Book review: Sailing the Wine Dark Sea: Why the Greeks Matter

author: Thomas Cahill (who also wrote “How the Irish Saved Civilization”)I'm never good at determining if a book is good for those who've had a course in Ancient Greek history.  To me it was well-written and clear enough for most to understand.  Cahill starts the book with how the Greeks colonized and how they fought in war.  These first two chapters were like a commentary on the Homeric epics, with other primary sources mixed in and I liked that a lot.  Much of the writing on warfare was somewhat simplistic and he focused mainly on Athens and Sparta while ignoring Corinth, Thebes, and the other poleis involved (could have spent more time on Sparta too, but oh well).  A big criticism I have is the chapter on philosophy.  The author spent, I think, way too much time on homosexuality and other vices.  There is so much more on philosophy that could have been mentioned besides Plato's writing on partying and Sapphos.  Would like to have seen more time spent on other Greek philosophers and philosophical topics.  Other than a few pages on ethics, Aristotle was basically ignored. I was curious how he was going to wrap it all up and explain why the Greeks matter.  He went in the direction that it wasn't just the Greeks, but Greco-Roman/Judeo-Christian influence, which is correct, but he should have kept more focus on the Greeks.Although this probably won't be one of the best books I'll be reading on Ancient Greece, it was good enough.  Because it didn't go into much depth, it would be best for high school or beginner students or those who have a passing interest in Ancient Greece. Looking forward to reading more in depth books like Hanson and Kagan's books on the Pelopponesian War.