In this magisterial work the history of the peoples of Palestine from the earliest times to Alexander's conquest is thoroughly sifted and interpreted. All available source material-textural, epigraphic, and archeological-is considered, and the approach taken aims at a dispassionate reconstruction of the major epochs and events by the analysis of social, political, military, and economic phenomena. The book, chronologically structured, is indispensable for the study of the Hebrew Bible and of the ancient Near East.

This volume deals with the concept of 'West' and 'East', as held by the ancient Greeks. Cultural exchange in Archaic and Classical Greece through the establishment of Hellenic colonies around the ancient world was an important development, and always a two-way process. To achieve a proper understanding of it requires study from every angle. All 24 papers in this volume combine different types of evidence, discussing them from every perspective: they are examined not only from the point of view of the Greeks but from that of the locals. The book gives new data, as well as re-examining existing evidence and reinterpreting old theories. The book is richly illustrated.

Aus dem Inhalt: N. Demand: Poleis on Cyprus and Oriental Despotism H. Bowden: The Greek Settlement and Sanctuaries at Naukratis T. H. Nielsen: Was There an Arkadian Confederacy in the Fifth Century B.C.' T. H. Nielsen: A Survey of Dependent Poleis in Classical Arkadia J. Roy: Polis and Tribe in Classical Arkadia A. G. Keen: Were the Boiotian Poleis Autonomoi? M. H. Hansen: Were the Boiotian Poleis Deprived of Their Autonomia During the First and Second Boiotian Federations? A Reply P. Flensted-Jensen/M. H. Hansen: Pseudo-Skylax' Use of the Term Polis M. H. Hansen: City-Ethnics as Evidence for Polis Identity .

In a major revisionary approach to ancient Greek culture, Sarah Morris invokes as a paradigm the myths surrounding Daidalos to describe the profound influence of the Near East on Greece's artistic and literary origins.