A History of Greece, 1300 to 30 BC - (Blackwell History of the Ancient World) by Victor Parker (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

A History of Greece: 1300‒30 BC, offers a comprehensive introduction to the foundational political history of Greece, from the late Mycenaean Age through to the death of Cleopatra VII, the last Hellenistic monarch of Egypt.

• Introduces textual and archaeological evidence used by historians to reconstruct historical events during Greece's Bronze, Archaic, Classical, and Hellenistic periods
• Reveals the political and social structure of the Greek world in the late Mycenaean period (thirteenth century BC) through analysis of the Linear B tablets, the oldest surviving records in Greek
• Features numerous references to original source materials, including various fragmentary papyri, inscriptions, coins, and other literary sources
• Provides extensive coverage of the Hellenistic period, and covers areas excluded from most Greek history texts, including the Greek West
• Features judicious use of illustrations throughout, and considers instructors' teaching needs by structuring the later sections to facilitate teaching a parallel course in Roman History
• Balances scholarship with a reader-friendly approach to create an accessible introduction to the political history of one of most remarkable ancient civilizations and sophisticated periods of world history

From the Back Cover

BLACKWELL HISTORY OF THE ANCIENT WORLD

A History of Greece 1300 to 30 BC

"Parker's A History of Greece provides both an eminently readable account of historical events and a wealth of primary source discussions that guide the reader through the challenges of historical interpretation."
Sheila Ager, University of Waterloo

"In lucid and elegant prose, Victor Parker does not baulk at dealing with the complexities of our evidence, but presents an erudite, accessible and authoritative account of the political narrative of the greek world. A History of Greece will become a standard textbook for introductory courses on Greek history."
Lynette Mitchell, University of Exeter

A History of Greece, ca. 1300 to 30 BC offers a comprehensive introduction to the foundational political history that shaped the Ancient Greek world, covering the period from the late Mycenaean Age through to the death of Cleopatra VII, the last Hellenistic monarch of Egypt.

Structured chronologically, the book introduces readers to some of the textual and archaeological evidence utilized by historians to reconstruct the historical events that occurred during Greece's Bronze, Archaic, Classical, and Hellenistic periods. For example, the political and social structure of the Greek world in the late Mycenaean period is revealed through analyses of the Linear B tablets, the oldest surviving records in Greek. The book also explores various fragmentary papyri, inscriptions, coins, and other literary sources in reconstructing historical events. It provides a richly textured, but concise political narrative of events after the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC., including the destruction of Corinth by the Romans in 146 BC., up until the end of the Hellenistic Period in 30 BC. Balancing scholarly precision with a reader-friendly approach, A History of Greece offers an accessible introduction to the political history of one of most remarkable ancient civilizations and sophisticated periods of world history.

About the Author

Victor Parker is Associate Professor of Classics in the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand. He has published some fifty specialized articles in Greek, Roman, and Near Eastern history as well as a commentary on the historian Ephorus.