Robin Osborne's introduction to the art, archaeology and history of ancient Greece shows how we can write the history of this period, and the insights which can be gained by doing so for our understanding of later periods of history

A History of the Archaic Greek World offers a theme-based approach to the development of the Greek world in the years 1200-479 BCE. Updated and extended in this edition to include two new sections, expanded geographical coverage, a guide to electronic resources, and more illustrations Takes a critical and analytical look at evidence about the history of the archaic Greek World Involves the reader in the practice of history by questioning and reevaluating conventional beliefs Casts new light on traditional themes such as the rise of the city-state, citizen militias, and the origins of egalitarianism Provides a wealth of archaeological evidence, in a number of different specialties, including ceramics, architecture, and mortuary studies

A systematic survey of archaic Greek society and culture which introduces the reader to a wide range of new approaches to the period. The first comprehensive and accessible survey of developments in the study of archaic Greece Places Greek society of c.750-480 BCE in its chronological and geographical context Gives equal emphasis to established topics such as tyranny and political reform and newer subjects like gender and ethnicity Combines accounts of historical developments with regional surveys of archaeological evidence and in-depth treatments of selected themes Explores the impact of Eastern and other non-Greek cultures in the development of Greece Uses archaeological and literary evidence to reconstruct broad patterns of social and cultural development

Greece in the Making 1200–479 BC is an accessible and comprehensive account of Greek history from the end of the Bronze Age to the Classical Period. The first edition of this book broke new ground by acknowledging that, barring a small number of archaic poems and inscriptions, the majority of our literary evidence for archaic Greece reported only what later writers wanted to tell, and so was subject to systematic selection and distortion. This book offers a narrative which acknowledges the later traditions, as traditions, but insists that we must primarily confront the contemporary evidence, which is in large part archaeological and art historical, and must make sense of it in its own terms. In this second edition, as well as updating the text to take account of recent scholarship and re-ordering, Robin Osborne has addressed more explicitly the weaknesses and unsustainable interpretations which the first edition chose merely to pass over. He now spells out why this book features no ‘rise of the polis’ and no ‘colonization’, and why the treatment of Greek settlement abroad is necessarily spread over various chapters. Students and teachers alike will particularly appreciate the enhanced discussion of economic history and the more systematic treatment of issues of gender and sexuality.

The Greek World After Alexander 323–30 BC examines social changes in the old and new cities of the Greek world and in the new post-Alexandrian kingdoms. An appraisal of the momentous military and political changes after the era of Alexander, this book considers developments in literature, religion, philosophy, and science, and establishes how far they are presented as radical departures from the culture of Classical Greece or were continuous developments from it. Graham Shipley explores the culture of the Hellenistic world in the context of the social divisions between an educated elite and a general population at once more mobile and less involved in the political life of the Greek city.

The complete Short Oxford History of Europe (series editor: Professor T C W Blanning) will cover the history of Europe from Classical Greece to the present in eleven volumes. In each, experts write to their strengths tackling the key issues, including society, economy, religion, politics, and culture, head-on in chapters that will be at once wide-ranging surveys and searching analyses. Each book is specifically designed with the non-specialist reader in mind; but the authority of the contributors and the vigour of the interpretations will make them necessary and challenging reading for fellow academics across a range of disciplines. Osborne's is the third book to be launched in the series, following on from the publication of Blanning's Eighteenth and Nineteenth century volumes. Robin Osborne provides an analysis which introduces the physical world of the Greek city and the inheritance of the classical city from its archaic past. With specially commissioned chapters, a team of experts introduce the reader to the economy of the Greek city, its political and religious institutions, the waging of warfare between cities, the nature and ancient analysis of struggles within cities, and the private life of individuals. The focus then moves to diachronic change within the city, tracing the broad narratives of Greek history through the fifth and fourth centuries, and concludes by demonstrating the changing ways in which the Greeks themselves construed individual and civic life. Looking at classical Greece as a whole, the reader is introduced to general issues through use of precise examples and through the words of Greek writers themselves. Maps, a timeline, and a selective bibliography help readers to ground the information that is given and direct their further studies.

Shows that history written on the basis of texts alone creates a misleading picture of classical Greece.