{"product_id":"the-other-greeks-the-family-farm-and-the-agrarian-roots-of-western-civilization","title":"The Other Greeks: The Family Farm and the Agrarian Roots of Western Civilization","description":"\u003cp\u003eFor generations  scholars have focused on the rise of the Greek city-state and its brilliant cosmopolitan culture as the ultimate source of the Western tradition in literature  philosophy  and politics. This passionate book leads us outside the city walls to the countryside  where the vast majority of the Greek citizenry lived  to find the true source of the cultural wealth of Greek civilization. Victor Hanson shows that the real \"Greek revolution\" was not merely the rise of a free and democratic urban culture  but rather the historic innovation of the independent family farm.  The farmers  vinegrowers  and herdsmen of ancient Greece are \"the other Greeks \" who formed the backbone of Hellenic civilization. It was these tough-minded  practical  and fiercely independent agrarians  Hanson contends  who gave Greek culture its distinctive emphasis on private property  constitutional government  contractual agreements  infantry warfare  and individual rights. Hansons reconstruction of ancient Greek farm life  informed by hands-on knowledge of the subject (he is a fifth-generation California vine- and fruit-grower) is fresh  comprehensive  and absorbing. His detailed chronicle of the rise and tragic fall of the Greek city-state also helps us to grasp the implications of what may be the single most significant trend in American life todaythe imminent extinction of the family farm.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44983721558069,"sku":"ByrdShop_0520209354","price":45.64,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780520209350.jpg?v=1770807453","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/the-other-greeks-the-family-farm-and-the-agrarian-roots-of-western-civilization","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}