Product Description

This collection of contested problems in the history of Ancient Greece aims to enhance and deepen the experience of any student.

Each chapter within Problems in the History of Ancient Greece is a self-contained unit that presents a key problem of continuing interest among historians.  In each case there is a selection of pertinent ancient sources in translation, with a number of modern viewpoints also presented.  In this way, students may experience the nature of weighing and evaluating sources; the problem of posing mean­ingful and enlightening questions; the need to change hypotheses in the light of new evidence or new insights; and the necessity, in some cases, of suspending judgment.

Note: The problems selected for this collection span the chronological period usually covered in ancient Greek courses.  Second, they were selected because they have been the subject of relatively recent study.  Finally, they are meant to be sufficiently varied in topic and approach; in order to expose the student to a variety of historical methods and techniques. 

Product Description
The story of the ancient Greeks is one of the most improbable success stories in world history. A small people inhabiting a country poor in resources and divided into hundreds of quarreling states created one of the most remarkable civilizations of antiquity. Comprehensive and balanced, A Brief History of Ancient Greece: Politics, Society, and Culture, Second Edition, is a shorter version of the authors' highly successful Ancient Greece: A Political, Social, and Cultural History, Second Edition (OUP, 2007). Four leading authorities on the classical world offer a lively and up-to-date account of Greek civilization and history in all its complexity and variety, covering the entire period from the Bronze Age through the Hellenistic Era, and integrating the most recent research in archaeology, comparative anthropology, and social history. Using physical evidence from archaeology, the written testimony of literary texts and inscriptions, and anthropological models based on comparative studies, this compact volume provides an account of the Greek world that is thoughtful and sophisticated yet accessible to students and general readers with little or no knowledge of Greece.
A Brief History of Ancient Greece, Second Edition, is concise enough to be used alongside other books in courses in Greek Civilization, Greek and Roman Civilization, Ancient Greece, or Western Civilization. It is enhanced by text boxes featuring excerpts from ancient documents, an extensive glossary, and a timeline and general introduction that provide a bird's-eye view of Greek history.

New to the Second Edition
* New sections on childhood and on marriage and burial rituals
* An expanded treatment of religion
* A revised art program that includes a new 8-page full-color photo insert, 125 black-and-white photographs and illustrations, and 17 new and improved custom-drawn maps
* Key terms--in boldface type when they first appear in the text and listed at the end of each chapter
* Selective, up-to-date recommendations for further reading
* A companion website featuring student self-quizzes, discussion questions, flashcards of key terms, chapter summaries, a pronunciation guide, links to useful websites, and PowerPoint lecture outlines ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Ancient Greek History
This book is absolutely fantastic. It's been very informative and is written in a very comprehensible manner. The only problems I have with the book is that not all of the "key terms" found throughout the book are defined in the glossary.

Good Book!
fantastic condition, delivered within four days, good value. I would buy from this seller again.

Great for an overview
This book's principle virtue is that it is short, but complete. It gives a good sense of the larger trends in Greek history; it is especially good at showing how changes in society relate to the "big" dates and political events. Greek history emerges as an interconnected process, instead of "one thing after another."

Each chapter has a really thoughtfully compiled bibliography. These bibliographical lists are not comprehensive; they are a reliable guide to readable, high quality material that fleshes out, and complicates some of the ideas advanced in the text. Any reader, from layperson to an expert in some aspect of the ancient world can count on these lists to point them to consistently rewarding further reading, and this in my opinion is much more useful than a guide to detailed scholarly arguments about the dating of a single group of potsherds. I got this book when I was quite pressed for time, but the short chapters left me ample time to explore the rich works suggested in the bibliographies.

The book is also refreshingly free of old-fashioned unqualified assertions about the "triumph" of Greek civilization. Ancient Greece is explored as a territory and a culture in its own right, and not merely as the beginnings of some vague "Western Civilization".

Presents history in an easy to read way
I bought this book for History of Ancient Greece. Unlike some boring history texts, it is quick reading and easy to understand.

