A general introduction to the classical world from its origins to the fall of the Roman Empire.
The book focuses on questions of how we know about Classical civilization from archaeology and history; deals with the Mycenaean era and the world of Myth and Epic in Homer's Iliad & Odyssey; gives an outline of Greek history in the 5th & 4th Centuries BC; looks at Greek social life and the alternative model of Sparta, and considers the achievements of the Greeks in their art and architecture, tragedy and comedy.
Turning to Rome, it engages with Roman history, the Roman Epic tradition, the fascinating features of Roman social life, analyses Roman satire, explores the urban environment in Pompeii and Herculaneum, and concludes with the End of Rome.
Chapter 1. The Minoans of Crete: The First Europeans
Chapter 2. Mycenae: ‘Rich in Gold’
Chapter 3. Troy: The Great Adversary?
Chapter 4. The World of Greek Myth and Epic: Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey
Chapter 5. Greek History to the End of the Fifth Century BCE
Chapter 7. Sparta: The Alternative Model
Chapter 8. Communicating with the Gods: Sacrifice, Oracles and Athletics
Chapter 10. Greek Art and Architecture
Chapter 12. Roman Comedy and the Roman Theatre
Chapter 13. Roman History: From the Republic to the Principate
Chapter 14. Roman Epic: Virgil’s Aeneid
Chapter 16. Roman Relaxation, Recreation and Religion