Description
Book SynopsisThe civilisation of the Ancient Greeks has been immensely influential on the language, politics, educational systems, philosophy, science and arts of Western culture.
Table of ContentsIntroduction 1
Part I: Travelling Back in Time 7
Chapter 1: When, Where, What, Who? Meeting the Ancient Greeks 9
Chapter 2: Encountering Prehistoric Civilisations: The Minoans and Mycenaeans 21
Chapter 3: Shedding Light on Ancient Greece’s Dark Ages 33
Chapter 4: Governing by Kings, Tyrants, and (Eventually) Democrats 41
Chapter 5: Fighting and Warring: Greece Gets Heavy 55
Chapter 6: East versus West: The Persian Wars 67
Part II: Athens to Alexander: The Rise and Fall of Empires 81
Chapter 7: Athens and Empire Building 83
Chapter 8: Dealing with the Neighbours from Hell: The Peloponnesian War 97
Chapter 9: Losing Their Way: The End of Classical Greece 113
Chapter 10: Rising Quickly to the Top: Macedonia 127
Chapter 11: Crowning the Undefeated Champion of the World: Alexander the Great 139
Chapter 12: What Happened Next? 153
Part III: Living a Greek Life 163
Chapter 13: Out in the Fields: Farming, Herding, and Travelling 165
Chapter 14: Home and Family 177
Chapter 15: Going About Daily Life in Ancient Greece 191
Chapter 16: Plays and Pugilism: Enjoying Ancient Greek Entertainment 205
Chapter 17: Depicting Men, Women, and Gods in Art 221
Chapter 18: Building Beautiful Greek Architecture 237
Part IV: Mythology, Religion, and Belief 247
Chapter 19: Going Back to the Beginning: Myths and Gods 249
Chapter 20: Blending Myth and History: Troy, Homer, and Heroes 267
Chapter 21: Practising Everyday Religion: ‘A God Put It in My Heart to Say’ 281
Chapter 22: Trying to Figure Everything Out: Greek Philosophy 293
Part V: The Part of Tens 307
Chapter 23: Ten Great Greek Inventions 309
Chapter 24: Ten Things to Read Next 315
Chapter 25: Ten Dodgy Ancient Greek Characters 321
Chapter 26: Ten Great Places to Visit 327
Index 333