As Far as Greek Texts go this one is greart!
Ok I love this text. I used this and its sister text on Romans for my ancient history classes. I find that the only down fall of this particular text is that Pomeroy tends to push her agenda in the beginning. However as far as texts on Greek History go, this is the best. ... Read more

Product Description
Sumptuously illustrated in color and packed with information, The Cambridge Illustrated History of Ancient Greece is now available for the first time in paperback. Offering fresh interpretations of classical Greek culture, the book devotes as much attention to social, economic and intellectual aspects as to politics and war. Paul Cartledge and his team of contributors ask what it was like for an ordinary person to partake in "the glory that was Greece." They examine the influences of the environment and economy; the experience of workers, soldiers, slaves, peasants and women; and the roles of myth and religion, art and culture, and science and education. This is a cultural history from the bottom up, which lays bare the far-reaching linguistic, literary, artistic and political legacy of ancient Greece, and seeks justification for Shelley's claim that "we are all Greeks."Paul Cartledge is Professor in Greek History in the Faculty of Classics at the University of Cambridge and is Fellow and Director of Studies in Classics at Clare College, Cambridge. He is the author of several books about ancient Greece, including Spartan Reflections (California, 2001), Hellenistic and Roman Sparta (Routledge, 2001) and Sparta and Lakonia (Routledge, 2002). ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Not for your average reader
This is a comprehensive study of ancient Greece which is obviously intended for those scholars particularly interested in the cultural history of the ancient world.Except for the magnificent photographs and illustrations, the average reader will likely find much of the material presented somewhat tedious and at times rather boring.

The book is written very much in line with the modern approach to history in that information is not presented in chronological order, and the exploits of those leaders who made the history happen are minimized or all but left out of the story.On the contrary, most of the book's chapters deal with subjects that would only be of interest to true scholars of the ancient world (e.g. the environment; the rich and poor; the average women, children, and men; etc.).Each chapter is written by a different expert in his or her particular field, and each one is essentially a stand-alone entity.All of the authors are obviously erudite, but just as clearly some are better writers than others. This constant shifting of gears and styles eliminates any possible thread of historical continuity.

So, unless you are a true scholar concerned with all things about ancient Greece or are studying ancient Greece, you would be well advised to first concentrate on reviewing the photographs and reading their captions. Then pick and chose those chapters which are in your realm of interest and skip the rest.In all probability, no one will ever ask you what the average man, woman, or child ate for dinner in ancient Greece and, even if they did you probably wouldn't remember anyway.

A Good Summary Introduction to Ancient Greece
I feel the book is really a 3.5-star as Cambridge's Illustrated Series 'Ancient Greece' is a very good introductory text that is not a doctoral socio-political analysis or an advanced level chronological review of Greece's evolution from polis to Hellenism such as the massive Cambridge 'Ancient History' editions. It therefore makes it an ideal text for general readers and beginning students despite having some deficiencies that can be easily supplemented by another publisher's as a companion text.

The book is suited for readers ages 12 and up and treats the subject more as a primarily anthropological and interdisciplinary approach to the subject covering things such art, political intitutions, urban life, and how their legacy remains with us today. A collaboration of various respected scholars with different specialties provides readers with a multi-faceted view of Greek civilization without bogging them down with a tedious chronological approach focusing primarily on a geopolitical evolution of its social and military institutions along with its principal agents. Its subjects are illustrated by a good amount of color photographs, drawings, and diagrams, giving the reader a useful visual aid for an enhanced perspective of the subject.

Although it has great qualities, I find it insufficient for general education college classes as its subjects are too limited and without enough detail as to social and political topics in particular. Leslie and Roy Adkins' 'A Handbook to Life In Ancient Greece' is more thoroughly edited and organized than this text despite their having black and white illustrations as opposed to color. The Adkins text is also categorically organized as well, but its approach is more sociopolitical and encyclopedic, giving much more detailed information on a much broader subject range: especially military, economic, and political topics. Its detailed illustrations, maps, and thorough categorical summaries give the reader a better idea how major Greece's impact was on the modern world in its ideas of the city-state, art, philosopy, and cutlure.At the very least, bothtexts should be bought together as complements for the general reader to really have a complete overview of the progression and impact of Roman history: none are very expensive at $20-$40 each.

