The Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece: (Encyclopedias)

From the Battle of Marathon to the Minotaur, from the Acropolis to Aristotle, from Theseus to the Theban hegemony, from slavery to Sparta, The Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece is a fascinating fully illustrated reference work, spanning both political history, society, wars, art, architecture, culture, philosophy and mythology. Covering the founding of the Minoan civilization on Crete in the 3rd millennium BCE, Mycenaean Greece in the 2nd millennium, the Greek Dark Ages and the heights of Athenian civilization in the 5th and 4th centuries BCE, the book expertly examines a wide range of aspects of the civilization that is considered to be the foundation of Western culture. Thousands of years later we can easily identify the influences of ancient Greece in modern politics, society and architecture, its mythical tales are still recounted and their patterns can be spotted throughout modern literature, television and film. Featuring more than 400 colour photographs and artworks, The Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece is an accessibly written exploration, reaching from siege warfare to Socrates, public sacrifice to public festivals to the Peloponnesian War.

Table of Contents:
Introduction THE ORIGINS OF ANCIENT GREECE Crete and Mycenae Minoan civilization The palace at Knossos Minoan religion The Great Fortress of Mycenae Tomb of Agamemnon Pre-alphabetic Writings: Linear A; Linear B; Tablets and Symbols The location of Troy – Heinrich Schliemann The Trojan horse The Dark Ages to the Rise of the Polis The Dark Ages Homeric society the Iliad and the Odyssey New Burial Customs The Polis Ceramics Hesiod Evolution of temples The Gods The Principal Gods of the Olympic Pantheon Aristocrats and Tyranny The symposium The Lelantine War Eretria and Chalcis The hoplites The age of tyrants The legislators The Olympic Games The Greek Colonies The Argonauts The return to the seas Ships of the Great Colonization Alphabetic Writing and Greek letters Magna Graecia Greek Expansion in the Mediterranean The Iberian Peninsula and the Black Sea Archaic Coins Athens and Sparta Sparta society The laws of Lycurgus Spartan votive offerings Theseus Slaves, Citizens and Social Class Athens under the tyrant Peisistratos Solon and Greek Institutions Political Life Dawn of Democracy Athens Oracle of Delphi Consolidation of Democracy Myth and Propaganda The Triumph of the Demos The overthrow of tyranny CLASSICAL ANCIENT GREECE The Dawn of Democracy The Athenian Century The Gortyn code The oracle of Delphi Cleisthenes and the Alcmaeonidae Athena A new political system Consolidating democracy Pisistratus, Hippias, and Hipparchus The assassination of Hipparchus Athenian courts and politics The Greek Identity Herodotus’s Histories Herodotus, Geographical Knowledge, and the Greek Perception of the World Ionia, Phyrgia, and Lydia Thrace: Treasures, Myths, and Warriors The Persian Empire King Darius Greece against oriental despotism The Acropolis and the Parthenon The Persian Wars The battlefields of the Greco-Persian War The first Persian campaign The battle of Marathon The second Persian campaign The battle of Thermopylae Themistocles The Spartan Hoplites Battle of Salamis The Greek Trireme Athens and the politicizing of the sea The city in the classical era Democracy and Citizens The ‘polis’ and citizen identity Political participation The Athenian enlightenment Politics and religion in Athens Heracles Literature and the city Theatre, democracy, and society Athenian Hegemony The estrangement of Sparta and Athens Athenian expansion Cimon and Pericles The theory and criticism of democracy Towards the crisis of democracy Slaves in classical Greek society Zeus THE DECLINE OF ATHENS The Start of Hostilities The long walls of Athens Clashes with Sparta Thucydides The First Peloponnesian War Decline of the Athenian Empire Ionians versus Dorians The three ages of Athenian citizens Primitive siege techniques The invasion of Plataea Ritual in the Spartan army The Endless Conflict The end of Pericles Main theatres of the Peloponnesian War Plataea and Mytilene Corcyra Socrates Warrior of the Greek armies Sphacteria Delium and Amphipolis The Battle of Delium Peace of Nicias An Armed Intermediate The battle of Mantinea End of the false peace Sicily and the defeat of Athens Spartan Victory The reappearance of Alcibiades Revolution in Athens Aristotle and the Greek political regimes The war moves to the Hellespont The end of the war Classical Greek sculpture Social Crisis in Sparta I Fight for Hegemony The great battle of Coronea From war to peace of the king The battle of Leuctra The second battle of Mantinea The end of the Polis Sicily against Carthage The confrontations with cartago The tomb of the swimmer The formation of Greek citizens The Evolution of Athens Isocrates and the second league The great Athenian mansions The social war The Macedonian threat Panhellenism Timelines Index

About the Author :
Carlos Gómez is an established writer and editor specializing in history and has worked on a number of titles on the ancient world. He has worked in publishing for many years and is currently enjoying retirement.