G is for Goldhill


3.5 stars. Review to come.

Simon Goldhill is Professor of Greek at the University of Cambridge and my one criticism of this book is that it places so much emphasis on the legacy of Ancient Greece that there is little space left to explore the complex and enduring contribution of the Romans.

That aside, I thoroughly enjoyed Goldhill's breezy polemic. He makes a strong case for redressing the neglect of the ancient world by contemporary educationalists, pointing out that almost everything we understand by Western culture today has its origins in the classical world and that, as Cicero said, If you do not know where you come from, you will always be a child.'

De democratie hebben we van de oude Grieken, net als het theater en terwijl bij ons de mannenliefde pas sinds enige tientallen jaren (enigszins) is geacepteerd, was die bij hen al heel gewoon. In Liefde, Seks en Tragedie, hoe de oudheid ons heeft gevormd, met op de Nederlandse omslag een wat misleidende blote mannentorso, laat Simon Goldhill zien hoe kennis van de klassieke wereld ons begrip van de moderne westerse mens verbreedt en verdiept.

Vier thema’s pikt Goldhill uit om zijn betoog te illustreren. Liefde, religie, politiek en vertier zijn volgens hem de belangrijkste bouwstenen van de moderne mens. Zonder te kijken naar de klassieken zijn deze moderne pijlers niet te begrijpen.

Binnen deze centrale thema’s komt een scala aan onderwerpen voorbij. Daarbij kiest Goldhill vooral voor de aantrekkelijke, bekende onderwerpen zoals de mannenliefde, waarover hij heel gedetailleerd vertelt. Het betoog vertoont hierdoor niet altijd even veel samenhang. Toch blijft Liefde, Sekse en Tragedie boeien. Goldhill overtuigt in zijn betoog dat om het moderne leven te begrijpen we de klassieken moeten doorgronden. De veelvoud aan soms op het oog lukrake onderwerpen die hij behandelt blijken allemaal terug te voeren op één vraag: ‘waar denk je dat je vandaan komt.’ Cicero’s (106-43 v. Chr.) uitspraak: ‘‘Als je niet weet waar je vandaan komt, blijf je altijd een kind,’ wordt zo met recht tot leidraad van Goldhills boek, dat veel meer bevat dan enkel liefde, seks en tragedie.

Lees de recensie van Elsbeth Littink op http://bit.ly/11AfltG

my sister had a copy of this at her house and so i grabbed it for something to read on the plane. and read it, i did. there are some erotic paragraphs which make for a stilted and intriguing flight considering it's five hours long, there is the dull, lifeless wind of the airplane, the sound of the guy snoring behind me and the problem of my sister and i suffering sibling angst when we are sitting near one another for too long ("stop pinching me," "i'm not pinching you," "will you order me a coke, i'll pay you in philly," "no, i already bought you a sandwhich," "i'm not a freeloader, i just need a coke," "sigh,").

That all aside, i needed to pick up this book because i am about as graceful and nuanced when it comes to matters of the heart and matters of the eros as a person tripping over their pants in a half-lit room in the morning because they are late for work and their alarm is still beeping fiercly. sexy.

what do i pun about? probably a broken heart, but, let me save that for a short story so i can hide the actual facts of my own heart and instead create a universal story out of fictional characters so that many can relate to it and that i might be spared embarrassment for my personal failings.

what this book offers, aside for some juicy bits about ancient history? it makes you feel like norms about sex and love are socially constructed. that we admire, arrange and create our lives based on what we were given, the stories we generate and that our emotions all come down to an evolving history of our human identity passed along to us by those who came before. if there is hope in here, it's that we are able to sift through the stories and find routes and people along the way that can connect with us.

but, this book also makes you realize that greek guys really didn't have a thing for women, very much, especially being that no female writing or historcial records made it out in tact, save for some eros-reputured poems by sappho. they considered the female body to be soft and weak. that men should strive never to look or act as a woman. it was actually kind of thought of as gross to be a woman. haha. the male physique was dominantly displayed and revered.

now, look. this is an intresting way into a theory of mine. in our culture, the male body is not so often displayed or revered. women's bodies are. a reversal of greecian times, yes, perhaps. but, it makes me remember an argument (spirited) that i had at a bar one time with a mate or two about how male bodies should be revered just the same, otherwise there is a kind of social and political imbalance going on. women are constantly reminded that there is this ideal that they should look like, meanwhile, dudes are kind of off the hook.

away from this shallow stuff. why do we fall in love with the people that we do? i think it goes beyond what we see, though, gulp, sometimes what we see can be pretty niiice (borat). i think love feelings actually comes from and flows to that human intangible stuff that we emote to one another or what we feel is emoted. unless a person is looking to simply get laid, i think humans want emotional connection; when you watch the show Millionaire Matchmaker, for example (wait you haven't seeen it?) you are mostly kind of there to watch a circus of put-on dewey eyed millionaires searching for love. and you kind of feel for them but you know that the means that they are approaching the issue is kind of, well, sorry guys and gals, bankrupt. people in LA have the greecian ideal of a perfect body but how many of their hearts are adrift and how many of the double d's have spent time working on their mental and emotional lives?

don't get me wrong, my favorite characters are often ones who have a kind of innocence to their own being; boy meets girl, girl meets boy, they are average intelligence, weight, attractiveness, and they just love one another. you can just kind of see it. they cuddle, they fear, they kiss away worry, they brush hair off forehead, they are over weight and they know it and they don't care so fuck you, they are kind, and they don't need to know who soren kierkegaard is so fuck you and they are basically just good. and they need one another. i will have this couple in my book. i encourage other writers to work out this story in their own way; along with some greecian body stories and some plane rides with sisters.

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Especially like the first chapters and the description of male-dominated ancient Greek culture.

Read this for a school project and it was pretty interesting overall!

this book reads like a high school or college persuasive essay, which is kind of ironic for a book that's trying to get you back in touch with our greek / roman roots / standards / ideals.

i like the examples the author draws upon to prove his points, but, i don't know, i wasn't intrigued or impressed by anything. don't think i'd recommend this to a friend. maybe would use it if i taught a 100 level backgrounds in lit class or something.

I read this for part of my senior thesis on sex in the ancient world.

3.5/5 stars

Goldhill has an easy writing style which is nice to read and he covers a wide range of topics; from homosexuality in ancient society, to Christianity, to ancient plays and modern writers. He does sometimes claim certain things without really backing his argument up (I get that it's 'popular science' book so there is not a lot of citing going on, but he could still argue his case more clearly) and he is pretty picky and selective in using either Greek or Roman customs (or both) whichever suits his argument best which was pretty annoying at times.

Anyway, it is an interesting read, so I'd recommend it if you're interested in the ancient world or how western culture is influenced by antiquity!

My rating is based on the first two sections of the book, which were the only parts I was required to read for class. I intend to go back and read the rest at some point, though, as it's a lively and entertaining book, and one I could see reading outside an academic environment.

A book by my very impressive undergraduate Classics tutor, who pushed me to think harder when I was 19 and when I, well, needed to think harder! It's a very engaging if eclectic book. I don't think it needs to push the message that 'Classics matters' quite so hard, but that's partly because I already believe that studying the past is invaluable when thinking about our identity in the present -- I don't need to be convinced. The chapters on Erasmus and Greek in the Renaissance were particularly good. Also, interesting stuff on Greek gay intercourse, which was intracrural apparently.