Cambridge Illustrated History 'Ancient Greece' is a good introductory text that would appeal to a wide general audience ages 12 and up and that would make a fine high school or general education-level college class as a main text. Covering a broad category of topics from various disciplines, the reader will be informed of Greek civilization's evolution and continuing legacy in the modern world. Its drawback is it may be too general as to some subjects which would be complemented with Leslie and Roy Adkins' equally affordable and outstanding summary text 'A Handbook to Life In Ancient Greece.'Both texts allow the reader appreciate how the small Greeks polis and the culture that created it paved the way for our modern political institutions and secular states that prize democracy, science, and rationalism above anything else.I strongly recommend getting both to anyone who wants a broad yet comprehensive overview of Greek civilization.

Great book
I really like this book.The writing is very informative, but I also appreciated the illustrations.There are lots of them, and they are fully explained.It you take the time to examine each picture and its explanation, you will learn a lot.Sometimes the pictures don't exactly match the accompanying text, and this breaks your train of reading, but that's a minor flaw.This book is good for both beginners and Greek history buffs alike.If you are interested in classical Greek history, read this book.

A Superlative book with a diverse perspective
The Cambridge Illustrated History of Ancient Greece is dedicated to giving an objective perspective of ancient Greek civilization, and culture.Filled with photos of beautiful Greek pottery, this book is a treasure inboth the pictures of pottery that it contains, and the well writtendescriptions it gives of this glorious culture.Although classified as areference in most local libraries, The Cambridge Illustrated History ofAncient Greece can be read like any other chapter book with a historicalperspective. Unlike other works on ancient Greece, this book is dedicatedto giving an unbiased, factual record of Greek civilization, while devotingas much attention to ancient wars, as to social structure.It will notlead you to one particular conclusion about Greek civilization, as otherbooks do, but will introduce you to the latest theories, and perspectivesof ancient Greek lifestyle, and belief systems.This book covers everyaspect of Greek civilization, from Socrates to Plato, to Aristophanes, aswell as Greek art, religion, myths, wars, etc., devoting a chapter to eachmain idea.It is a well written, high quality book, which can be read bybeginners, and people who are well versed in Greek history alike, and Iwould recommend The Cambridge Illustrated History of Ancient Greece toanyone who loves this glorious culture as much as I do. ... Read more

Product Description
The contribution of the ancient Greeks to modern western culture is incalculable. In the worlds of art, architecture, myth, literature, and philosophy, the world we live in would be unrecognizable without the formative influence of ancient Greek models.
This highly original and stimulating introduction to ancient Greece takes the city as its starting point, revealing just how central the polis ("city-state" or "citizen-state") was to Hellenistic cultural achievements. In particular, Paul Cartledge uses the history of eleven major Greek cities--out of more than a thousand--to illuminate the most important and informative aspects of Greek history. The book spans a surprisingly long time period, ranging from the first examples of ancient Greek language from Cnossus in Crete around 1400 BC to the establishment of Constantinople (today's Istanbul) in 324 AD on the site of the Greek city of Byzantion.Cartledge highlights the role of such renowned cities as Athens (birthplace of democracy) and Sparta, but he also examines Argos, Thebes, Syracuse in Sicily, and Alexandria in Egypt, as well as lesser known locales such as Miletus (home of the West's first intellectual, Thales) and Massalia (Marseilles today), where the Greeks introduced the wine grape to the French. The author uses these cities to illuminate major themes, from economics, religion, and social relations, to gender and sexuality, slavery and freedom, and politics. And throughout, the book explores how these eleven cities differed both from each other and from modern society.
An innovative approach to ancient Greece and its legacy, both in terms of the time span covered and in its unique city-by-city organization, this superb volume provides the ideal concise introduction to the history and culture of this remarkable civilization. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Doesn't answer too many questions
About ten pages into this, I found the book confusing (yes, I did finish it).It wasn't that it was hard to read (although like many academics I've been reading recently Cartledge's phrasing is awkward, his jokes fall flat and he takes to inventing words).It was really that I wasn't sure exactly what he was trying to achieve- and yes, I read the introduction.

It seems Cartledge wants to give an "introduction" to the "themes" present in Ancient Greek history.He wants to do this quickly by offering a brief history in rough chronological order of 11 important cities or, as we might want to say in this case, poleis (plural for polis or, roughly, city-state).He does spend a few pages explaining that while we talk about the city, the city always included attached or associated country-side areas where the majority of the populations usually lived.Thus, we're looking at a city-focused culture rather than an urban one.Good to know- but then he does pretty much nothing with that theme for the rest of the book.

