The Greeks

The Greeks is quite simply the best introduction available to the ancient Hellenes, whose contributions to modern civilization are exceptional in their creativity and scope, from philosophy to democracy and from the invention of the alphabet to that of the analog computer. The authors' breadth of vision and insight is based on a thoroughly interdisciplinary approach that embraces art, archaeology, history, language, society, ecology, literature, and the contributions of the ancient Near East. Their clarity of judgement and sureness of touch make this book a reliable guide to a part of humanity's past without which we cannot understand our present or shape our future."-Richard Janko, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Morris and Powell offer a rich and clear-eyed journey through the complex world of ancient Greece, including full treatments of the Hellenistic era and the 'coming of Rome' down to the battle of Actium. Careful examinations of historical and cultural cause and effect help us understand why things might have happened in a certain way, while still showing how many open questions remain; discussions of geography, demography, economics, and the experiences of other Mediterranean cultures introduce some of the complicated factors that underlie historical narrative. Morris and Powell help us understand the Greeks-and they also use the Greeks to help us understand history." -Sarah Brown Ferrario, The Catholic University of America