Ancient Greece: A Very Short IntroductionThe 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 unrecognizably different without the formative influence of Ancient Greek models. Ancient Greek civilization was defined by the city - in Greek, the polis, from which we derive 'politics'. It is above all this feature of Greek civilization that has formed its most enduring legacy, spawning such key terms as aristocracy, oligarchy, tyranny and - last but by no means least - democracy. This stimulating Very Short Introduction to Ancient Greece takes the polis as its starting point. Paul Cartledge uses the history of eleven major Greek cities to illuminate the most important and informative themes in Ancient Greek history, from the first documented use of the Greek language around 1400 BCE, through the glories of the Classical and Hellenistic periods, to the foundation of the Byzantine empire in around CE 330. Covering everything from politics, trade, and travel to slavery, gender, religion, and philosophy, it provides the ideal concise introduction to the history and culture of this remarkable civilization that helped give birth to the world as we know it. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable. |
Contents
Introduction | 1 |
Cnossos | 6 |
Mycenae | 15 |
Argos | 23 |
Miletus | 30 |
Massalia | 42 |
Sparta | 50 |
Athens | 62 |
Epilogue | 124 |
The Panhellenic Sanctuaries | 134 |
Further Reading | 145 |
Chronology | 155 |
Whos Who | 160 |
Glossary | 169 |
175 | |
185 | |
Syracuse | 80 |
Thebes | 93 |
Alexandria | 102 |
Byzantion | 117 |
A Very Short Introduction | 189 |
A Very Short Introduction | 190 |
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Common terms and phrases
actually Aegean Aeschylus Alexander Alexandria ancient Greek Apollo Archaeology Argos Asia Athenian Athens Athens’s Battle became bronze Bronze Age Byzantion called Cambridge capital central centre century century BCE Chapter citizens civilization Classical Cnossos colonial common Crete cultural Cyrene David death dedicated defeat Delphi democracy democratic early east Egypt empire entire especially established example excavated foundation founded further Greece Greek cities hand Hellenic Hellenistic Homer important Ionian island Italy John kind King known land late later laws League least located mainland major Massalia means Messenia Miletus Mycenae Mycenaean myth native never Olympia original Oxford Peloponnesian perhaps period Persian Philip polis political probably religious Roman rule sanctuary sense settlements short Sicily side sort Sparta successful Syracuse Theban Thebes Treasury tyrant University Press West Western Zeus