The Ancient Greeks: An Introduction

This accessible introduction surveys the land and peoples who gave us the Labyrinth, the Acropolis, the Iliad and Odyssey, Herodotus and Thucydides, Sappho and Sophocles, Aphrodite and Aristotle, and so much more. Using the full range of resources of art history, archaeology, and philology, this book details the familiar-mythic heroes and heroines, famous philosophers and poets, as well as classical art and architecture--and introduces the less-well-known aspects of ancient Greece, notably the civilizations of the Bronze and Dark Ages and even the earliest form of written Greek-Linear B. In addition, Stephanie Lynn Budin offers a full history of how the study of classical Greece has evolved from ancient times through the Middle Ages and the Renaissance to the present day. She covers ongoing questions and new directions in Greek studies, including Minoan religion, the role of women in early Greek cultures, the historical accuracy of Homer and Herodotus, and the role of Greece amongst its non-Greek neighbors. The Ancient Greeks includes a rich collection of illustrations, drawings, maps, and photographs, including detailed renderings of Knossos, the evolution of Greek sculpture and pottery, and even a section on ancient weaponry. The result is a superb companion for both newcomers and long-time Hellenophiles, revealing not only what we know about ancient Greece but how we know it and how these cultures continue to influence us.