"We Greeks are one in blood and one in language; we have temples to the gods and religious rites in common, and a common way of life." So the fifth-century historian Herodotus has some Athenians declare, in explanation of why they would never betray their fellow Greeks to the enemy, the
"barbarian" Persians. And he might have added further common features, such as clothing, foodways, and political institutions. But if the Greeks knew that they were kin, why did many of them side with the Persians against fellow Greeks, and why, more generally, is ancient Greek history so often the
history of internecine wars and other forms of competition with one another? This is the question acclaimed historian Robin Waterfield sets out to explore in this magisterial history of ancient Greece.
With more information, more engagingly presented, than any similar work, this is the
best single-volume account of ancient Greece in more than a generation. Waterfield gives a comprehensive narrative of seven hundred years of history, from the emergence of the Greeks around 750 BCE to the Roman conquest of the last of the Greco-Macedonian kingdoms in 30 BCE. Equal weight is given to
all phases of Greek history - the Archaic, Classical, and Hellenistic periods. But history is not just facts; it is also a matter of how we interpret the evidence. Without compromising the readability of the book, Waterfield incorporates the most recent scholarship by classical historians and
archaeologists and asks his readers to think critically about Greek history. A brilliant, up-to-date account of ancient Greece, suitable for history buffs and university students alike, Creators, Conquerors, and Citizens presents a compelling and comprehensive story of this remarkable civilization's
disunity, underlying cultural solidarity, and eventual political unification.
Preface and Acknowledgements
Conventions and Abbreviations
List of Illustrations
List of Maps
Chronology and King Lists
General Maps
Introduction I: Historical Background
Introduction II: Environmental Background
ACT I: The Archaic Period
(c. 750-480): The Formation of States
1. The Emergence of the Greeks in the Mediterranean
2. Aristocracy and the Archaic State
3. The Archaic Greek World
4. Athens in the Seventh and Sixth Centuries
5. The Athenian Democratic Revolution
6. Sparta
7. Greek
Religion
8. The Persian Wars
9. The Greeks at War
ACT II: The Classical Period (479-323): A Tale, Mainly, of Two Cities
10. The Delian League
11. The Economy of Greece
12. Periclean Athens
13. Women, Sexuality, and Family Life
14. The Peloponnesian War
15. Socrates and the Thirty Tyrants
16. The Futility of War
17. Athens and Macedon
18. Alexander the Great
19. The Instability of Syracuse
ACT III: The Hellenistic Period (323-30): Greeks, Macedonians, and Romans
20. The
Successor Kingdoms
21. Greeks and Macedonians in the Third Century
22. The Greek Cities in the New World
23. Life and Culture in the Hellenistic World
24. The Roman Conquest
25. A Feat of Imagination
Glossary
Recommended Reading
Index
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Robin Waterfield is an independent scholar and translator, living in southern Greece. In addition to more than twenty-five translations of works of Greek literature, he is the author of numerous books, including Dividing the Spoils and Taken at the Flood.
