You can find an index of all the GURPS bibliographies we have online here. If you spot any broken links or other problems with this page, please report them to webmaster@sjgames.com.

Bibliography for GURPS Greece

The following bibliography is only a starting point for further research. Sources with additional notes were particularly useful or inspiring during the creation of this book.

Ancient Sources

Aeschylus, The Oresteia (Penguin Books, 1977). Translation of the tragic trilogy in free verse.

Aristophanes, The Complete Plays of Aristophanes (Bantam Books, 1981). A superb collection by the master of Athenian social satire.

Arrian, The Campaigns of Alexander (Penguin Books, 1971). One of the best ancient accounts of Alexander's conquest of Persia.

Herodotus, The Histories (Penguin Books, 1972). Very entertaining and readable history of the Persian invasions of Greece, with the history of many of the important city-states, and long digressions on Persia, Scythia and Egypt.

Hesiod and Homer, Hesiod: The Homeric Hymns and Homerica (Harvard University press / William Heinemann Ltd., 1982). Includes Hesiod's "Works and Days" and "The Theogony".

Homer, The Iliad (Penguin Books, 1991). A recent translation of the epic poem into rather free English verse. Has extensive notes on historical and literary background.

Homer, The Odyssey (Penguin Books, 1991). A prose translation of the epic dating to 1946, with substantial recent revisions. A very lively and readable translation.

Plato, Symposium (Oxford University Press, 1994). One of the best-known of Plato's dialogues, full of telling details about Athenian society and featuring several prominent Athenians.

Plutarch, The Rise and Fall of Athens: Nine Greek Lives (Penguin Books, 1960). A collection of some of the famous biographies by Plutarch, centering around Athenian statesmen.

Sophocles, The Oedipus Plays of Sophocles (Mentor, 1991). Three tragic plays recounting the fall of Oedipus and the self-destruction of the Theban royal house.

Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War (Penguin Books, 1972). Sober account of the first stages of the Peloponnesian War, by one of the Athenian generals who fought in it.

Xenophon, The Persian Expedition (Penguin Books, 1972). An account of the march of the Ten Thousand into and out of Persia, as told by one of the Athenian officers who led the mercenaries. Probably the most readable ancient source for military history.

Xenophon, A History of My Times (Penguin Books, 1979). A history of the end of the Peloponnesian War and the subsequent struggles for power.

Other Ancient Sources

Aeschylus, Prometheus Bound and Other Plays (Penguin Books, 1961).

Euripides, Ten Plays by Euripides (Bantam Books, 1981).

Plato, The Last Days of Socrates (Penguin Books, 1993).

Plato, The Republic (Penguin Books, 1987).

Plutarch, The Age of Alexander (Penguin Books, 1973).

Polybius, The Rise of the Roman Empire (Penguin Books, 1979).

Virgil, The Aeneid (Penguin Books, 1990).

Non-Fiction

Boardman, John, Jasper Griffin and Oswyn Murray, editors, The Oxford History of Greece and the Hellenistic World (Oxford University Press, 1991). A collection of essays on Greek history, art, literature, and society.

Burkert, Walter, Greek Religion (Harvard University Press, 1985). Probably the definitive work on all aspects of ancient Greek religion.

Bury, J.B., A History of Greece to the Death of Alexander the Great (St. Martin's Press, 1975). A recent edition of one of the oldest and most comprehensive histories. Very readable and useful.

Casson, Lionel, Ships and Seamanship in the Ancient World (Princeton University Press, 1971). Covers all facets of ancient seafaring, from Egypt through the Roman and Byzantine periods. Excellent section on Greek ships and ship handling.

Durant, Will, The Life of Greece (MJF Books, 1966). An extremely readable but somewhat dated "popular" history of Greece. Use with caution.

Graves, Robert, The Greek Myths (Penguin Books, 1992). A useful overview of Greek myth. The author is a bit too fond of his own theories about the origins of the myths, and the material is chaotically organized.

