This is a comprehensive account of the Ancient Greeks and their civilization from the Mycenaeans (1500 BC) to the emergence of the Byzantine empire in the fourth century AD. Based on the most recent research it includes in depth studies of Greek art and architecture, theatre, politics, philosophy and science and mathematics.



The achievements of the ancient Greeks form the cornerstone of modern western civilization. This text traces the entire course of ancient Greek history across thousands of years - from the Mycenaean and Minoan civilizations of the Bronze Age through the Archaic, Classical, Hellenistic and Roman periods. The account celebrates the incredible range of Greek achievement: the architectural marvels of the Athenian Acropolis; the birth of drama and the timeless tragedies of Aeschylus, Euripides and Sophocles; Homer's epics; the philosophical revolutions of Plato and Aristotle; and the conquests of Alexander the Great.