The Rise and Fall of Ancient Greece

The Rise and Fall of Ancient Greece

True to its title, The Rise and Fall of Ancient Greece tells, in words and images, the complete story of the foundational civilization of the West, from the Greece of heroic legend to the empire of Alexander the Great. The first of the volume’s two main sections focuses on Classical Greece. Beginning at around 2000 B.C., it charts Greek history from the emergence of Minoan and Mycenaean cultures to the sixth-century Ionian Enlightenment and the rise of Greek city-states, including Athens and Sparta. It explores the centuries-long rivalry between these two powerhouses, contrasting the Spartans’ strange mix of oligarchy, democracy and monarchy with Athenian democracy. Militarily, the Spartans were supreme on land while the Athenians dominated the seas, and they both clashed with Persia in the Persian Wars of the fifth century B.C., fighting legendary battles like Marathon and Thermopylae, which immortalized the famous last stand of Leonidas and his 300 Spartans. Athens and Sparta would then fight each other in the Peloponnesian Wars, with Athens finally wrecked as a result, marking the dramatic end to the fifth-century B.C. Golden Age of Greece. The second section of The Rise and Fall of Ancient Greece focuses on Alexander the Great and his heirs. After the collapse of Spartan power, Macedonia rose under its dynamic and cunning King Phillip II to become the new hegemon of Greece. Phillip’s son, Alexander, one of history’s true military geniuses, soon overthrew the Persian Empire and spread Greek civilization and culture across half of Asia, and his death in 323 B.C. brought the Classical Age of Greece to an end. Tracking Greek history from there to the end of the Roman Emperor Hadrian’s reign in A.D. 138, it becomes clear that Alexander’s true heir ultimately proved to be the Roman Empire. The Rise and Fall of Ancient Greece includes a chapter that profiles famous Greek tyrants, democrats, generals, historians and philosophers, including politicians like Solon, the great Athenian reformer; Pericles, Athens’ great democratic statesman; the crafty turncoat Alcibiades; exceptional Greek women like Aspasia, Pericles' mistress and one of the first female intellectuals; and thinkers like Thales of Miletus, the sixth-century B.C. Ionian, considered to be the very first philosopher. Another chapter examines arms and armor in ancient Greece, describing the cavalry, infantry, warships and siege machines of the era; the organization and training of the armies; and analyzing military techniques and strategies. With hundreds of colorful photographs, illustrations, maps and battle plans, The Rise and Fall of Ancient Greece provides a spectacular, panoramic view of two millennia of politics, war and a seminal culture whose influence is still felt today.

Hardcover: 256 pages

Publisher: Anness Publishing ( July 01, 2009 )

Item #: 27-8524

ISBN: 9780754817338

Product Dimensions: 9.0 x 11.5 x 0.0 inches

Product Weight: 58.0 ounces