The cities he covers are Cnossos, Mycenae, Argos, Miletus, Massalia, Sparta, Athens, Syracuse, Thebes, Alexandria and Byzantion.You know more than half of these if you have a working knowledge of Greek myths (FYI, he spends very little time talking about the mythology except to cite it's historical implausibilities- and that's not a criticism).You also know some of these cities under different names- Massalia is the modern-day Marseilles, and Byzantion has been known as Constantinople and Istanbul.There were, of course, many other cities he could have covered (I'd still like to know why Corinth and Megara didn't make the cut), but he gives good reasons for why he chose these to cover the range of influences that Greece exerted.He also does successfully make the point that the concept of "Greece" or even "Greek" came much later than identification with the polis, and that even when it did, it hardly discouraged conflict.

Of course he spends a lot of time on Athens and just about apologizes for doing so.He also spends a fair amount of time on Sparta, in part to debunk stereotypes (Sparta was NOT more evil than Athens, and Athenian democracy was both politically expedient and limited by design).He notes that the Athenian model was looked upon with suspicion up until the 1830s when the United States repopularized the idea.

A good amount of time is spent on Alexandria, and part of that is to discuss some of the rise and conquests of Alexander the Great of Macedon (no, Macedon does not get it's own section).But not too much.By the time we're done, he's moved onto Ptolemy, sidetracked a little into the Seleucid empire, moved back to Cleopatra, Antony and Caesar and recounted the destruction of the legendary Library of Alexandria.All in 18 pages.

Athens had a BS democracy; Spartans were a people of few words.Early civilization thrived at Cnossos in Crete.The "Greeks" had a bunch of cities on three continents (Europe, Asia and Africa).But... so what?Why?What was the impulse or idea, other than survival?Strangely enough, the theme of trade is rarely mentioned here.There was *something* about Greek or Hellenic civilization that was special enough to be emulated by the Romans and their cultural descendants, but the end of the book, we're still not sure exactly what that was.

It's not an entirely useless book- I didn't realize that Linear A was a Semitic language, for instance and it has a useful glossary, timeline and "who's who"- but this is only going to make you want to read more, and not necessarily in the good way.

Very Informative
One of the most readable summaries of the Greek experience I have read in years. This book provides a quick overview of Greece. Though this has some great images of ancient artefacts, it is not an extremely light read. If you have an interest in Greece this is a good start, though. I appreciated Martin pointing out that, in many ways, what we know of Greek history is actually a history of Athens, and therefore, not truly Greek history--since the various city-states of Greece had very different cultures and methods of operation.

What n awful book!
Here is a scholar who thinks (page 113) that Athens, not Atlanta, is the capital of the state of Georgia, and that it is vital to the reader of his 202 page tome that the (rather insignificant) city of Sparta, Tennessee, "...was the setting for the famous movie of pre-civi rights racial intolerance, starring Rod Steiger and Sidney Poitier, In The Heat of The Night".Wow, thanks for sharing that in a history book about Greece - VERY PERTINENT!
Seriously fellow lovers of culture - do not buy this awful book.

