Kategoria BISAC: History >> Ancient - Greece

This companion, keyed to the Penguin translation of Aubrey de Selincourt, is to those parts of Herodotus' history that tell the story of Marathon, Salamis and the final Persian retreat: books 7-9 with parts of books 5 and 6. The introduction concentrates on the political and literary background to Herodotus' writing, and includes a brief historical account of the whole work. The commentary which forms the bulk of the book explains differences of interpretation and constantly reveals the bias and intent of Herodotus' sources. There is frequent emphasis on the importance of the literary...

This useful companion, keyed by bold lemmata to the Penguin translation, identifies the basic issues and raises key questions. The reader is aided by frequent cross-references and succinct comments on Thucydides' choices regarding selection and placement of material. The book is especially useful for Greekless readers of ancient history, political science or international relations coming to the work of Thucydides for the first time.

Within the span of thirteen years, Alexander the Great changed the face
of the world more decisively and with more long-lasting effects than
any other statesman has ever done. It is therefore no surprise that
there has been, and still is, so much debate about both his personality
and his achievement. The great merit of Professor Hammond's biography
is that, with impressive mastery of the evidence, he sets the record
straight between the extremes of romantic hero worship on the one hand
and scholarly demolition on the other. Based on his detailed knowledge
of the...

This account traces each stage of the critical struggle between the Persian Empire and the early Greek states, from the first clashes to the miraculous return home of 10,000 Greek mercenaries stranded in the heart of Persia.
Carefully examined sources and placing events within their geographical and historical contexts, the author attempts to define cultural and political differences between the two peoples. His balanced, questioning approach places fresh emphasis on the Persian perspective and will provide an accessible and informed introduction to the period.

This introductory book in the Classical World series, aimed at late school and early university students, focuses on the colourful period of the Peisistratid tyranny in Athens. During these exciting years the great festivals were established, monumental buildings were erected, the population grew rapidly and there was lively progress in all the arts. This study considers the artistic, archaeological and literary evidence for the period. Athens is seen largely through the eyes of Herodotus, the 'Father of History', and we can observe the foundations being laid for the growth of democracy in...

This wide ranging introductory book surveys the topic of morals and values from the Minoans to the Christians. Each chapter ends with extracts from the relevant literature and comments upon them, providing a useful focus for discussion.

'It is hard not to be impressed by the author's range, confidence, ease of summary and judgement ...' I. McAuslan, Greece & Rome

This is an authoritative and clearly written account of the main
issues involved in the study of Greek slavery from Homeric times to the
fourth century BC. It provides valuable insights into the fundamental
place of slavery in the economies and social life of classical Greece,
and includes penetrating analyses of the widely-held ancient
ideological justifications of slavery. A wide range of topics is
covered, including the development of slavery from Homer to the
classical period, the peculiar form of community slaves (the helots)
found in Sparta, economic...

This text examines a day in the life of ancient Athens.

This
introduction to the Mycenaean world brings together the latest research on
its history and on the real Bronze Age cities that lie behind the Homeric
legends. Economy and society, technology and trade, burials and buildings,
warfare and religion are all explored to reveal the character and
achievements of this brilliant forerunner of Classical Greece.

This edition, one of the BCP Classics Companion Series, provides a translation and detailed commentary of the Greek and Macedonian narrative of Diodorus Book XVI. An outstanding general, statesman and diplomat, Philip II inherited a kingdom near collapse and transformed it into the greatest power in the Mediterranean world. But for all its significance, his reign is badly served by the surviving writers of Greek literature. The loss of the major contemporary historians has left us dependent for our knowledge on the speeches of the Attic orators, especially the hostile Demosthenes, and on...

Athens and Sparta were the two leading powers in the Classical Greek world. They represented entirely different systems of social organization: oligarchic conservatism at Sparta versus radical democracy at Athens. There was continuing ideological rivalry, culminating in the Peloponnesian War, a central event in Greek history. This text focuses on the image of rival societies, as Athens and Sparta have been perceived, by contemporaries, by later Greeks, during the Roman period and beyond. The topics covered include education, land-holding, the division of the sexes, the buildings of Athens,...

No area
of Greek life was wholly untouched by religion, and a basic knowledge of
this aspect of life is essential to anyone seeking a proper understanding of
the classical world. In this engaging survey Robert Garland brings out the
unique quality of Greek religion - its practical and worldly approach to
man's relationship with the divine -
and shows how religious ritual was integral to the daily routine of both
public and private life.

These two books of the "Odyssey" provide an ideal introduction to the poem, illustrating Odysseus' cunning intelligence at its best as he gains acceptance in the court of the Phaeacians, and, above all, the subtly drawn character of Nausicaa. This edition replaces the much used one by G.M. Edwards (1914). It contains text (now unexpurgated) and vocabulary, expanded commentary and new introduction. It is geared very much to the needs of those coming to Homer for the first time with a grasp of the basics of classical Greek, and assumes no previous knowledge of Homeric forms or grammar; an...