Ancient Greece: From Prehistoric to Hellenistic Times

by Thomas Martin

Overview

In this compact yet comprehensive history of ancient Greece, Thomas R. Martin brings alive Greek civilization from its Stone Age roots to the fourth century b.c. Focusing on the development of the Greek city-state and the society, culture, and architecture of Athens in its Golden Age, Martin integrates political, military, social, and cultural history in a book that will appeal to students and general readers alike. This edition has been updated with new suggested readings and illustrations.

Author Biography: Thomas R. Martin is Jeremiah O'Connor Professor of Classics at the College of the Holy Cross."

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780300129953
Publisher:	Yale University Press
Publication date:	10/01/2008
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	3 MB

Table of Contents

	List of Illustrations	vi
	Introduction	ix
	Abbreviations	xiii
Chapter 1	Backgrounds of Ancient Greek History	1
Chapter 2	From Indo-Europeans to Mycenaeans	16
Chapter 3	The Dark Age	36
Chapter 4	The Archaic Age	51
Chapter 5	Oligarchy, Tyranny, and Democracy	70
Chapter 6	From Persian Wars to Athenian Empire	94
Chapter 7	Culture and Society in Classical Athens	124
Chapter 8	The Peloponnesian War and Its Aftermath at Athens	147
Chapter 9	From the Peloponnesian War to Alexander the Great	174
Chapter 10	The Hellenistic Age	198
	Suggested Readings	223
	Index	239
	About Perseus 2.0	255

Editorial Reviews

In this survey of ancient Greek history and civilization, Martin (classics, Coll. of Holy Cross) skillfully blends social, cultural, political, and military data to create a panoramic view of the Greek world. He moves chronologically from prehistory through the end of the Hellenistic era to 30 B.C. His work serves two purposes: it acts as a companion piece to the software database Perseus: Interactive Sources and Studies on Ancient Greece (Yale Univ., 1996. rev. ed.), to which the author contributed material, and it serves as an introductory text for anyone interested in classical studies. Novices will find the work both comprehensible and entertaining. For readers interested in pursuing topics such as the philosophy of Plato or the Peloponnesian War, Martin includes an annotated section of suggested readings that is quite helpful. This abundantly illustrated work is recommended for libraries housing the Perseus program and especially for public libraries whose classical sections consist of a handful of Michael Grant titles and dog-eared copies of Edith Hamilton's The Greek Way.Rose M. Cichy, Osterhout Free Lib., Wilkes-Barre, Pa.

Library Journal

A limpidly written, highly accessible, and comprehensive history of Greece and its civilizations from prehistory through the collapse of Alexander the Great's empire.

In brisk fashion, Martin (Classics/Holy Cross Coll.) narrates the highlights of what little is known about the Stone Age in Greece, the prehistoric Minoan civilization on the island of Crete, the rise of Mycenean culture, and the Dark Age that looms as a lacuna between approximately 1200 b.c., when Mycenae mysteriously collapsed, and about 750 b.c., when Greece's Archaic Age began. In the Archaic Age, Martin relates, the foundations of life during the classical period were laid: the institution of slavery, which spurred the growth of a leisure class; the emergence of city-states; the establishment of laws; and the development of various types of polity all contributed to both the creative culture and the political tensions that characterized Greece during later eras. Although broadly discussing political, military, and social history, Martin emphasizes the cultural achievements of Athenian civilization during the Golden Age and the impact of the horrendous 27-year Peloponnesian War, which sapped the military strength of Athens and effectively finished the city as a power. Martin also traces the rise of the mercurial Alexander the Great and the rapid creation of his magnificent, far-flung, and ephemeral empire and its disintegration after Alexander's death in 323 b.c. into numerous kingdoms, culturally diverse but all with a Hellenistic flavor. This concise but wide-ranging narrative takes us up to the death of Cleopatra VII, the last Hellenistic monarch of Egypt, in 30 b.c., and the emergence of Rome as the dominant Mediterranean power.

A highly readable account of ancient Greece, particularly useful as an introductory or review text for the student or the general reader.

Kirkus Reviews