Part of the Guides to Major Disciplines series.

My disappointment with Mary Beard’s Classics: A Very Short Introduction (with John Henderson), part of the ‘A Very Short Introduction’ series by Oxford University Press, has finally been vindicated.

Thornton, a Professor of Classics and Humanities at California State U., utilizes a conservative approach in this brief 90 page tome with only 16 footnotes. Broken down into sections such as ‘What Is Classics?'[sic], ‘Epic’, ‘Letters’, ‘Biography’ and ‘History’, the conclusion, ‘The Classical Heritage’ wraps up the story, and continues the fine introductory sections.

Important people (Herodotus, Pindar, etc.) and subjects (didactic, epigram, etc.) from the Classical heritage are printed in bold, for those needing a quick referral. Several authors are also given their own in-text breakaway paragraphs.

In the Further Reading section, he gives good recommendations, concentrating on what he considers to be the best translations and commentaries. Throughout, he mentions the Loeb Classical Library, paleography, epigraphy, and other subjects usually skipped in such introductions to Classical Studies, and especially in Beard, mentioned above.

I do, however, have both a minor and major negative critique. Minor = Despite 2 places where such would have been appropriate, there is no mention of Pausanias. Much of what we know about ancient Greece geography, architecture and myth come from his travelogue (see Frazer’s Pausanius). Though the format limitation means some items of interest will be excised, this seems to me in error. Major = No index.

Yet I do recommend, for those interested in wanting a basic (and brief) coverage of our Greek and Latin heritage, this easy and accessible book.

8 stars out of 10