Book Review: 'The Ancient City' by Numa Denis Fustel de Coulanges

'The Ancient City' is a book that deserves to be read over and over again.

It is, in sum, a historical biography of the ancient cities of Athens and Rome (and to some extent, Sparta), and traces the origins of extant western institutions and laws to pagan Indo-Aryan religious practices and rituals. For instance, did you know that the western concept of Property Rights is derived - not from Enlightenment-era philosophy expounded by the likes of Montesquieu as we were taught to believe in school - but in fact from ancestor worship and the sacred fire each family held in its domestic hearth?

It also behooves me to liken this book to a time portal. Fustel de Coulanges paints ancient practices and lifestyles so vividly that you feel fully immersed in that time period. On top of that, the author then goes on to explain - in intricate detail - the rise and fall of such societies and how & why revolutions occur.

The author ends the book with an autopsy on the ancient city, analysing the decline of municipal domination and the rise of the nation-state in its place. This gem is truly a treasure trove of timeless information and lessons that are still very much applicable to us moderns, and we ought to heed the lessons contained within this work.

5/5.