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Cover

A Brief History of Ancient Greece

Politics, Society, and Culture

Fourth Edition

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

Publication Date - 15 April 2019

ISBN: 9780190925307

448 pages
Paperback
7-1/2 x 9-1/4 inches

In Stock

The most balanced coverage available of ancient Greek political, military, social, cultural, and economic history

Description

Revised and updated throughout, the fourth edition of A Brief History 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 ancient Greek historians, this captivating study covers Greek history from the Bronze Age into the Roman period.

New to this Edition

  • Expanded discussions of Greek comedy, numismatics, and same-sex relationships
  • Cross-cultural study of the western Greeks
  • Substantially increased coverage of Roman Greece
  • New translations of documents
  • An extensively revised art program
  • New and revised maps
  • An extended timeline
  • New coauthor Georgia Tsouvala
  • A Companion Website featuring student and instructor resources including maps, quizzes, Power Point slides, flashcards, and web links

Features

  • Provides 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
  • Incorporates the most recent discoveries in archeology, comparative anthropology, and social history
  • Excerpts from ancient documents, selective recommendations for further reading, and a timeline and general introduction provide a bird's-eye view of Greek history
  • Represents the collaboration of scholars who are experts in different areas of Greek history
  • Two sets of color plates provide ample evidence from material culture
  • Key terms (boldfaced at their first appearance) and an extensive glossary

About the Author(s)

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

Georgia Tsouvala is Professor of History at Illinois State University.

Reviews

"Pomeroy's A Brief History of Ancient Greece continues to be the best and most comprehensive textbook for those interested in ancient Greek history and culture. The new edition stretches from the Bronze Age down through Roman Greece, and makes an effort to include many primary source documents and new archaeological finds. This text is an ideal choice for students and enthusiasts of Greek history (political, social, military, and cultural) and civilization."--Jessica Lamont, Yale University

"A Brief History of Ancient Greece is the standard text that I have relied on since I was an undergraduate, providing the best combination of content coverage, lucid explanation, supplemental materials (including pictures), and price."--Joshua Nuddell, University of Missouri

"This is the best text on the market at acknowledging recent scholarly trends without cutting out the traditional material. The writing is clear and accessible. The maps and color illustrations add a lot of verve."--Andrew Alwine, College of Charleston

"A Brief History of Ancient Greece covers all the major topics in Ancient Greek history via a page-turning chronological narrative. Essentially, this is a finely balanced text, avoiding belaboring topics as well as giving coverage to all the major themes. Its major strengths are its readability, formatting (which fits my course's time frame), cost, and currency."--Montgomery Walker, Yakima Valley College

Table of Contents

    *=New to this Edition
    List of Maps
    Translations Used by Permission
    Preface
    Timeline
    INTRODUCTION
    Sources: How We Know about the Ancient Greeks
    Retrieving the Past: The Material Record
    Retrieving the Past: The Written Record
    A Synopsis of Written Sources by Periods
    The Physical Context: The Land of Greece
    I. EARLY GREECE AND THE BRONZE AGE
    Greece in the Stone Ages
    Greece in the Early and Middle Bronze Ages (c. 3000-1600 BC)
    Greece and the Aegean in the Late Bronze Age (c. 1600-1200 BC)
    II. THE EARLY IRON AGE (c. 1200-750/700 BC)
    Decline and Recovery, Early Iron Age (c. 1200-900 BC)
    Revival, Early Iron Age II (c. 900-750 BC)
    Homeric Society
    The End of the Early Iron Age (c. 750-700 BC)
    III. ARCHAIC GREECE (c. 750/700-480 BC)
    The Formation of the City-State (Polis)
    Government in the Early City-States
    Emigration and Expansion: The Colonizing Movement
    Economic and Social Divisions in the Archaic Poleis
    Hesiod: The View from Outside
    The Hoplite Army
    The Archaic Age Tyrants
    The Arts and Sciences
    Panhellenic Institutions
    Relations Among States
    IV. SPARTA
    The Early Iron Age and the Archaic Period
    The Spartan System
    Demography and the Spartan Economy
    Spartan Government
    The Peloponnesian League
    Historical Change in Sparta
    The Spartan Mirage
    V. THE GROWTH OF ATHENS AND THE PERSIAN WARS
    Athens from the Bronze Age to the Early Archaic Age
    The Reforms of Solon
    Pisistratus and His Sons
    The Reforms of Cleisthenes
    The Rise of Persia
    The Wars Between Greece and Persia
    VI. THE RIVALRIES OF THE GREEK CITY-STATES AND THE GROWTH OF ATHENIAN DEMOCRACY
    The Aftermath of the Persian Invasions and the Foundation of a New League
    New Developments in Athens and Sparta
    The "First" (Undeclared) Peloponnesian War (460-445 BC)
    Pericles and the Growth of Athenian Democracy
    Literature and Art
    Oikos and Polis
    The Greek Economy
    * The Western Greeks after the Age of Tyrants
    VII. GREEK LIFE AND CULTURE IN THE FIFTH CENTURY
    Greece After the Thirty Years' Peace
    The Physical Space of the Polis: Athens in the Fifth Century
    Intellectual Life in Fifth-Century Greece
    Historical and Dramatic Literature of the Fifth Century
    Currents in Greek Thought and Education
    The Breakdown of the Peace
    Resources for War
    VIII. THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR
    The Archidamian War (431-421 BC)
    The Rise of Comedy
    Between Peace and War
    The Invasion of Sicily (415-413 BC)
    The War in the Aegean and the Oligarchic Coup at Athens (413-411 BC)
    The Last Years of War (407-404 BC)
    IX. The Fourth Century: Changing Ideas, Continuing Warfare
    Oligarchy at Athens: The Thirty Tyrants
    The Trial of Socrates (399 BC)
    The Fourth Century: Changing Ideas, Continuing Warfare
    Law and Democracy in Athens
    The Fourth-Century Polis
    Philosophy and the Polis
    X. PHILLIP II AND MACEDONIAN SUPREMACY
    Early Macedon
    Macedonian Society and Kingship
    The Reign of Philip II
    Philip's Plans for Greece
    I. ALEXANDER THE GREAT
    Consolidating Power
    From Issus to Egypt: Conquest of the Eastern Mediterranean (332-331 BC)
    From Alexandria to Persepolis: The King of Asia (331-330 BC)
    The High Road to India: Alexander in Central Asia
    India and the End of the Dream
    Return to the West
    The Achievements of Alexander
    XII. THE NEW WORLD OF THE HELLENISTIC PERIOD
    The Struggle for the Succession
    The Regency of Perdiccas
    The Primacy of Antigonus the One-Eyed
    Birth Pangs of the New Order (301-276 BC)
    * Decline and Fall
    The Polis in the Hellenistic World
    The Macedonian Kingdoms
    Hellenistic Society
    Alexandria and Hellenistic Culture
    Social Relations in the Hellenistic World
    XIII. A GRAECO-ROMAN WORLD
    Glossary
    Art and Illustration Credits
    Index

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