Rhys Carpenter (1889–1980)

A lavishly illustrated and reasonably accurate first book for older children and youngish teens. Calculated not to offend, and with the knowledge available in 1958.

This book took me awhile to get through, but I think it was worth it. The major highlights are an overview of four major civilizations: Mesopotamia featuring primarily the Babylonians and Assyrians, Egypt, Greece, and Rome.

The book is published by National Geographic, reprinting articles from 1941, 1944, 1946, and 1951. However, due to the subject matter, I didn't find that it read in a 'dated' manner.

The book is laid out with a section of text for each civilization, and then several show more paintings depicting various subjects, often common life. I think that the subject tended towards royalty or the well to do, but this is probably because the best record of these lifestyles were recorded. Often the painting would be a conglomeration of different topics into one picture to illustrate a point. show less

The first time I read this collection of three short lectures (and a forward and afterward), I didn't expect it to start out with references to Atlantis. The first lecture points toward the island of Thera as a possible location for a place that became the myth of Atlantis. I'd heard this possibility before, and was only surprised because I didn't expect it.

The other two lectures, though, cover something nearly as mythical -- the fall of the Mycenaeans and the Dorian invasion. Carpenter's show more discussion of climate change, wind shifts and drought seem to explain the oddness that accompanied the Dorians entrance into Greece. It is important to note that the Dorians are also sometimes referred to as the Heraklids -- the descendents of Heracles -- and that they believed they were returning home.

The Mycenaens were apparently already gone from the scene by the time they arrived, and many of the locations abandoned without sign of destruction. The signs of drought appear in other areas as well, and Carpenter's study of meteorology makes a reasonable answer to a perplexing problem.

Though at times it seems a bit repetitious, with less than 100 pages, this little book is a treasure of interesting information and well-worth a quick read. show less

This is a non-fiction book that I saw on LT. It is very short (85 pages) and a bit old (1968). There may have been advances in knowledge since this was published, but it still was interesting. The book is divided into 3 essays.

It is a history/archeology book that looks at the Mediterranean Basin, the Greeks, Minoans and Mycenaeans, in the 15th to 12th century BC. The author posits that there were climatological reasons for the various collapses.

He starts with the Minoans and the volcanic show more explosion on Santorini/Thera. He believes the devastation was much worse than historians have concluded. He thinks human history was altered as a result of the huge disruption (ash, pyroclastic flow, tidal waves) which had to have a major impact on the heart of the Minoan civilization,only 140 miles away, as well a causing disruptions in other lands.

Historians have considered the event to be similar to the Krakatoa explosion. Carpenter thinks the magnitude was possibly 2-4 times greater. He of course did not have the recent events of the December tsunami in the Indian Ocean to see just how devastating tidal waves can be. There have also been new findings of massive ash deposits on both Santorini and Crete that give physical evidence to bump up the magnitude of the event.

The Mycenaeans had risen to power on the Greek mainland. When they collapsed many have attributed it to the invasion/return of the Dorians or Heraklids. Carpenter argues that looking a pottery and other artifacts in the different layers shows that many areas were already abandoned when the Dorians arrived. He believes the evidence can be explained by a changed weather pattern that caused a long term drought. The Mycenaeans left to go to wetter areas.

Carpenter looks at Europe in the same time period and sees evidence of the climate being colder and wetter, a shift of the weather that should have been in the Med.

The book was interesting, well written and clear in the evidence he is using to support his interpretations. Don't know if his theories have been accepted since 1968, but they certainly deserve to be considered. Even if the climate was not the complete explanation, it certainly seems to have played a part in the rise and fall of various civilizations in the area.

The reason I didn't rate it higher is he seems to have wasted the first essay on climate and context in the area. That is important to understand what can go wrong and the impact, but it was too much for such a short book.

He also seems to repeat himself a bit. show less