The Ancient Greeks: History and culture from archaic times to the death of Alexander

Abstract

Fifteen years after the first publication of the sourcebook 'Ancient Greece: Social and Historical Documents from Archaic Times to the Death of Socrates', when we were finalising the third edition of that work, now expanded in its historical range down to the death of Alexander III 'the Great' of Macedon, we decided that it was finally time to provide the sourcebook with a related textbook so that students could use the two in tandem. This new definitive historical study of the period c. 800-323 BC gives students the full background to the texts translated in 'Ancient Greece', thus providing a comprehensive suite of materials for the study of Greek political history and society. ... This textbook has the same chapter titles and subheadings as 'Ancient Greece', and provides students with the necessary background knowledge and details for an understanding of each historical period and social phenomenon of the archaic and classical Greek world. Accordingly, many of the extensive comments accompanying individual documents have been reduced in scope and size in 'Ancient Greece' itself and the background and contextual information is now given in this textbook. The aim has been not only to give a wide range of material from ancient sources, but to accompany this with a detailed historical overview; as with the sourcebook we have tried to give a view of the Greek world as a whole, not focusing merely on Athens and Sparta but on the lesser-known centres of Greek civilisation and culture as well, with the aim of keeping the reader continually in mind of the geographical and chronological scope of Greek history and civilisation. To this end we have provided numerous maps, charts and illustrations: history is not merely a study of literary sources, and in this book we have tried to supplement the historical and literary sources with depictions of the most important and relevant pieces of art and architecture to help students conceptualise the visual and special background to the most important social and political events, as well as personalities and ideologies, in the Greek world.