The Wisdom of the Ancient Greeks

Mel Thompson

Oxford: Oneworld, 2002
ISBN: 1851682988 (hb), pp. xii + 192, £11.99

Practical Philosophy  (Book Reviews) Spring 2003 Volume 6.1

Reviewed by: Trevor Curnow

There is room for a good book on this subject, but unfortunately this isn’t it. The book is an anthology of extracts from ancient Greek works of literature and philosophy arranged under a range of headings such as ‘Morality’ and ‘Beauty, Art and Happiness’, but with virtually nothing in the way of commentary or context. The illustrations, many of which appear more than once, add little of value. The selections ‘seek to address the key issues of human life and death, its meaning and place within the universe’ (p. vii), but exactly how the observation of Crates that wine and fish ‘make old men bestial and young men effeminate’ (p. 59) contributes to an understanding of these issues escapes me. And quite why the idea that pride leads to a broken neck (p. 154) is regarded as an example of Greek ‘wisdom’ is also a bit of a puzzle. The editor of the anthology appears confused as to whether Epicurus wrote a letter to Menoeceus or received one from him, and has apparently unearthed a hitherto unknown dialogue of Plato called the Larches! Many of the selections are interesting enough, but some of the philosophical ones are likely to be misunderstood. No explanations are offered as to what Epicurus meant by ‘pleasure’ (the absence of pain) or Aristotle by ‘happiness’ (eudaimonia), for example. All in all, not a book to waste your time or money on.

 

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