Egypt, Greece, and Rome

Civilizations of the Ancient Mediterranean

By: Charles Freeman

Narrated by: Jim Meskimen

Length: 32 hrs and 2 mins

Publisher's summary

Long sources of mystery, imagination, and inspiration, the myths and history of the ancient Mediterranean have given rise to artistic, religious, cultural, and intellectual traditions that span the centuries. In this unique and comprehensive introduction to the region's three major civilizations, Egypt, Greece, and Rome draws a fascinating picture of the deep links between the cultures across the Mediterranean and explores the ways in which these civilizations continue to be influential to this day.

Beginning with the emergence of the earliest Egyptian civilization around 3500 BC, Charles Freeman follows the history of the Mediterranean over a span of four millennia to AD 600, beyond the fall of the Roman empire in the west to the emergence of the Byzantine empire in the east. In addition to the three great civilizations, the peoples of the Ancient Near East and other lesser-known cultures such as the Etruscans, Celts, Persians, and Phoenicians are explored. The author examines the art, architecture, philosophy, literature, and religious practices of each culture, set against its social, political, and economic background. More than an overview of the primary political or military events, Egypt, Greece, and Rome pays particular attention to the actual lives of both the everyday person and the aristocracy: Here is history brought to life. Especially striking are the readable and stimulating profiles of key individuals throughout the ancient world, covering persons from Homer to Horace, the Pharaoh Akhenaten to the emperor Augustus, Alexander the Great to Julius Caesar, Jesus to Justinian, and Aristotle to Augustine.

Generously illustrated in both color and black-and-white, and drawing on the most up-to-date scholarship, Egypt, Greece, and Rome is a superb introduction for anyone seeking a better understanding of the civilizations of the ancient Mediterranean and their legacy to the West.

©2004 Charles Freeman (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

An History of Early Europe:HowWe Became Us

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

I would only recommend this book to someone who already has a good understanding of the histories of Egypt, Greece and Rome.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

The writing of history has always been contentious at best. We all wear our own glasses. I read this as an antidote to Susan Bauer's history, and it seemed a reasonable correction at the beginning. While the author cited the translators he consulted sometimes, that did not seem to be applied with consistency.

How could the performance have been better?

I'm an art historian in my mid-60's, and have always continued learning in many ways. I deplore the reader's idiosyncratic and beleagured pronunciation of unfamiliar names and places.I began wincing every time he said "Pliny" or "Galla Placidia".

Did Egypt, Greece, and Rome inspire you to do anything?

We read histories for many, varied reasons. The civilizations treated in this history are remote in time and place, and seem on the surface not to matter too much these days. Alexander did not inspire me to go out and conquer the world. But I see his place in that one.

Any additional comments?

It would be instructive if your readers had speech coaching before attempting the unfamiliar. The readers you have had from Britain seem way more educated.

Excellent update on an old subject

It brings archaeological evidence to bear on traditional accounts of the ancient world; very informative

Great great book

Lots of great history books on here, thank you Audible, this is so absolutely definitely one of them, I am overwhelmed and blown away, blew my expectations out of the water, loving this book, it’s great excellent fascinating detail! Thank you author and reader!

All in all a good overview of Mediterranean history

The negatives: Very much focused on Greece, Egypt feels sort of glossed over. The narrator made incorrect and strange pronunciations often which was kind of annoying. The author is English and the narrator is American, I also found that strange and made some of the more personal touches to the book a bit weird. The author also does not really specify where certain regions and cities are so it’s necessary to look at maps of Ancient Greece and the Roman Empire to understand where is actually being mentioned.

An Engaging Historical Experience

Freeman is a gifted writer and accomplished scholar. As an instructor of Ancient History this text will now be serving as the core text of my curriculum. Note: this audible book is not the latest edition of this text, but still an excellent historical source for those whom rely upon audio recordings to supplement their readings.

Reading from a book is not a lecture

This gives a good overview of these civilizations. The author reading references was a distraction.

A well done academic intro done in audio

This book was well written and performed. I'm a very slow reader and I'm a much more audio oriented person anyway as opposed to visual.

But, unfortunately, there aren't a ton of widely available academic audio books in the way of history, or that many academic texts in general in an audio format anyway.

So, when I find books like this that are available as an audiobook I'm always really excited!

This book was read and produced well and the author did a very, very good job covering and illustrating his subjects!

The scholarship was solid and open ended and approached the material from several angles. I also appreciated his bent towards leaning towards the populares.

Overall, I'm really glad I read this and that it was available!

A Masterful Summary of the Western World

I read this as an undergraduate almost 30 years ago. Listening was like visiting with an old friend. The book is an accesible, invigorating introduction to the Western World.

Nice reading, except for the pronunciation

What did you love best about Egypt, Greece, and Rome?

A nice synoptic overview. It is read in a thoughtful and unpretentious manner, too.

What didn’t you like about Jim Meskimen’s performance?

While I like his reading style, the pronunciation is pretty abysmal.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

That's an idiotic idea.

Any additional comments?

This review form is silly

Well rounded approach

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

The audiobook covers a large spectrum of topics from the beginning of modern civilization. The book is very thorough, but tangible enough to listen to for hours on end.

What did you like best about this story?

I appreciated the author's approach during his chapters on Greece and early Rome.

Have you listened to any of Jim Meskimen’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have not listened to this reader before, but he did quite well. His pronunciation of specific greek words was often amiss, but I was able to catch on through out the entire book.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Thorough history of ancient world, slanted religious take.

Any additional comments?

I felt the latter Roman history became too rushed and convoluted with author's religious take on history. The author's bias against movements of faith seems evident through the whole book, which is unfortunate. This begins with the first Ancient Near-East settlements and goes through the end of the Byzantine Empire. It is difficult to understand the ancient history approach to their own beliefs due to this overarching theme.