Ancient Greece: A Political, Social, and Cultural History - Softcover

Pomeroy, Sarah B.; Burstein, Stanley M.; Donlan, Walter; Roberts, Jennifer Tolbert; Tandy, David; Tsouvala, Georgia

Softcover

ISBN 10: 019068691X ISBN 13: 9780190686918

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2017

Synopsis

Revised and updated throughout, the fourth edition of Ancient Greece presents the political, social, cultural, and economic history and civilization of ancient Greece in all its complexity and variety. Written by six leading authorities on the classical world, this captivating study covers the entire period from the Bronze Age through the Hellenistic Era.

FEATURES

* Uniquely in-depth coverage of social and cultural topics including women and family life, material culture, religion, law, homosexuality, slavery, athletics, and life in the countryside

* Excerpts from ancient documents, selective recommendations for further reading, and a timeline and general introduction that provide a bird's-eye view of Greek history

* Two sets of color plates that provide ample evidence from material culture

* Key terms (boldfaced at their first appearance) and an extensive glossary

About this title

About the Author:

Sarah B. Pomeroy is Distinguished Professor of Classics and History Emerita at Hunter College and The City University of New York Graduate Center.

Stanley M. Burstein is Professor of History Emeritus at California State University, Los Angeles.

The late Walter Donlan was Professor of Classics Emeritus at the University of California, Irvine.

Jennifer Tolbert Roberts is Professor of Classics and History at City College and The City University of New York Graduate Center.

David Tandy is Visiting Research Fellow in Classics at the University of Leeds, UK.

Georgia Tsouvala is Associate Professor of History at Illinois State University.

From Kirkus Reviews:

From Pomeroy (Classics/Hunter Coll.), Stanley M. Burstein (History/Calif. State U niv., Los Angeles), Walter Donlan (Classics/Univ. of Calif., Irvine), and Jennifer Tolbert Roberts (Classics/City Coll. of New York), a comprehensive narrative history that emphasizes the ``astonishing creativity, versatility, and resilience'' of the culture shaped by the ancient Greeks. A poor, backward people occupying barely cultivable land on the periphery of the Mediterranean world, the Bronze Age Hellenes or Greeks (c. 30001150 b.c.) seem in retrospect an unlikely bet to become the progenitors of a great world civilization. While Bronze Age Greece eventually developed a distinctive culture and power base at Mycenae (c. 16001100 b.c. ), it derived most of its industrial skills from its more highly developed neighbors around the Mediterranean basin. And beginning around 1150 b.c., the authors speculate, a mysterious wave of invaders from the north wiped out the brilliant Mycenaean civilization, reducing Greek society to a culturally primitive ``dark age'' until around 750 b.c. The authors' account treats aspects of Greek life for which primary sources are sparsethe role of women, for instancebut it doesnt neglect the amazing political, artistic, architectural, philosophical, and literary achievements of classical Athens and other cities. The authors detail the development of Athens and Sparta, the creative tensions between them that helped defend Greece from Persian invasion, the ruinous wars that vitiated the Greek polis or city-state, and the extensive colonization (by the city-states) and conquest (by Alexander the Great) that spread Greek civilization from modem France to what is now Pakistan. While the Hellenistic kingdoms that resulted from the Alexandrian conquest were brutally absorbed into the Roman super-state, the cultural legacy of Greece remained pervasively influential in the Roman world and exerted a profound effect on the rise of Christianity. An accessible and well-balanced introduction to the culture and history of ancient Greece, useful for both student and general reader. -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

About this edition

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 019068691X
• ISBN 13: 9780190686918
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 4
• Number of pages: 608