Argos and the Argolid, first published in 1972, presents a study of the history and achievements of the Argives, who have hitherto been largely neglected: partly because Classical Argos is overshadowed by the legends of an earlier millennium, and partly because many of her monuments and records have been lost. Richard Tomlinson describes the region, and considers the relationship between the Argives who claimed Dorian descent and those whose ancestors were in all probability the inhabitants of the region during the Bronze Age. In particular, he emphasises the Argives’ role as a ‘third force’ in mainland Greek history, where they challenged the supremacy of the Spartans in Peloponnesian affairs. This thorough treatment is intended to correct the usual bias in favour of the better documented affairs of Athens and Sparta. It includes an assessment of Argive military and political organisation, and of their contribution to the arts of Ancient Greece.

Mycenaean Greece, first published in 1976, investigates from an historical point of view some of the crucial periods in the Greek Bronze Age. The principal subject is the so-called ‘Mycenaean’ culture which arose during the sixteenth century BC, as assimilation of the previous ‘Helladic’ culture of mainland Greece with some of the developments of Minoan Crete. Many of the material aspects of the Mycenaean civilisation are examined, as are the extent of Mycenaean expansion overseas and the eventual destruction of Mycenaean sites which marked the end of their civilisation. The author also considers the evidence relating to the religious beliefs of the Mycenaeans and their social, political and economic organisations, and he relates the Mycenaean culture to the later civilisation of Archaic and Classical Greece. There is an Appendix containing a list of Mycenaean sites, with reference to excavation reports, and a full bibliography.

This wide-ranging yet detailed study describes and assesses the many-faceted cultural achievement of an area remote from Athens, the Dorian islands. Elizabeth Craik’s scholarship sets this lively outlying region of the ancient Greek world – which included Rhodes, Kos, Karpathos, Melos, and Thera – in the perspective of Greek civilization as a whole, demonstrating that excessive emphasis on the Athenian advancements of the fifth century BC tends to obscure the contribution of other regions. Beginning with a discussion of the geographical setting, natural resources and historical development of the area, The Dorian Aegean goes on to survey linguistic usage and local scripts, and to examine the regional contribution to literature, medicine and science. In the final three chapters, the religious traditions and practices of the islands are discussed, in terms of myths, cults and administration. This work will appeal to students of the classical world, archaeology, and cultural history.

Aristocratic Society in Ancient Crete, first published in 1955, investigates the emergence and progress of Dorian society on Crete from the 8th century BC onwards. The major contribution of Cretan culture in this period was in the field of law – law and order are traditionally linked, and Dorian Crete remained steadfast in its pursuit of order. The author offers an explanation for the protracted aristocratic character of Cretan society, basing his study on the crucial Code of Gortyna. The primitive foundations of the social system are examined, illuminating the tribal institutions which formed the basis of the aristocratic states which developed. The four classes of the Cretan states, and the mutual relations of these classes, are defined, and the stages whereby family institutions developed are analysed. Finally, political and judicial organisation is scrutinised, and the Cretan culture is situated in the wider horizon of Mediterranean civilisation.

Interpretations of Greek Mythology, first published in1987, builds on the innovative work of Walter Burkert and the ‘Paris school’ of Jean-Pierre Vernant, and represents a renewal of interpretation of Greek mythology. The contributors to this volume present a variety of approaches to the Greek myths, all of which eschew a monolithic or exclusively structuralist hermeneutic method. Specifically, the notion that mythology can simply be read as a primitive mode of narrative history is rejected, with emphasis instead being placed on the relationships between mythology and history, ritual and political genealogy. The essays concentrate on some of the best known characters and themes – Oedipus, Orpheus, Narcissus – reflecting the complexity and fascination of the Greek imagination. The volume will long remain an indispensable tool for the study of Greek mythology, and it is of great interest to anyone interested in the development of Greek culture and civilisation and the nature of myth.

That the works of the ancient tragedians still have an immediate and profound appeal surely needs no demonstration, yet the modern reader continually stumbles across concepts which are difficult to interpret or relate to – moral pollution, the authority of oracles, classical ideas of geography – as well as the names of unfamiliar legendary and mythological figures. A New Companion to Greek Tragedy provides a useful reference tool for the ‘Greekless’ reader: arranged on a strictly encyclopaedic pattern, with headings for all proper names occurring in the twelve most frequently read tragedies, it contains brief but adequately detailed essays on moral, religious and philosophical terms, as well as mythical genealogies where important. There are in addition entries on Greek theatre, technical terms and on other writers from Aristotle to Freud, whilst the essay by P. E. Easterling traces some connections between the ideas found in the tragedians and earlier Greek thought.