Excellent Little Book
For a book of such brevity, this is a remarkably full accounting of the Ancient Greeks. As Cartledge observes, ancient mainland and Aegean Greece included over 700 individual city-states (poleis), as well as hundreds more Greek colonies and trading-posts along the rims of the Mediterranean and Black Seas. Thus it is salutary that Cartledge chooses to approach ancient Greek history through the technique of considering 11 representative Greek city-states in 11 successive chapters, and an Epilogue. This is appropriate, as the polis remained the fundamental unit in over two millennia of Greek History, even when under the later hegemony of such Great Powers as Macedon, Rome, and Constantinople.
The poleis Cartledge chooses are as follows: Prehistory: Cnossos (on Crete) and Mycenae; Dark and Archaic Ages (ca. 1000-500 B.C.):Argos, Miletus, Massalia, and Sparta; Classical Period (500-330 B.C.): Athens, Syracuse (on Sicily), and Thebes; Hellenistic Age (ca. 330-31 B.C.): Alexandria; and, finally, Byzantion (later Constantinople and Istanbul). As Cartledge makes clear, this list of necessity leaves out many other worthy contenders such as a Black Sea settlement (though Byzantion is on the narrows of the Bosporus, which lead into the Black Sea); the significant North African city of Cyrene, on the eastern Libyan coast (though Alexandria is later placed some 400 miles east, on the coast of the western Nile Delta); or a city of Magna Graecia (mainland Italy), maybe Cumae, on the Bay of Naples.
Through the cities Cartledge DOES choose, he is well-able to narrate the history of Ancient Greece, including the Minoans on Crete; the Mycenaeans on Crete (after 1400 B.C.) and the mainland (Mycenae, Argos) who used Linear B, (deciphered as the earliest known written form [ca. 1400 B.C.] of Greek by Michael Ventris in 1952) mainly for taxation and inventory purposes; colonization; the rise of tyrants; the Greco-Persian Wars (ca. 500-479 B.C.); the Peloponnesian War between Sparta and Athens (431-404 B.C.); the ascendancy of Thebes (early 4th c. B.C.); the rise of Macedon (ca. 338 B.C.); and the coming of Rome (2nd c. B.C.).
Professor Cartledge's mind is clearly brimming with a lifetime's learning, and he ranges with alacrity across this sweep of time and geography. This is the first book by Cartledge that I have read, and I quite enjoyed it. He has an engaging style, often leavened by humor. As the book was published in 2009, Cartledge is able to incorporate the most recent scholarship, often archaeological. We learn that a Linear B tablet was found at Thebes with a word that looks like "Lakedaemon," the southwestern region of the Peloponnese which includes Sparta, and is mentioned frequently in Homer as the home of Menelaos, King of Sparta, original husband of Helen (later "of Troy"). No Mycenaean palace (as would have housed King Menelaos), has yet been found in Lakonia, but recent surface finds of Linear B fragments in the vicinity of Sparta offer tantalizing prospects.
Also, in Athens, the recent tunneling for the new subway uncovered mass graves, probably from the plague that swept Athens in 430-29 B.C. and took the life of Pericles (builder [and rebuilder] of the sacred structures on the Athenian acropolis) and countless other Athenians.
In his narrative, Cartledge notes some interesting facts. He states that Sparta was by far the largest Greek polis in terms of land area, followed by Syracuse, and Athens/Attica in third place. He mentions that at the height of its "Athenian Empire," (ca. 440 B.C.) Athens was collecting 1,000 talents a year from its "allied" poleis, an huge sum not to be equaled by a Greek power until Alexander the Graet pillaged the seemingly limitless wealth of the Persian Empire after 331 B.C.
Cartledge also makes the important point that, to the "Old Greeks" in the eastern homelands, the colonies of Sicily, Italy, and the western Mediterranean, represented the "Golden West:" a region of rich agricultural lands and favorable settlement sites. Indeed Sicily, known as a breadbasket and land of sumptuous local coinages, exerted a powerful pull on the Athenians' imagination; and fantasies of riches led to the Athenians' ill-fated Sicilian naval expedition in 415-13 B.C. This horrific defeat at Syracuse planted the seeds for the Athenians' final defeat by Sparta in 404 B.C.
Cartledge brings the narrative full-circle by ending with Byzantion. Originally founded as a colony of Megara (on the eastern coast of the Isthmus of Corinth) in 688 or 657 B.C, Byzantion controlled the trade-routes to the rich grainlands of today's Ukraine and south Russia. Constantine moved his main capital from Rome to Byzantion (renamed "Constantinople") in 324-30 A.D. Here Latin was the official language until the reign of Justinian the Great (527-65 A.D.). Later, as the capital of the "Byzantine Empire," (through 1453 A.D.) the inhabitants spoke Greek, but continued to call themselves "Romans."
To me, Cartledge's book is a compact but rewarding read. However, as some other reviewers note, it may not be the ideal introduction to someone who knows very little about Ancient Greece. If you paid attention in a decent college survey of Ancient Greek History, much of the book should be familiar. But if there are too many names and places coming too fast, I would suggest reading Cartledge's "Ancient Greece: A History in Eleven Cities" along with H.D.F. Kitto's "The Greeks" (1951), or Moses Finley's "The Ancient Greeks" (1964), both short treatments that will further flesh out the details. The maps in Cartledge's book are quite good, and there in a helpful Glossary, Who's Who, and suggestions for further reading. All in all, a very good book.

