This handbook was published in hardback in the US in 1997 by Facts On File and in the UK by Sutton Publishing (but under the title Ancient Greece. A Handbook). It was issued in paperback (at a remarkably low price) in 1998 by Oxford University Press, although only available in the US. An updated and expanded version has been published in hardback by Facts On File, 514 pages long with over 200 illustrations. This reference book provides comprehensive access to over three millennia of ancient Greek history and archaeology, from the beginning of the Minoan civilisation to the capture of the Greek states by the Romans in 30 BC. Illustrated throughout with our own drawings and photographs (providing us with a good excuse to enjoy the sunshine and sites of Greece, Cyprus and Turkey), it has ten thematically arranged chapters, an extensive bibliography within each chapter, and a comprehensive index.
Selected by the American Library Association as “an outstanding reference source”.
Available Rights
Rights for this book are handled by Facts On File (Infobase Holdings Inc), 132 West 31st Street, 16th floor, New York NY 10001, USA. Tel 001 212 967 8800. Fax 001 212 967 9196.
Excerpt: Chapter 7
Although Greece was divided into numerous regions and states, the same language was spoken, distinguishing Greeks from barbarians (barbaroi, a word they applied to all non-Greek-speaking people, meaning all those who spoke in an inarticulate tongue, especially the Persians in the 5th century BC). Greeks were therefore monoglots, although there were numerous dialects, and the Greeks themselves mention four ethnic groups of Athenians, Ionians, Dorians and Aeolians. There was no break between ancient and modern Greek, and so it is the longest-attested European language, a language that has changed over time….
Chapters
Introduction
Chapter 1 – Civilizations, City-States and Empires
Chapter 2 – Rulers and Leaders
Chapter 3 – Military Affairs
Chapter 4 – Geography of the Greek World
Chapter 5 – Economy, Trade and Transport
Chapter 6 – Towns and Countryside
Chapter 7 – Written Evidence
Chapter 8 – Religion and Mythology
Chapter 9 – Art, Science and Philosophy
Chapter 10 – Everyday Life
Bibliography
Index
Russian jacket
Russian edition
The revised edition of the Handbook to Life in Ancient Greece is published in Russian in hardcover by the Moscow publisher Veche.
Chinese jacket
Chinese edition
The book has been translated into Chinese and has been published in paperback in China by The Commercial Press, with 839 pages.
Czech jacket
Czech edition
The book has been translated into Czech by Dana Adámková and published by Slovart as Starověké Řecko, ISBN 978-80-7391-580-3.
Reviews include ‘fascinating and easy to follow book’ (History for All).