Dimensions
165 x 240 x 49mm
In this enormously enjoyable and absorbing book, Charles Freeman sets out to provide a new generation of readers with a comprehensive and accessible account of Greek history over 2000 years. Drawing on the most recent research, Freeman describes the early settlements, wars with the Persian empire, the confidence - even arrogance - that created the grandeurs of Periclean Athens, the rise of Macedonia, the glories of the often despised Hellenistic period and the crucial influence of Greece on the Roman Empire. Interwoven with the narrative are chapters on social and spiritual life, on philosophy, drama, mathematics and science, which demonstrate that it is no exaggeration to say, in Freeman's words, that Ancient Greece provided 'the chromosomes of Western civilization'. 24 pages of plates (in colour and in black and white) complement Freeman's text, forming in their own right a fascinating essay on what the Greeks themselves valued about their art and architecture, and showing how the images they conceived still pervade our cultural life.
