Product Description

The story of the ancient Greeks is one of the most improbable success stories in world history. A small group of people inhabiting a country poor in resources and divided into hundreds of quarreling states created one of the most remarkable civilizations. 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, 2008). 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. They show how the early Greeks borrowed from their neighbors but eventually developed a distinctive culture all their own, one that was marked by astonishing creativity, versatility, and resilience. The authors go on to trace the complex and surprising evolution of Greek civilization to its eventual dissolution as it merged with a variety of other cultures. 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. Ideal for courses in Greek Civilization and Ancient Greek History, A Brief History of Ancient Greece, Second Edition offers a revised art program featuring more than 125 illustrations and 17 original maps, along with a new 8-page full color photo insert. Numerous "document boxes" provide primary source material and updated suggested readings provide students with additional resources. Also new to this edition, key terms have been boldfaced at their first appearance and listed at the end of the chapter; each one is defined in the expanded glossary. And, for the first time, a Companion Website for students will accompany the text.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #42175 in Books
• Published on: 2009-02-26
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 432 pages

Customer Reviews

The Greeks, Minos to Alexander, In under 400 pages.
It is called a 'brief history' but it is surprisingly in-depth. This book in truth strikes a nice equilibrium between the readable and scholarly. It manages to cover all of the clear-cut salient points in regards to Greek history, politics, arts, culture and science. It happens to do it in some degree of detail yet also manages to touch on the surrounding historiography while also including a bibliography for those wanting to explore further. You hear of the 'Dorian invasion' theory and Sparta in regards to Nazi Germany and Communism, yet this book does not wish to interpose its opinions; it merely provides the salient details, key debates and at the most comes to the most likely conclusion. This is what you need from both a text book and an introduction.

The narrative begins in Neolithic prehistory and then proceeds through the Bronze age, Dark Ages, Archaic, Classical and Hellenistic (c.6500BC-167 BC). Individual chapters are devoted to the city-states of Sparta, Athens and Macedonia; Interspersed within the chapters are segments on arts, literature, science and philosophy. To guide us along we get a timeline, a glossary, 16 maps and many black and white photos detailing the ancient world in all its finery. Extracts from key texts such as Homer, Thucydides and Sophocles are provided along the way. It is really quite thorough for a 'brief history'. Think of this book as an in-depth contents page for a website: you are provided with a readable summery but the links exist if you want to pursue further.

This on the surface seems a classic text-book affair and certainly I would recommend this for the class-room. It also however is a perfect summery for those wanting to begin exploring ancient-Greece on their own initiative.

Support for OU course
I bought this as part of the OU course 'Exploring the Classical world.' The course team seem to believe it to be a good example of modern scholarship and although I am early in the course, I have used the work to good effect in supporting the ancient sources. I very much look forward to reading more.

The hiStory of Ancient Greece
Although this is a academic book for students and academic staff, the book is written to be accessible to amateur enthusiasts and members of the public with no prior knowledge to the subject matter aswell. The chapters are well defined, with good illustrations and easily readable facts and theories about Ancient Greece and the Aegean. A good way to learn the history and society of Ancient Greece, which is sometimes more complex in other text books. This can also sit on your shelf and you can pick it up and just flick to a specific or random chapter to read or research. A pleasure to read!