Tour 11 cities and a few millenia of history!
As an exceedingly brief albeit readable account of its subject, Paul Cartledge's //Ancient Greece: A History in Eleven Cities// is entertaining and even occasionally insightful.Given its length, there is no chance of offering a complete review of such a rich and complex topic, nor does it appear that this was the author's goal. Instead, by focusing on the city -- the irreducible unit of ancient Greek political identity - this volume offers an interesting context into which the author pours an overview of an enormous sweep of history.While some will doubtless complain about its brevity, this work falls into a genre of writing with which British academics have a long history.Thoughtful, and at times more than a little cheeky, it will offer something to every level of interested reader, even if sometimes only a taste of a far more complex whole, as well as a sense of the variety of ancient Greek political experimentation.Well versed readers may find this a strange format, and at times it can feel a bit forced, but overall, I thought it successful and entertaining. ... Read more

Product Description
Bring history alive as students explore the past by making the interactive projects in History Pockets. Students store the projects in easy-to-make construction paper pockets. Each book contains: a reproducible pocket label; a bookmark of short, fun facts about the subject; an art reference page; a fact sheet of background information; arts and crafts projects;and writing activities. Evaluation forms are provided at the end of the book. Ancient Greece includes: Introduction to Ancient Greece; Military Power; Daily Life; Government; Religion and Mythology; Work and School; Art and Architecture; Language and Literature; Sports and Entertainment. Grades 4-6 ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

I Liked It But My Student Didn't
I've been impressed by the content of the 3 "History Pockets" books we've used in our homeschool (Ancient Civilizations, Ancient Egypt, and Ancient Greece). I think they would be really helpful for visual and tactile learners. Unfortunately, my DD hated all the cutting & pasting involved. She found it to be busywork.

I would recommend the "History Pockets" to students who don't mind all the prep work involved in making the folders/lapbook.

Worth the money - even for do-it-yourselfers!
I procrastinated months before buying this product, saying, "I can do this myself, I don't need everything planned out for me."Yes you CAN search the Internet and photocopy pages from library books and make your own lapbooks/history pockets, but most teachers/homeschoolers have very full plates and it is MUCH easier to use these history pockets as the basis for your project and then supplement with other stuff.

After I relented and purchased the Ancient Greece history pockets, I couldn't believe how easily the project fell into place, after weeks of neglect.You - and your kids - will be very pleased with the informative and interesting results.

I also purchased the Greek Myths literature pockets and am very pleased with those too.

Also, for what it's worth, my kids are in 1st & 2nd grade, more or less, not the 4-6 that is recommended for these pockets.So the pockets have appeal for a broad range of ages.

On the other hand, I did find it necessary to do a fair amount of prep work for them - photocopying the pages and cutting out some of the projects.If they were a couple of years older, the history pockets could have been done independently.

Great addition to history curriculum -especially for kids that love crafts!
I used this to suppliment another world history curriculum with my kindergardener and 4th grader.My little guy couldn't do everything, but he enjoyed the things he did.They both loved it.They are proud of the "books" that they each made.I will try their other products. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Great place to begin
This book is perfect for the lay reader, somebody who hasn't taken a class will become much more interested as a result of this book. I never took a course on this specific period, although his Alexander book was a requisite in a post Grad Alexander class. In the years after, I read his other works, since I focus primarily on post Alexander Greece, and this was my latest book, because I never really read deeply into the Classical Age.
Every Classical book I have picked up bored me, besides the Peloponnesian and Persian Wars. This is almost definitely a result of being Greek and being forced to learn Leonidas the way Americans are forced to learn the Constitution pre-amble and the French and Indian War. That and a really old, bad professor during my first morning class in my very first semester in college.
Green has the talent of making peace as interesting as war in the Greek world.Green is probably the best writer on Greece, and this is coming from a Greek. He writes how Greek politics haven't changed much, he wrote this book during the tragic days of Military Dictatorship of the early 70's and as I write this December of 2008, Communists and Anarchist riots are burning Athens.The same old "stasis", and I just took a line of his that was as true when he wrote it in 1973, when tanks crushed kids, as it is true today. The country never has and may never be able to meet the economic needs of the nation without stasis, internecine war or emigration to colonies.

Vivid beginner's guide to stony Attica
This book is an introductory survey of the civilizations on ancient
Crete, Greece, and the Greek cities of Asia Minor.

