BookRecommended
The Republic
Plato, translated by Desmond Lee
c. 375 BC, this translation 1955
Plato’s great dialogue on justice and the ideal state, in a clear and readable translation.
Read the reviewMany books about Alexander the Great either worship him or condemn him. Peter Green does neither. Drawing on a deep knowledge of the ancient sources, he presents a man of extraordinary military genius and personal courage who was also ruthless, suspicious and increasingly autocratic.
Green is particularly strong on Macedonian politics and on Alexander’s complicated relationships with his father Philip and his mother Olympias. His accounts of the great battles of Issus and Gaugamela are clear and exciting, and he never lets the reader forget the human cost of conquest.
The style is lively but scholarly, and the book assumes a reader willing to engage with debates about the evidence. It rewards that effort richly.
Our verdict
The best single-volume biography of Alexander for the serious reader.
Every review reflects the personal perspective of the Hellenic Heritage Club.
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The Oresteia
Aeschylus, translated by Ted Hughes
458 BC, this translation 1999The only complete tragic trilogy to survive from ancient Athens, in a raw and powerful version by a great poet.
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The Iliad
Homer, translated by Robert Fagles
c. 8th century BC, this translation 1990A towering poem about rage, grief and mortality, in a translation that reads with real urgency.
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