Grimal, Pierre, The Penguin Dictionary of Classical Mythology (Penguin Books, 1991). Another summary of the myths, more complete than Graves and better organized as a reference.

Kagan, Donald, Pericles of Athens and the Birth of Democracy (Touchstone, 1991). A "political biography" of the Athenian statesman.

Kitto, H.D.F., The Greeks (Penguin Books, 1991). Another very accessible overview of Greek culture and society.

Levi, Peter, Atlas of the Greek World (Facts on File, 1984). Includes an extensive summary of Greek history, as well as many maps and color photographs of art and architecture.

Sekunda, Nick (plates by Angus McBride), The Ancient Greeks (Osprey, 1986). An overview of Greek military equipment and tactics, with plenty of color paintings.

Vermeule, Emily, Greece in the Bronze Age (University of Chicago Press, 1964). Somewhat dated, but still a good summary of what is known about Greek prehistory.

Webster, T.B.L., Athenian Culture and Society (University of California Press, 1973). A detailed examination of Athenian political, economic, and social life.

Other Non-Fiction

Brooks, Robert A., Gods and Heroes of Ancient Greece (Georgian Press, 1991).

Cassin-Scott, Jack, The Greek and Persian Wars, 500-323 BC (Osprey, 1977).

Cottrell, Leonard, The Bull of Minos: the Discoveries of Schliemann and Evans (Facts on File, 1984).

Etienne, Roland and Francoise, The Search for Ancient Greece (Harry N. Abrams, 1992).

Forrest, W.G., A History of Sparta, 950-192 BC (W.W. Norton and Company, 1969).

Hopper, R.J., The Early Greeks (Harper and Row, 1977).

Kinder, Hermann and Werner Hilgemann, The Anchor Atlas of World History, Volume I (Anchor Books, 1974).

Leveque, Pierre, The Birth of Greece (Harry N. Abrams, 1994).

McEvedy, Colin, The Penguin Atlas of Ancient History (Penguin Books, 1967).

Meijer, Fik, A History of Seafaring in the Classical World (Croom Helm Ltd., 1986).

Nilsson, Martin Persson, A History of Greek Religion (Greenwood Press, 1980).

—, The Mycenaean Origin of Greek Mythology (University of California Press, 1972).

Pellegrino, Charles, Unearthing Atlantis: An Archaeological Odyssey (Vintage Books, 1991).

Rodgers, William L., Greek and Roman Naval Warfare (U.S. Naval Institute Press, 1964).

Rouge, Jean, Ships and Fleets of the Ancient Mediterranean (Columbia University Press, 1975).

Sekunda, Nick (plates by Angus McBride), The Army of Alexander the Great (Osprey, 1984).

Starr, Chester G., A History of the Ancient World (Oxford University Press, 1991).

Starr, Chester G., The Origins of Greek Civilization, 1100-650 BC (W.W. Norton, 1961).

Warry, John, Alexander, 334-323 BC: Conquest of the Persian Empire (Osprey, 1991).

Wunderlich, Hans-Georg, The Secret of Crete (MacMillan, 1974).

Fiction

Anderson, Poul, The Dancer From Atlantis (Tor, 1993). Unwilling time travelers witness the fall of Minoan civilization.

Parotti, Phillip, Fires in the Sky (Ticknor and Fields, 1990). A Trojan soldier experiences victory and defeat in the years before the Trojan War. Very reminiscent of modern military fiction.

Renault, Mary, The Bull From the Sea (Vintage Books, 1975). The sequel to The King Must Die, telling the story of Theseus as King of Athens.

Renault, Mary, The King Must Die (Vintage Books, 1988). The youth of Theseus, including his adventure in Crete. One of the best historical novels ever written.

Vidal, Gore, Creation (Ballantine Books, 1982). A novel detailing the period of the Persian Wars, from the Persian viewpoint. Very refreshing.

Wolfe, Gene, Soldier of the Mist (Tor, 1986). An amnesiac Latin mercenary is involved in intrigue and supernatural events after the Persian Wars. Well-written and enjoyable, but rather hard to follow.