From the outset he acquaints the reader with the interpreting of
physical artefacts, texts and also the impact of geography and
climate.

He draws on insights from images on ceramic, emphasizes the larger
contributions of written records, and points out for the student where
speculation must stop. For example, despite passionate and clashing
assertions, nobody really knows what the "Archaic smile" signifies on
statues from Miletus, though Miletus' philosophical currents were of
huge importance.


What drew me in to the book was the early geographical theme. Mr.
Green links the Greek proclivity to open-air discourse and oratory to
the abundance of clear weather, and matches class differences to the
different uses of the land.

This approach pays off in the telling of Athens' political feuding and
Cleisthenes' redistribution of tribes in 508, after which he says
"Athenian democracy had at last come of age."

Professor Green's specialty is the 4th century BC.

This book delivers more concepts more rapidly than other survey
works such as the Pelican Greek Ancient History.

My favorite author on ancient Greece
I just had to laugh when I saw the previous reviewer's comment that Peter Green's area of expertise was not ancient Greece. It certainly is! He has written a critically acclaimed biography of Alexander the Great, Alexander of Macedon 356-323 BC: A Historical Biography, ..., as well as numerous histories of many of the pivotal events in Ancient Greece.

a bit too concise?
This is a edited version of my review because some people are taking for too much offense at this short review.I advise them to read it again.Green is a specialist in the Hellenistic period, a culture quite different from the Classical city of Athens or the archaic development of the polis for example.

If one reads the review below you'll note that I did not trash this book, I pointed out that it was lacking evidence and topics btut also how it might best be used in a classroom.I'm a college instructor so I think in terms of what I would use in a history class and how best to use it.I stand by what I said below because I'm comparing the book to others of its type, and this book is not the best (that would earn 5 stars).

You should also note the "?" in my title -- you are entitled to your own opinions but when people start sending me nasty private emails about my reviews, I can only feel sorry for their lack of professionalism.

For the specialist, Green's book is too concise, short on evidence to support all of his "facts".However, for the introductory history class, it might be a good book if supplemented by cultural andsocial history by the instructor.It is clear that Green's area ofspecialization is not ancient Greece but he is knowledgable nonetheless.

If you love history you will love this book!
Peter Green is correct in saying, "The Greeks have influenced Western society more, and more fundamentally, than any other nation in history." The Greeks introduced much of the vitality into ouraesthetics, literature, ethics, and our language. Their wars with Persiasaved the West. The Greeks insisted on making sense of things. The worldmust have an order, and the Greeks had the intelligence and fortitude todiscover it. Likely, their elite were as close to gods as man has yetbecome. Athens, with about 50,000 citizens, produced more knowledge thantoday's cites of over a million. If you are a serious person on historythis is the book for you. ... Read more

Product Description
The archaeology of classical Greece developed in the shadow of Greek historical scholarship.Many modern developments in archaeology have been neglected, and classical archaeology has become something of a backwater. The contributors to this book review the history of the field and aim to demonstrate that modern archaeological approaches can contribute to a richer understanding of Greek society. They insist that this complex, literate and highly unusual society poses important questions for archaeologists of other regions. ... Read more

Product Description
You choose: historical eras. Jump into a life from long ago! You choose who to be, where to go and what to do. Will you succeed? Will you fail? Will you even survive? It's up to you. You choose: warriors. The life of a warrior is full of danger, decision-making and glory. Now in our You choose format readers can live it. Each choice could lead to fame, riches or death. You, the reader, decides! ... Read more

Product Description
This is a major, single-volume introduction to the whole of Ancient Greek History. It covers the period from the Golden Age of Knossos and Mycenae to the incorporation of Greece into the Roman empire in the second century BC and the transfer of Greek culture to Byzantium in the fourth century AD. ... Read more

Product Description
In this reference book the rich history of Ancient Greece is explored from the first settlers on the Greek mainland to the great civilizations of Crete, the might of classical Athens and finally, the conquest of Greece by the Roman Empire. It also provides information on wars, politics, daily life and religious beliefs showing what life was like in Ancient Greece. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

12 year old
This book is sooooooo informational! It rocks! It has a lot of info on everything about Greece! It has alot of great pictures of artifacts. It also has pictures of Gods and/or Godesses fighting mythical creatures. I REALLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK! ... Read more

Product Description
ANCIENT GREECE is the second volume in a new three-volume series on ancient civilizations. This study of ancient Greece brings together the findings of historians, archaeologists, linguists, geographers, art historians, scientists, and other specialists. The thought-provoking book does not shy away from controversial issues and topics. Volume II on the ancient Greeks follows Volume I, THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST, and precedes Volume III, ANCIENT ROME. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Fully Satisfied
In the middle of the shipping process I moved and I still received the book in a timely fashion. Overall I was extremely satisfied.

