I got this for $1 at a book sale at work ... of course I can't resist picking up anything about Greece :)

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From the back of the book:

Travel back in time to ancient Athens with this witty and ingenious guide. Now you can experience the city as a tourist would 2500 years ago, exploring its streets, shopping its markets, meeting the great artists, writers and philosophers and enjoying the hedonistic side of Athens.

Ancient Athens on 5 Drachmas a Day is packed with useful advice and historically accurate information. You'll learn...
~ The best way to travel to Athens (stop off in Delphi and see the Oracle)
~ Where to find Socrates (at the Agora)
~ How to travel at night (with a torch and an escort to discourage muggers)
~ Where to exercise with the best athletes (in a shady grove at the Academy)
~ Where to take in a comedy by Aristophanes
~ How to get yourself invited to a symposium to discuss philosophy

Here is all the information a tourist from any century needs to make a memorable visit to the cradle of Western civilization.

Ok, I wasn't sure what to think about this book before reading it ... I mean, just what kind of book is it, anyway? Is it a travel guide? Is it historical? Is it humorous? Well, the answer is that it's a bit of all three! In a word, this book is amusing.

This book is written as if a modern day traveler (American, by the choice of inside jokes mentioned) is visiting pre-Peloponnesian-war-Athens. The historical references, drawings and photographs are accurate (at least, I think so ...), so that part was interesting to me, especially since I love reading about such things. There were lots of cool tidbits about modern-day English words which have ancient Greek origins, such as:
~ ostracize / ostracism ---> from the Greek "ostrakizein", meaning 'to banish by voting with potsherds' (ostraka)
~ proxy ---> from the Greek "proxenos", meaning to act for someone in their stead
~ trophies ---> battle victory memorials, which are still called by the same name for athletic victories today

Although the book is meant to be a guide for 'ancient Athens', the book is written for the 'modern' traveler ... so, there are also many sarcastic and modern comments and tidbits thrown in that made me giggle, such as...
~ "Research has failed to determine whether Hermione, daughter of Helen of Troy, was surnamed Oikostos (i.e., 'Granger')." [which, Harry Potter fans will chuckle at]
~ "Corinthian columns are very elaborate, a mix between a cactus and a triffid on a pole. You won't see any in Athens yet, but they'll be all the rage later."
~ "Those finding it [the Greek alphabet] all too confusing are advised to head to the local bakery and eta beta pi to take their minds off it all." [har har]

and finally, in the section at the end which offers helpful phrases in ancient Greek, there are translations for simple things such as "How much is that?", "I'm lost!", and the more humorous (yet totally UN-ancient) "It's all Greek to me!", and "Indeed, I assure you that Homer's family name was Simpson". :)

Overall, this book was enough to entertain me on a 3 hour flight today, and I think it's the perfect book to take with me on my upcoming trip to see my fiance in Greece, where I'll leave it at the new Sonsie-OBCZ in downtown Athens so others can also enjoy it.

Sorry, I didn't have Internet access while I was in Athens, so I wasn't able to officially "release" this book in Cafe Sonsie. Thanks to okyrhoe for helping me get the word out to the OBCZ hosts ... and I hope this book will find a new reader soon!

Το βιβλίο είναι στο stand του Sonsie και περιμένει νέους αναγνώστες!

The book is on the stand of Sonsie cafe and awaits new readers!

Το πήρα σήμερα από το Sonsie. Υποθέτω θα δίνει πληροφορίες για την καθημερινή ζωή στην αρχαία Αθήνα με χιουμοριστικό τρόπο.
Probably, it says about every-day life in classical Athens in a humorous (and easy to memorise, therefore way)

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

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