The Traveller's Guide to Classical Philosophy

In this clear and evocative account, John Gaskin unfolds the thinking about nature, life, death and other worlds that informed the culture and society of the Classical world, drawing out its interest for modern readers. Witty sketches and diagrams enliven the story, which runs from Homeric Greece to the banning of pagan religions in ad 391. The book concludes with a gazetteer describing notable sites and the people and ideas connected with them, making it an ideal companion for visitors to Classical ruins and for all armchair travellers curious to explore life’s big questions.

Table of Contents

Part I – The Idea of Hellenism: What the Greeks Created: 1. The Scheme of Things Entire • 2. The Idea of Hellenism • 3. Wine, Sex and the Symposium • 4. Theatres: Festivals, Entertainments and Meetings • 5. Temples: Gods, Feasts and Safe Deposits • Part II – The Ideal of Homer and the Ideas of the Philosophers: • 1. Troy: The Legend and the Book • 2. Troy: The Book and the Ideals • 3. Miletus: The Nature of the Universe • 4 Ionia and Western Greece: Laws, Numbers and Reality • 5. Athens: Socrates, Plato and Other Worlds • 6. Aristotle and this World: Nature, Life and Ethics • 7. Epicurus: The Garden and the Wilderness • 8. Stoicism: Duty and the Laws of Nature • 9. Neoplatonism: The Last Protest • 10. The End of Classical Antiquity • Part III – Cities and Citizens: A Gazetteer