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The Story of Greece and Rome - Paperback | Diverse Reads

The Story of Greece and Rome

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The extraordinary story of the intermingled civilizations of ancient Greece and Rome, spanning more than six millennia, from the late Bronze Age to the seventh century

The magnificent civilization created by the ancient Greeks and Romans is the greatest legacy of the classical world. However, narratives about the “civilized” Greek and Roman empires resisting the barbarians at the gate are far from accurate. Tony Spawforth, an esteemed scholar, author, and media contributor, follows the thread of civilization through more than six millennia of history. His story reveals that Greek and Roman civilization, to varying degrees, was supremely and surprisingly receptive to external influences, particularly from the East.

From the rise of the Mycenaean world of the sixteenth century B.C., Spawforth traces a path through the ancient Aegean to the zenith of the Hellenic state and the rise of the Roman Empire, the coming of Christianity, and the consequences of the first caliphate. Deeply informed, provocative, and entirely fresh, this is the first and only accessible work that tells the extraordinary story of the classical world in its entirety.

ISBN-13: 9780300251647

Media Type: Paperback

Publisher: Yale University Press

Publication Date: 03-17-2020

Pages: 392

Product Dimensions: 5.00(w) x 7.70(h) x 1.30(d)

Tony Spawforth is emeritus professor of ancient history at Newcastle University, presenter of eight archaeological documentaries in the Ancient Voices series on BBC2, and author of numerous books, including Greece and the Augustan Cultural Revolution.

Table of Contents

List of Maps and Plates vii

Acknowledgements ix

Prologue: The Wild and the Tamed: Ancient Views of Civilization 1

Part I The Greeks

1 The Dawn of Greek Civilization 15

2 The Rise of the Hellenes 32

3 New Things: The First Greek City-States 45

4 As Rich as Croesus: Early Greeks and the East 60

5 Great Greeks: The Greek Settlement of the West 75

6 Meet the (Western) Neighbours 90

7 'Lord of All Men? The Threat of Persia 105

8 The Same but Different: Athens and Sparta 119

9 'Unprecedented Suffering? The Peloponnesian War 134

10 Examined Lives and Golden Mouths 148

11 'A Brilliant Flash of Lightning': Alexander of Macedon 163

12 Game of Thrones, or the World after Alexander 177

Part II The Romans

13 'Senatus Populusque Romanus' 195

14 Boots on the Ground: Building the Roman Empire 210

15 Hail Caesar! The Advent of the Autocrats 225

16 'Fierce Rome, Captive'? The Lure of Greece 241

17 What Did the Romans Do for Their Empire? 257

18 'Barbarians' at the Gate 271

19 The 'Jesus Movement' 286

20 United We Stand: The Final Century 301

21 Divided We Fall: A Tale of Two Empires 316

Epilogue 330

Timeline 334

Notes 340

Further Reading 354

Index 356