SHORTLISTED FOR THE CUNDILL HISTORY PRIZE 2020 AND THE RUNCIMAN AWARD 2021

A Book of the Year by the Financial Times. 'The best history of Greece... Beautifully written and full of insight about the culture and people. I will return to this book for the rest of my life' - Victoria Hislop.

Ancient Greece, a civilization that gives its name, has offered everything that defines today's 'western' culture, in arts, sciences, social sciences, and politics. However, Greece has undergone multiple criticisms during the financial crises that have hit the country since 2010, revealing how little we understand modern nationality. This book attempts to understand the modern Greeks on their own terms.

How did Greece so strongly connect the legacy of the ancients and shape an identity that is both Greek and modern? The book reveals the remarkable achievement of building a modern nation over the past 300 years, mainly on the ruins of a lost civilization. It is the story of the Greek state, but also, perhaps most fundamentally, of the collective identity that accompanies it. It is not only a story of events and high politics but also a story of culture, arts, people, and ideas.

Pages: 496, Dimensions: 13x13cm