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This book is a comprehensive introduction to ancient Athens, its topography, monuments, inhabitants, cultural institutions, religious rituals, and politics. Drawing from the newest scholarship on the city, this volume examines how the city was planned, how it functioned, and how it was transformed from a democratic polis into a Roman urbs.

The creation of the “Greek style” and its pervasive impact in England and on the Continent during the third quarter of the eighteenth century was largely due to James Stuart’s landmark multi-volume publication Antiquities of Athens, coauthored with Nicholas Revett. Stuart, subsequently known as “Athenian” Stuart, went on to a highly influential career that spanned the fields of architecture, interior decoration, furnishings, sculpture, and metalwork. This lavishly illustrated book is the first to examine Stuart’s multi-dimensional career and the full scope of his contributions as designer, artist, and tastemaker. An international team of scholars consider each area of Stuart’s work, his early training, interest in archaeology, unique network of patrons, poor record for completing projects, and legacy. With illustrations and discussion of the stunning neo-classical furnishings he created at Spencer House, the Greek Doric Temple at Hagley, and numerous other remarkable projects, the book brings Stuart’s achievements to light more clearly than ever before.

Civic Rites explores the religious origins of Western democracy by examining the government of fifth-century BCE Athens in the larger context of ancient Greece and the eastern Mediterranean. Deftly combining history, politics, and religion to weave together stories of democracy’s first leaders and critics, Nancy Evans gives readers a contemporary’s perspective on Athenian society. She vividly depicts the physical environment and the ancestral rituals that nourished the people of the earliest democratic state, demonstrating how religious concerns were embedded in Athenian governmental processes. The book’s lucid portrayals of the best-known Athenian festivals—honoring Athena, Demeter, and Dionysus—offer a balanced view of Athenian ritual and illustrate the range of such customs in fifth-century Athens.