Ancient Greece: A Very Short Introduction: A History in Eleven CitiesThe 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 highly stimulating 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. |
Contents
Argos | |
Massalia | |
Athens | |
Syracuse | |
Thebes | |
Alexandria | |
Byzantion | |
The Panhellenic Sanctuaries | |
Further Reading | |
Timeline | |
Other editions - View all
Ancient Greece:A History in Eleven Cities: A History in Eleven Cities Paul Cartledge No preview available - 2009 |
Common terms and phrases
acropolis Aegean Agora Alexander Alexander’s Alexandria ancient Greek Apollo Archaeological Archaic Argive Argos Asia Athenian Athens Athens’s Battle Black Sea Boeotia Boeotian Bosporus Bronze Age Byzantine Byzantion called Cambridge University Press capital central centre century BCE Chapter citizens city’s civilization Classical Cnossos colonial Corinth Cretan Crete cultural Darius David dedicated defeat Delphi democracy democratic Dorian east Egypt eighth century Emperor excavated famous floruit foundation founded founder Glossary Greece Greek cities Greek world Hellenic Hellenistic Helots Herodotus Hieron Homer imperial Ionian island kilometres King Late Bronze Age later League least Linear Macedon Macedonian mainland Greece major Marathon Massalia Miletus modern Museum Mycenae Mycenaean myth nonGreek oligarchic Olympia original Oxford University Press palace Panhellenic Peloponnese Peloponnesian Peloponnesian War Pericles Persian empire Philip Phoenician poleis polis political Ptolemy reign religious revolt Roman sanctuary settlements seventh century Sicilian Sicily sixth century Sparta Syracuse Theban Thebes Treasury tyrant Zeus