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Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University's objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide.

Print Price: $79.99

Format:
Paperback, eBook
432 pp.
7.5" x 9.25"

ISBN-13:
9780190925307

Copyright Year:
2019

Imprint: Oxford University Press


A Brief History of Ancient Greece

Politics, Society, and Culture, Fourth Edition

Sarah B. Pomeroy, Stanley M. Burstein, Walter Donlan, Jennifer Tolbert Roberts, David Tandy and Georgia Tsouvala

Revised and updated throughout, the fourth edition of Brief History of Ancient Greece presents the political, social, cultural, and economic history and civilization of ancient Greece in all its complexity and variety. Written by leading authorities on the classical world, this captivating study covers the entire period from the Bronze Age through the Hellenistic Era, while integrating the most recent research in archaeology, comparative anthropology, and social history.

Reviews

  • "Pomeroy's A Brief History of Ancient Greece continues to be the best and most comprehensive textbook for those interested in ancient Greek history and culture. The new edition stretches from the Bronze Age down through Roman Greece, and makes an effort to include many primary source documents and new archaeological finds. This text is an ideal choice for students and enthusiasts of Greek history (political, social, military, and cultural) and civilization."
    --Jessica Lamont, Yale University

  • "A Brief History of Ancient Greece is the standard text that I have relied on since I was an undergraduate, providing the best combination of content coverage, lucid explanation, supplemental materials (including pictures), and price."
    --Joshua Nuddell, University of Missouri

  • "This is the best text on the market at acknowledging recent scholarly trends without cutting out the traditional material. The writing is clear and accessible. The maps and color illustrations add a lot of verve."
    --Andrew Alwine, College of Charleston

  • "A Brief History of Ancient Greece covers all the major topics in Ancient Greek history via a page-turning chronological narrative. Essentially, this is a finely balanced text, avoiding belaboring topics as well as giving coverage to all the major themes. Its major strengths are its readability, formatting (which fits my course's time frame), cost, and currency."
    --Montgomery Walker, Yakima Valley College

List of Maps
Translations Used by Permission
Preface
Timeline
Introduction
Sources: How We Know About the Ancient Greeks
Retrieving the Past: The Material Record
Retrieving the Past: The Written Record
A Synopsis of Written Sources by Periods
The Physical Context: The Land of Greece
1. Early Greece and the Bronze Age
Greece in the Stone Ages
Greece in the Early and Middle Bronze Ages (c. 3000-1600 BC)
Greece and the Aegean in the Late Bronze Age (c. 1600-1100 BC)
2. The Early Iron Age (c. 1200-750/700 BC)
Decline and Recovery (c. 1200-900 BC)
Revival (c. 900-750 BC)
Homeric Society
The End of the Dark Age
3. Archaic Greece (c. 700-480 BC)
The Formation of the City-State (Polis)
Government in the Early City-States
Emigration and Expansion: The Colonizing Movements
Economic and Social Divisions in the Archaic Poleis
Hesiod: A View from Below
The Hoplite Army
The Archaic Age Tyrants
The Arts and Sciences
Panhellenic Institutions
Relations Among States
4. Sparta
The Early Iron Age and the Archaic Period
The Spartan System
Demography and the Spartan Economy
Spartan Government
The Peloponnesian League
Historical Change in Sparta
The Spartan Mirage
5. The Growth of Athens and the Persian Wars
Athens from the Bronze Age to the Early Archaic Age
The Reforms of Solon
Pisistratus and His Sons
The Reforms of Cleisthenes
The Rise of Persia
The Wars Between Greece and Persia
6. The Rivalries of the Greek City-States and the Growth of Athenian Democracy
The Aftermath of the Persian Invasions and the Foundation of a New League
New Developments in Athens and Sparta
The "First" (Undeclared) Peloponnesian War (460-445 BC)
Pericles and the Growth of Athenian Democracy
Literature and Art
Oikos and Polis
The Greek Economy
The Western Greeks after the Age of Tyrants
7. Greek Life and Culture in the Fifth Century
Greece After the Thirty Years' Peace
The Physical Space of the Polis: Athens in the Fifth Century
Intellectual Life in Fifth-Century Greece
Historical and Dramatic Literature of the Fifth Century
Currents in Greek Thought and Education
The Breakdown of the Peace
Resources for War
8. The Peloponnesian War
The Archidamian War (431-421 BC)
The Rise of Comedy
Between Peace and War
The Invasion of Sicily (415-413 BC)
The War in the Aegean and the Oligarchic Coup at Athens (413-411 BC)
The Last Years of War (407-404 BC)
9. The Fourth Century: Changing Ideas, Continuing Warfare
Oligarchy at Athens: The Thirty Tyrants
The Trial of Socrates (399 BC)
The Fourth Century: Changing Ideas, Continuing Warfare
Law and Democracy in Athens
The Fourth-Century Polis
Philosophy and the Polis
10. Philip II and the Rise of Macedon
Early Macedon
Macedonian Society and Kingship
The Reign of Philip II
Philip's Plans for Greece
11. Alexander the Great
Consolidating Power
From Issus to Egypt: Conquest of the Eastern Mediterranean (332-331 BC)
From Alexandria to Persepolis: The King of Asia (331-330 BC)
The High Road to India: Alexander in Central Asia
India and the End of the Dream
Return to the West
The Achievements of Alexander
12. The New World of the Hellenistic Period
The Struggle for the Succession
The Regency of Perdiccas
The Primacy of Antigonus the One-Eyed
Birth Pangs of the New Order (301-276 BC)
The Polis in the Hellenistic World
The Macedonian Kingdoms
Hellenistic Society
Alexandria and Hellenistic Culture
Social Relations in the Hellenistic World
13. A Graeco-Roman World
Glossary
Art and Illustration Credits
Index
Color plates

Ancillary Resource Centre:
Instructor's Resources:
- PowrPoint slides
- Instructor's manual
Student Resources:
- Chapter summaries
- Discussion questions
- Key terms
- Maps
- Web links
- Review quizzes

Sarah B. Pomeroy is at Hunter College and CUNY Graduate Centre (Emerita).
Stanley M. Burstein is at California State University, Los Angeles (Emeritus).
Walter Donlan, late of the University of California, Irvine.
Jennifer Tolbert Roberts is at City College and CUNY Graduate Centre.
David Tandy is at University of Tennessee, Knoxville (Emeritus).
Georgia Tsouvala is at Illinois State University.

Making Sense - Margot Northey

Special Features

  • Uniquely in-depth coverage of social and cultural topics including women and family life, material culture, religion, law, homosexuality, slavery, athletics, and life in the countryside.
  • Balanced historical coverage explores the political, military, social, cultural, and economic history of the ancient Greeks from the Bronze Age to the Hellenistic era.
  • Up-to-date research incorporates the most recent discoveries in archeology, comparative anthropology, and social history.
  • Two 8-page colour inserts bring the study of Greek history to life.
  • Excerpts from primary source documents appear in boxes throughout the text.
  • A timeline and introduction provide an overview of Greek history.
New to this Edition
  • Updates by newly added co-author Georgia Tsouvala, including an extended discussion of Roman Greece (Ch. 13).
  • Expanded discussions of social and cultural topics such as Greek comedy, numismatics, same-sex relationships, Roman Greece, treatment of Western Greeks, and the relationship of Greeks with other cultures offer additional coverage of relevant topics.
  • Extensively revised art program, including new and revised maps, engages students with a visually-appealing and accessible text.
  • New translations of documents.
  • Expanded timeline provides students with a more comprehensive overview of ancient Greek history.