Ancient Greek civilization—the heroic tales of Homer and the philosophical musings of Plato, the bloody Peloponnesian Wars between Athens and Sparta and the vast empire of Alexander the Great—served as the touchstone for much of Western history that followed. Ancient Greece is a three-volume, A-Z survey of Greek history and culture from its earliest archaeological remains until the Battle of Actium in 31 b. c.e., when Greek civilization merged with Roman to become Greco-Roman civilization, that is sure to fascinate students and general readers of all ages.
The 315 essays in this work range in length from 1 to 8 pages. They include general overviews of such topics as art and architecture, daily life and customs, education and training, government and law, language and dialects, literature, medicine and health, mythology, the performing arts, philosophy, religion and ritual, science, sports and entertainment, warfare, and women’s life. Biographical entries cover statesmen, military leaders, artists, writers, scientists, and philosophers. Descriptive entries examine types of literature, battles, and philosophical movements.
By design, Magill’s Choice reference sets compile and update previously published material from Salem Press in order to produce affordable and useful works. Ancient Greece brings together relevant essays from six different sets: Great Events from History: The Ancient World, Prehistory-476 C. E. (2004), Great Lives from History: The Ancient World, Prehistory-476 C. E. (2004), Cyclopedia of World Authors, Fourth Revised Edition (2004), Encyclopedia ofthe Ancient World (2002), Weapons and Warfare (2002), and Magill’s Guide to Military History (2001). For each of these essays, the bibliography was brought up to date with the latest sources. In addition, 29 essays were newly commissioned specifically for Ancient Greece, making the work the only comprehensive source on this subject matter from Salem Press.
Each biographical essay in the set identifies the figure’s field of accomplishment, such as “Playwright” or “Statesman.” Entries on rulers also provide locations and date ranges, such as “King of Seleucid Dynasty (r. 223187 b. c.e.).” The best information about year and place of birth and death is provided; in some cases, only the century in when an individual flourished is known. Each topical essay begins with a brief summary and provides in-
Formation on date and locale, where applicable. Every entry, both biographical and topical, then identifies one or more categories in which the essay belongs:
Agriculture
Art and architecture
Astronomy and cosmology
Cities and civilizations
Daily life
Economics
Education
Expansion and land acquisition geography
Government and politics
Historic sites
Historiography
Language
Law
Literature
Mathematics
Medicine
Military
Music
Oratory and rhetoric organizations and institutions philosophy poetry
Religion and mythology scholarship
Science and technology sports
Theater and drama trade and commerce treaties and diplomacy wars and battles women
The main text of each essay includes a phonetic rendering of the name of the profiled figure or topic on the first mention, such as (EHS-kih-neez) for Aeschines; a Key to Pronunciation is provided at the beginning of each volume. Biographical essays include subheadings called “Life” and “Influence.” Most entries on topics offer the sections “Summary” and “Significance.” Longer overviews use topical subheadings to guide readers through the text. All essays end with a “Further Reading” section of additional resources, an author byline, and “See also” cross-references directing readers to related entries within Ancient Greece.
At the beginning of all three volumes are a Complete List of Contents, the Key to Pronunciation, and three maps showing ancient Greece from different periods: the seventh century b. c.e., during the Archaic Age; the fifth century b. c.e., during the Classical Age; and 185 b. c.e., during the Hellenistic Age. At the end of volume 3 are six appendixes: a Time Line of important events from 2600 to 31 b. c.e.; a Glossary of more than 150 terms; a Bibliography of helpful sources; a list of Web Sites about ancient Greece; a list of Literary Works arranged by author; and an annotated list of Historic Sites, including Web sites.
Three indexes provide multiple access to the text: a Category Index, a Personages Index of people discussed in the entries, and a comprehensive Subject Index of concepts, names, titles, and places. In addition, the set is fully illustrated with more than 150 photographs, lists, tables, maps, and other useful sidebars to help bring ancient Greece to life.
We would like to thank our Editor, Thomas J. Sienkewicz, the Minnie Billings Capron Professor of Classics at Monmouth College, for his invaluable expertise. Our gratitude is also extended to the outstanding scholars who contributed material to this work; a list of their names and affiliations follows.
World History
