The Oxford History of the Archaic Greek World, Volume II

Abstract

AbstractThis book introduces the history and archaeology of ancient Athens in the period 800–500 bce. Following the standard arrangement of the Oxford History of the Archaic Greek World series, it deals successively with the sources; environmental setting; material culture (settlement pattern, burial customs, ceramic production); political, legal, and diplomatic history; economy and demography; social and religious customs; and cultural history (including history of sculpture) of archaic Athens. It provides not only a full and up-to-date guide to all these various aspects of Athenian history and archaeology, but also an integrated history that shows how the different aspects fit together. The reader is guided through an exciting story of the way in which the territory of Attica was re-occupied after the collapse of Bronze Age civilization; how Athens emerged as the dominant settlement; how the claims of family, place, and wealth were played out against one another; and how the Athenians came to place themselves both in relation to the wider Greek world and in relation to the gods. The account is illustrated with abundant maps and photographs that bring the world of Athens to life and enable the reader to recreate life on the ground. The political and cultural achievements of classical Athens (democracy, tragedy, the Parthenon, and its sculpture) rested upon the foundations created in the archaic period, but this book shows that archaic Athens did not merely provide foundations for what came later, but it offered a fascinating history and culture of its own.