The transliteration of Greek words into English has always produced anomalies. This book has its share, and many of them derive from personal comfort and discomfort. The Greek kappa maybe the most obvious case in point. We derive many of our visual familiarities with Greek through transliterations made by the Romans, who had no letter k in their alphabet. Hence, Socrates has been the received form of Sokrates, even though the latter, it has seemed to me, should be the proper way for us, who do have a “k,” to write that name. We thereby avoid possible confusion deriving from the use of a potentially soft “c.” Using the “k” instead of the “c” is not particularly distressing with words that are unfamiliar in English like akon, ankyle, didaskalos, or Kroton. In addition, it immediately will be apparent that unfamiliar words with a “c” are not Greek, for example caestus and curia. There are, however, a few words that—for me—are so familiar with a Latin "c” that I find the “proper” transliteration distressing. I cannot, for example, see Corinth as Korinth without a twinge. Hence, I must ask the reader’s indulgence and trust that the message will not be corrupted by these personal inconsistencies.
Measurements are another source of potential confusion. As an archaeologist working in an international discipline I have long made it a habit to use metric measurements. But the Greeks used a basic unit of measurement called a foot. It was not, however, a standard size but varied from place to place. Thus, for example, the foot used in the stadium at Olympia was about 32 centimeters long, while that used at Nemea was about 29.6 centimeters. To translate a measurement expressed by a Greek source as a number of feet into an absolute number of meters would thus be incorrect more often than not. Therefore, I supply the measurement in ancient feet, offering a rough metric equivalent, comfortable in the knowledge that whatever the precise length of that ancient foot at a given place and time it was not far from 12 inches.
Editor’s note: For ease of readability, foreign words are set in italics or defined only at the first usage in each chapter. To assist readers unfamiliar with Greek, plurals are given following new words. A glossary is located at the end of the text. Angle brackets on page 188 indicate restored text.
World History