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Good introductory book
This is a pretty good book if you are looking for something in the introductory level of Greek history.I bought it for an Ancient Greek history course, and it was a lot more interesting than my teacher.Its well written so it makes it easy to read.The chapters are well divided with subsections. ... Read more

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Thumbs Up
A very fine collection of short biographies of ancient greeks, including Solon the lawgiver, Themistocles the father of Athens' navy, Pericles who oversaw the building of the Parthenon, and others, like the macedonian king Philip and his son Alexander the great (who conquered the Persian empire and died at age thirty three).The author provides an excellent general background chapter about ancient Greek history that gives a nice context to fit in the characters in the bios.Really a fun book for folks who are into ancient Greece. Gets a thumbs up from me. ... Read more

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A kiss is the touching of one person's lips to another place, which is used as an expression of affection, respect, greeting, farewell, good luck, romantic affection or sexual desire. The word comes from Old Greek "kison me" and "cyssan" (to kiss), in turn from "coss" (a kiss).They way that the ancient people kiss is presented in this research in Greek texts. ... Read more

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Discusses the life and work of the seven Greek thinkers considered to be the first true scientists of the western world. Included are Democritus, Plato, Aristotle, Theophrastus, Archimedes, Ptolemy, and Galen. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

The emphasis is on the successes of early Greek science
When students are taught the history of science, it generally begins with the development of the scientific method in ancient Greece. All too often, the emphasis is on the errors and misconceptions that people such as Plato, Aristotle and Ptolemy made in their views of the universe. This is unfortunate, because their successes dwarf their failures. For the first time in human history, nature was considered to be a consistent, predictable entity ruled by natural laws rather than a fickle creature controlled by gods, who were governed by their emotions.
In this book, seven of the greatest minds of ancient Greece: Democritus, Plato, Aristotle, Theophrastus, Archimedes, Ptolemy and Galen are briefly profiled. The emphasis is on their successes, which were considerable. The fact that their incorrect theories of nature survived for so long is not their fault. They should not be held responsible for their ideas being made social and religious dogma, forcibly held in place by people whose mental capacity was dwarfed by that of the ancient Greeks. It was refreshing to read about their successes and what it meant for the advancement of science.
The book is written roughly at the level of the high school student, although bright middle school students can handle it. Students in non-technical college courses in the history of science will also find it valuable. We owe the Greeks so much for their development of the scientific method and democracy. Hopefully, both will always remain fundamental characteristics of human societies.
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Following Egypt, Tudors, Victorians and Vikings, here is another title in the accessible "History in a Hurry" series. ... Read more

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This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process.We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

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In this revised edition Matthew Dillon and Lynda Garland have expanded the chronological range of Ancient Greece to include the Greek world of the fourth century. The sourcebook now ranges from the first lines of Greek literature down to the death of Alexander the Great. As for the previous editions of this text, this sourcebook will be markedly different from others in that the authors are aware of the wide range of ancient sources which can be utilized.

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The achievements of the Greek cavalry on the battlefield were monumental, and yet until now the heavy infantry - the hoplite - has received by far the most attention from military historians. This book traces the history of the Greek cavalry, offering a reassessment of the place of mounted troops in the warfare of Ancient Greece. Its historical sweep is broad, with coverage which extends from 1400 BC, through the Archaic period to the Classical period. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Worth having in the permanent library of any military history reader
Written by a former U.S. Marine, this is one of my favorite books on ancient cavalry, not only for its analysis, but for the unique perspective of a military man when addressing military subjects and battle plans:the author cares about how much the equipment weighed; how long the troops could trek without resupply; strategy and tacis are analyzed the way only a military professional can do it.Great charts, pithy comments, deep research.I bought it first for myself and then as a gift, and I suggest that you do, too.The anecdotes about Epaminondas alone are worth the price. ... Read more