The origins and development of Greek historiography cannot be properly understood unless early historical writings are situated in the framework of late archaic and early classical Greek culture and society. Contextualization opens up new perspectives on the subject in The Historian's Craft in the Age of Herodotus. Essays by an international range of experts explore all aspects of the topic and, at the same time, make a thought-provoking contribution to the ongoing debates concerning literacy and oral culture.

The origins and development of Greek historiography cannot be properly understood unless early historical writings are situated in the framework of late archaic and early classical Greek culture and society. Contextualization opens up new perspectives on the subject in The Historian's Craft in the Age of Herodotus. Essays by an international range of experts explore all aspects of the topic and, at the same time, make a thought-provoking contribution to the ongoing debates concerning literacy and oral culture.

The name Helots evokes one of the most famous peculiarities of ancient Sparta, the system of dependent labour that guaranteed the livelihood of the free citizens. The Helots fulfilled all the functions that slaves carried out elsewhere in the Greek world, allowing their masters the leisure to be full-time warriors. Yet, despite their crucial role, Helots remain essentially invisible in our ancient sources and peripheral and enigmatic in modern scholarship. This book is devoted to a much-needed reassessment of Helotry and of its place in the history and sociology of unfree labour. The essays...

Early in the archaic period of Greek history, Messenia was annexed and partially settled by its powerful neighbour, Sparta. Achieving independence in the fourth century BC, the inhabitants of Messenia set about trying to forge an identity for themselves separate from their previous identity as Spartan subjects, refunctionalising or simply erasing their Spartan heritage. Professor Luraghi provides a thorough examination of the history of Messenian identity and consequently addresses a range of questions and issues whose interest and importance have only been widely recognised by ancient...

Volume 104 of 'Harvard Studies in Classic Philosophy' includes, among others, the following contributions: 'Craft Smiles and the Construction of Heroes in the Iliad' by Naomi Rood; 'The Tragic Pattern of the Iliad' by Yoav Rinon; and 'Herodotus and his Descendants' by Catherine Rubincam.

A series of regional case studies and thematic contributions offer a new perspective on the crisis of the Spartan power in the first half of the fourth century.

Early in the archaic period of Greek history, Messenia was annexed and partially settled by its powerful neighbour, Sparta. Achieving independence in the fourth century BC, the inhabitants of Messenia set about trying to forge an identity for themselves separate from their previous identity as Spartan subjects, refunctionalising or simply erasing their Spartan heritage. Professor Luraghi provides a thorough examination of the history of Messenian identity and consequently addresses a range of questions and issues whose interest and importance have only been widely recognised by ancient...