This book opens the world of the ancient Greeks to all readers through easily accessible entries on topics essential to understanding Greek high culture and daily life. The ancient Greeks provided the foundation for Western civilization. They made significant advances in science, mathematics, philosophy, literature, and government. While many readers might have heard of Plato and Aristotle, however, or be familiar with the classic works of Greek tragedy, most people know significantly less about daily life in the ancient Greek world. This encyclopedia opens the world of the ancient Greeks, spanning Greek history from the Bronze Age through Roman times, with an emphasis on the Classical and Hellenistic Eras. The encyclopedia provides roughly 270 easily accessible entries on topics essential to understanding everything from Greek high culture to daily life. These entries are grouped in topical sections on the arts, science and technology, politics and government, domestic life, and other subjects. Sidebars on particularly noteworthy people, places, and concepts provide related information, while primary documents allow readers to delve into the mindset and feelings of the ancient Greeks themselves. Extensive bibliographic references give curious readers direction for further research.

"Wonderful…a thoughtful discussion of what made [the Greeks] so important, in their own time and in ours." —Natalie Haynes, Independent The ancient Greeks invented democracy, theater, rational science, and philosophy. They built the Parthenon and the Library of Alexandria. Yet this accomplished people never formed a single unified social or political identity. In Introducing the Ancient Greeks, acclaimed classics scholar Edith Hall offers a bold synthesis of the full 2,000 years of Hellenic history to show how the ancient Greeks were the right people, at the right time, to take up the baton of human progress. Hall portrays a uniquely rebellious, inquisitive, individualistic people whose ideas and creations continue to enthrall thinkers centuries after the Greek world was conquered by Rome. These are the Greeks as you’ve never seen them before.

This textbook was conceived and written under the authors’ conviction that the feature of Greek grammar that lends itself most readily to understanding and discussion is syntax, especially the syntax of the verb and that such understanding has been unnecessarily complicated by the traditional use of a terminology derived more from the study of the Latin verb than the Greek. The principal feature of the Greek verb is no longer presented as that of “tense,” a term that conflates and confuses questions of the time of an action relative to the act of speaking with ways of representing an action in itself. Rather, emphasis is placed on the latter feature, the aspect of a verb, both as a means of organizing the many forms that the verb can take and as a means of making comparatively simple sense of the multiplicity of syntactical rules that govern its use. Volume One features twenty Lessons presenting basic Greek Grammar in a manner facilitating the early introduction of substantial and philosophically rich passages from Heraclitus Aeschylus, Xenophon, Aristotle, Euclid and especially Plato, each containing vocabulary, discussion and exercises to aid in retention and reinforcement. Volume Two contains extended readings, with grammatical and vocabulary notes, from Plato and Aristotle, including the complete dialogue Meno, as well as Appendices and comprehensive Vocabulary lists. The two most distinctive Lessons in the text occur close to the beginning. Lesson Four presents the six features that determine any Greek verb—aspect (progressive, aorist or simple, perfect), “tense” (past, present, future), mood, voice, person, number)—through a discussion that is carried out mostly in English. At the end of the lesson, students are in possession of all the conceptual elements upon which the syntax of the Greek verb is based. Lesson Five presents the Progressive System of the regular verb in all of its moods and voices. The burden of paradigms on the memory is lightened by means of an emphasis on analysis into a verb’s formative elements and through the use of linguistic rules that show how seemingly diverse forms arise from common origins. This early presentation of the non-indicative moods allows the student to appreciate the verb as a conveyer, not only of facts, but of the speaker’s doubts, wishes, speculations and feelings as well.

A fascinating, accessible, and up-to-date history of the Ancient Greeks. Covering the Archaic, Classical, and Hellenistic periods, and centred around the disunity of the Greeks, their underlying cultural unity, and their eventual political unification.

As an invaluable resource for students and general audiences investigating Ancient Greek culture and history, this encyclopedia provides a thorough examination of the Mediterranean world and its influence on modern society. All Things Ancient Greece examines the history and cultural life of Ancient Greece until the death of Philip II of Macedon in 336 BCE. The encyclopedia shows how the various city-states developed from the Bronze Age to the end of the Classical Age, influencing the Greek world and beyond. The cultural achievements of the Greeks detailed in this two-volume set include literature, politics, medicine, religion, and the arts. This work has entries on the various city-states, regions, battles, culture, and ideas that helped shape the ancient Greek world and its societies. Each entry delves into detailed topics with suggested readings. Many entries include sidebars containing primary documents from ancient sources that explore ancillary ideas, biographies, and specific examples from literature and philosophy. Readers, both students of ancient history and a general audience, are encouraged to interact with the material either chronologically, thematically, or geographically.

