if I have succeeded, the feelings and perceptions of another age."

And that is exactly what you get. In my opinion, the worst thing about the book is the title.

That being said . . . he organizes his material in an interesting way: warrior (the illiad), wanderer (the odyssey), poet (other poetry), politician (drama), philosophy, and art & architecture. He begins each section with a myth that he feels embodies the points he wants to illustrate. Then he shows his reader how each artform is a reflection of the ancient greeks and their culture. It's all broadbrush strokes, very impressionistic.

It's a review of everything you already know. It's just a new way of organizing it. I think his quote from the Introduction says it all.

It is very well written, and it is very interesting. I was just looking for something with bullet points. There were no bullet points in this book.

Decent introductory material

This is not the book to listen to if you are looking for an in-depth review of Greek history and culture. If, however, like me, you are looking for a refresher on the Greeks before diving into serious history (or if you're a beginner looking for a good starting point to delve into the Greeks) then this is the book for you. I enjoyed the narrator.

Interesting, enjoyable and enlightening

He paints a clear and enjoyable pictures of where we started and a portion of our journey.