From my New Year's resolution me using some standard books from my library again something deeper into that matter read that I was once the most familiar of all, I am sure towards the end year still. After all, what little I've done in this regard, already led to a first stabilizing the faltering threatening knowledge building - at least in the field of archeology. But when I recently took Erich Bayer Greek history in broad in attack came on the first of the sneaking suspicion that, although a standard work that could have perhaps passed their expiry date already: This book is published the first edition in 1964, my copy The sixth edition includes the revised text of 1978 and it quickly becomes clear that Here's a historian at work, told in the scholarly, literary language, history, is not afraid to weigh and evaluate even occasionally. My doubts culminated in the last section of the introduction, where Bayer is committed: To
their art, their literature and philosophy sake of our heart belongs to the Greeks, their history, however, we feel confused and unsatisfactory.
What is not?, I wondered, and turned the pages more hesitant. After reading I have to admit that I have done wrong to the author in advance. Of course, he says with a big gesture and weighted it (despite much notice on the cover) is very classic; but his introduction of work has a distinct advantage: it succeeds him from his magisterial position herauszuschälen each of the main lines and the essential questions at any time. That always means a dramatic reduction with the absence of very many things at the same time set up for the list seeking a reduced, stable frame - and that's exactly what I want. Bayer treated the Aegean Bronze Age to the "Dark Ages" into it although very brief, but strikes out the importance of overpopulation, lack of resources and resulting migration. He identified the archaic period as Main theme to replace the aristocracy by new forms of political power distribution, which resulted in many places in very refined democratic systems. At the same time he puts the size of colonization in the spotlight, pointing to the references to the political upheavals and the older companies like nature. Or, as the last example: twenty pages to the Hellenistic World played almost without exception in Asia Minor and the Levant, clear expression of the case into irrelevance, which had done the Greek mainland by then.
speaks from the structure of the book, the weighting and the narrative style something very old-fashioned: the love of the author to the players of his material. This to show so clearly is, in the historical literature of our time rather frowned upon. She remembers this but the reason why we now employ at all with the ancient Greece: Because just a long time many learned men had not only an abstract and academic interest in this subject, but loved the ancient Greeks, they understood as role models and sought to emulate them.
Technicals: Erich Bayer, Greek history in Broad (Broad, Volume 1). Darmstadt, Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft 6 1988th Out .
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