Athens and Sparta: Constructing Greek Political and Social History from 478 BC

by Anton Powell

Overview

Athens and Sparta is an essential textbook for the study of Greek history. Providing a comprehensive account of the two key Greek powers in the years after 478 BC, it charts the rise of Athens from city-state to empire after the devastation of the Persian Wars, and the increasing tensions with their rivals, Sparta, culminating in the Peloponnesian Wars. As well as the political history of the period, it also offers an insight into the radically different political systems of these two superpowers, and explores aspects of social history such as Athenian democracy, life in Sparta, and the lives of Athenian women. More than this though, it encourages students to develop their critical skills, guiding them in how to think about history, demonstrating in a lucid way the techniques used in interpreting the ancient sources.

In this new third edition, Anton Powell includes discussion of the latest scholarship on this crucial period in Greek history. Its bibliography has been renewed, and for the first time it includes numerous photographs of Greek sites and archaeological objects discussed in the text. Written in an accessible style and covering the key events of the period – the rise to power of Athens, the unusual Spartan state, and their rivalry and eventual clash in all out war – this is an invaluable tool for students of the history of Greece in the fifth century BC.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781138778450
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	05/31/2016
Edition description:	Revised
Pages:	454
Product dimensions:	5.44(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)
Lexile:	1580L (what's this?)

About the Author

Anton Powell was for many years Director of the University of Wales Institute of Classics, and has also taught as Professor at leading universities in France. He has published extensively on Sparta and Athens, as well as the fall of the Roman Republic. He is founder and General Editor of the Classical Press of Wales.

Table of Contents

Abbreviations

Note for Second and Third editions

Introduction

1. The Delian League: Its Origins and Early History

2. from Delian League to Athenian Empire

3. The Athenian Empire

4. Sparta: Her Problems and Her Ingenuity, 478–431

5. The Peloponnesian War, 431–404

6. Life within Sparta

7. Athenian De¯ mokratia

8. Citizen Women of Athens

9. Religious Prophecy at Athens

Index

Editorial Reviews

We are all in huge debt to Anton Powell as publisher-scholar extraordinaire. With this new edition of Athens and Sparta he increases that debt mountain yet further. Intended as an ambitious combination of handbook for relative novices and provocation for established aficionados of Classical Greek history and culture, this accessibly written survey will in its revised form continue to inform and stimulate for many more years to come.

- Professor P.A. Cartledge, Clare College, Cambridge

From the Publisher

. . . something of a revolution in ancient history textbook-writing.

Classical Review

. . . teaches the reader not only what to think about ancient history but how to think about ancient history.

Barry Strauss

An exciting introduction to Greek history for the new student It is thoroughly to be recommended for its intelligence and openness.

Annual Bulletin of Historical Literature

A major step forward in the teaching of Greek history.

Paul Cartledge

Fulfills its aim of being accessible to beginners but also taking them beyond the standard outline survey. Professional historians will also find much of interest Powell's perceptive analysis of Spartan life is now the best single-chapter discussion of her social institutions.

Journal of Hellenic Studies