Wolfe, Gene, Soldier of Arete (Tor, 1989). The sequel to Soldier of the Mist, equally well-written and entertaining. Both books are available in an omnibus volume, Latro in the Mist.

Yerby, Frank, Goat Song (Dell, 1967). A Spartan outcast lives in Athens during and after the Peloponnesian War, and becomes the friend of Socrates. From the sex-and-violence school of historical fiction.

Other Fiction

Anderson, Poul, The Corridors of Time (Berkley, 1978).

Anderson, Poul, The Time Patrol (Tor, 1991).

Benford, Gregory, Artifact (Tor, 1985).

Gemmell, David, Lion of Macedon (Del Rey, 1990).

Renault, Mary, Fire From Heaven (Pantheon, 1961).

Renault, Mary, Funeral Games (Pantheon, 1981).

Renault, Mary, The Last of the Wine (Vintage Books, 1975).

Renault, Mary, The Mask of Apollo (Vintage Books, 1988).

Renault, Mary, The Persian Boy (Vintage Books, 1988).

Renault, Mary, The Praise Singer (Pantheon, 1978).

TV and Film

Alexander the Great (1955). Richard Burton. Not very historically accurate, but an excellent portrait of Alexander the man.

Alexander (2014) Oliver Stone's fourth (and hopefully final) version of the life of Alexander the Great, running 3.5 hours. (The four released editions are the Theatrical, Director's, Final (aka Alexander Revisited), and now Ultimate cuts. This release contains the Theatrical and Ultimate versions.)

Clash of the Titans (1981). A movie adaptation of the Perseus myth, considerably rewritten. The last, and probably the best, of the claymation epics. Includes an all-star cast.

Iphigenia (1982). An astonishingly good film version of the Euripides play "Iphigenia at Aulis." In Greek, with English subtitles.

The 300 Spartans (1962). Incredibly lame dialogue, great battle scenes. Unusual for Hollywood in its relative historical accuracy.

300 (2007) Based on the graphic novel by Frank Miller and Lynn Varley, with ferocious and exciting (CGI) visuals, but departs from strict historical accuracy.

Troy (2004) Surprisingly good re-telling of the Illiad with touches of the Aeneid for good measure. The director's cut features longer and larger (CGI) battle scenes.

Other TV and Films

Antigone (1961). In Greek, with English subtitles.

Atlantis, the Lost Continent (1961).

Hercules (1959). With Steve Reeves.

Hercules (1983). With Lou Ferrigno.

Hercules and the Captive Women (1963).

Hercules in the Haunted World (1964).

Hercules: The Legendary Journeys (1995-1999). TV series tosses Heracles' story in a blender. Category: "guilty pleasures."

Hercules Unchained (1960).

Jason and the Argonauts (1963).

Oedipus Rex (1967). In Italian, with English subtitles.

Oedipus Rex and the Flood (1984). In Latin, with English subtitles. For serious classical-music fans only.

Siege of Syracuse (1962).

Star Trek episodes: "Who Mourns For Adonais?" (1967) and "Plato's Stepchildren" (1968).

The Colossus of Rhodes (1961).

The Minotaur (1961).

The Private Life of Helen of Troy (1927). Silent.

The Private Life of Helen of Troy (1955). "Talkie" remake.

The Trojan Women (1971). Star-studded cast.

Games

Alexander at Tyre (Thunderhaven Game Company, 1993).

Alexandros (XTR Corporation, 1991). Appeared in Command magazine, number 10, May/June 1991.

Mythic Greece: The Age of Heroes (Iron Crown Enterprises, 1988). Roleplaying supplement.

Successors (Decision Games, 1993). Appeared in Strategy & Tactics magazine, number 161, June 1993.

The Age of Heroes (TSR, 1994). Roleplaying supplement.

The Great Battles of Alexander (GMT Games, 1993).

The Peloponnesian War (Victory Games, 1992).

Trireme (Avalon Hill, 1980).

Privacy Policy | Contact Us