Christian Habicht offers a wide-ranging study of the work and identity of Pausanias, a Greek who lived in Asia Minor during the 2nd century A.D. Pausanias' account of his travels through Greece offers an invaluable description of Greek classical sites that is a treasure trove of information on archaeology, religion, history, and art of interest to modern scholars and travellers alike.

Through roughly 160 alphabetically arranged reference entries, this book surveys the material culture and social institutions of Ancient Rome. Ancient Rome was one of the great civilizations of antiquity. Honoring the contributions of their cultural forebearers-who included Etruscans, Asians, and Egyptians as well as Greeks-Roman artists, writers, and thinkers freely borrowed where tradition dictated and innovated where personal talent and imagination directed, forging a unique creative experience that formed the basis of Western European artistic, literary, and philosophical production for 2,000 years. While other reference works typically examine battles and politicians, this book focuses on Roman social history and daily life, painting a detailed picture of the material culture and social institutions of Ancient Rome. A timeline highlights key events, while an overview essay surveys the achievements of the Romans. Reference entries provide objective information about art, architecture, literature, commerce, transportation, government, religion, and other topics related to Roman life. Each entry provides cross-references and suggestions for further reading, and some provide sidebars of interesting facts along with excerpts from primary source documents. The book closes with a selected, general bibliography of resources suitable for student research.

The King of Sparta Leonidas is one of the most well known and remembered of all Sparta's mighty military leaders. The leader of the famous Battle of 300, it was his bravery and cunning that would ultimately propel the Greeks to victory over the invading Persians. He would go down in history as a legendary leader and brave, valiant warrior for his strength in the face of opposition and his selfless willingness to lay down his life for his country. His rise to kingship was rather unorthodox, but he would go down as one of the most legendary. He showed a keen understanding of how to make the best of the tools one has at their disposal, and to use one's strategy, even in the face of insurmountable odds. He understood that much more than his own fate, that was at stake in the battles he would face. This courage was not only what led to his legendary status, it ultimately gave the Greeks the courage they needed to fend off foreign invaders and remain a sovereign collection of city-states. The brave, self-sacrificing efforts of Leonidas and his men would go down in history and lore. Throughout history, he has been propped up as the ultimate warrior, who fought with skill and cunning, and was willing to give up his life for the greater good of the country. He was able to inspire the same feelings of kinship and bravery in his fellow soldiers, which was a key part of their success as warriors. Since he was raised in the brotherhood of warriors, he was able to speak the language of the warrior, making him a huge benefit as king and leader during a tumultuous time in Spartan history...

A major new history of classical Greece—how it rose, how it fell, and what we can learn from it Lord Byron described Greece as great, fallen, and immortal, a characterization more apt than he knew. Through most of its long history, Greece was poor. But in the classical era, Greece was densely populated and highly urbanized. Many surprisingly healthy Greeks lived in remarkably big houses and worked for high wages at specialized occupations. Middle-class spending drove sustained economic growth and classical wealth produced a stunning cultural efflorescence lasting hundreds of years. Why did Greece reach such heights in the classical period—and why only then? And how, after "the Greek miracle" had endured for centuries, did the Macedonians defeat the Greeks, seemingly bringing an end to their glory? Drawing on a massive body of newly available data and employing novel approaches to evidence, Josiah Ober offers a major new history of classical Greece and an unprecedented account of its rise and fall. Ober argues that Greece's rise was no miracle but rather the result of political breakthroughs and economic development. The extraordinary emergence of citizen-centered city-states transformed Greece into a society that defeated the mighty Persian Empire. Yet Philip and Alexander of Macedon were able to beat the Greeks in the Battle of Chaeronea in 338 BCE, a victory made possible by the Macedonians' appropriation of Greek innovations. After Alexander's death, battle-hardened warlords fought ruthlessly over the remnants of his empire. But Greek cities remained populous and wealthy, their economy and culture surviving to be passed on to the Romans—and to us. A compelling narrative filled with uncanny modern parallels, this is a book for anyone interested in how great civilizations are born and die. This book is based on evidence available on a new interactive website. To learn more, please visit: http://polis.stanford.edu/.