What I liked about Simon Goldhill’s Love, Sex & Tragedy was that he (mostly) avoids sounding like a curmudgeonly stick-in-the-mud who can’t handle the loss of the classical curriculum in education and the knowledge of Western civilization’s origins. He laments it not because he wants to hear people quoting Homer from memory (in the original Greek) or see glowing comparisons of politicians to Cincinnatus but because he sees little evidence that what’s replaced it is tackling the same issues in as...

3.5/5 starsGoldhill 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) whichev...

After reading his Reading Greek Tragedy, I was surprised by how conversational this book felt. Goldhill covers a good group of topics and works hard to trace them from ancient to modern. My only criticism is that there was any striking insight that seemed new or novel.

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.

A great book on exactly how the Classics created the modern Western world. Goldhill drives home the point that most of the asumptions taken for granted by his readers about the liberties they enjoy in life stem directly from the legacies of Greece and Rome.

G is for Goldhill3.5 stars. Review to come.

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 g...

I took a few breaks reading this book, which I inherited from my grandmother. This is definitely a book for non-classicists who want to learn more about the use of classics in the modern world. I found parts of the book fun and useful, and other parts a little boring. I would recommend for a newcomer interested in the effect of the ancient Mediterranean world on the modern western world.

Intelligent and assertive. Goldhill's idea is candidly expressed on page 156: "He [T.S. Eliot] knew how much classics matters to understanding Western tradition."

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

how does our history influence our present? surprise: in many ways and quite extensively!

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...

Bilgilendirici bir kitap olmuş..Atina dan başlayıp günümüze kadar ki gündelik yaşamdaki yaşam tarzlarını ve o zaman ki değerlerini anlatmış..Seks'ten Felsefe'ye,Demokrasi'den Romalılara,Gladyatörlerden savaşlara kadar enine boyuna ele almış tarihi..İdeal kadın ve erkek tarifleri detaylı şekilde yapılmış ve ilginç olan şey ise;Antik Yunanlılardaki tarif bugün dahi geçerliliğini hala koruyor modern dünyada.Kadın için; yumuşak ve gevşek,tüysüz ve cilveli.Her nekadar "demokrasi"nin doğduğu topraklar...

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 illus...

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 tod...

The Idea that Western Culture has a continuity tracing back to the ancient world is seriously challenged by reading the classics. Ideas of the individual, sexual mores and common sense of the ancient Greeks and Romans seem utterly alien to the modern Post-Christian Westerner. Yet we supposedly trace our cultures origins to such people. I've always had an interest in the ancients but this book only increased my curiousity.

Although Goldhill is not a remarkable stylist, he nonetheless accomplishes the feat of showing how ancient Greek culture impacts contemporary culture in a few hundred pages.Packed with historical facts and insightful connections, this book is widely recommendable for its presentation of high subject matter in easily readable prose.

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.

Interesting take on things. I love the ancient world for itself so linking the modern to the ancient isn't my cup of tea per se. But it was worth the read.

An excellent essay for all Europeans who want to really know who we are, what we bealive or not, helps you think from where you start until your destination.

This is the book to read if you want to know what Greek love is really all about!

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