The Plaka: Literature: History

Basic Books about Greek History

This page lists a few books that cover the full scope of Greek history. These would all be generally well regarded, I think, by most who studied the field. Of course, they must touch lightly on subjects and move on, but they will give you the scope of things.

Burn, A. R., The Pelican History of Greece: From the Neolithic pioneers to the closing of Athens philosophic schools, (Viking Penguin Books: New York, 1965), reprinted with revisions 1985.

Burns covers roughly the period 3,500 BCE to about 100 BCE with the bulk of the book focusing on about 600-338 BCE. Readily available in inexpensive paperback (400 pages with a few maps and time lines).

Woodhouse, C. M., Modern Greece: A short history, (Faber and Faber: London, 1968), 3rd edition, 1984. 5th edition, 2000.

Woodhouse covers the period from 324C.E. down to the recent past. What is one to do with a country whose "modern" history starts 1,700 years ago? 343 pages in paperback, a few maps.

Clogg, Richard, A Concise History of Greece, (Cambridge U. Press: Cambridge, 1992) reprinted 1994.

Clogg covers the period of 1770 to the recent past. 250 pages, a number of black and white photos, a few maps and several tables covering population, political parties, election results. An epilogue gives brief bios of significant figures of independent Greece.