Thomas J. Sienkewicz – Ancient Greece

Автор: Thomas J. Sienkewicz
Название книги: Ancient Greece
Формат: PDF
Жанр: Древний мир и Античность
Страницы: 1076
Качество: Изначально компьютерное, E-book

Ancient Greek civilization—the heroic tales of Homer and the philosophical
musings of Plato, the bloody Peloponnesian Wars between Athens
and Sparta and the vast empire of Alexander the Great—served as the
touchstone for much of Western history that followed. Ancient Greece is a
three-volume, A-Z survey of Greek history and culture from its earliest archaeological
remains until the Battle of Actium in 31 b.c.e., when Greek
civilization merged with Roman to become Greco-Roman civilization, that
is sure to fascinate students and general readers of all ages.
The 315 essays in this work range in length from 1 to 8 pages. They include
general overviews of such topics as art and architecture, daily life and
customs, education and training, government and law, language and dialects,
literature, medicine and health, mythology, the performing arts, philosophy,
religion and ritual, science, sports and entertainment, warfare, and
women’s life. Biographical entries cover statesmen, military leaders, artists,
writers, scientists, and philosophers. Descriptive entries examine
types of literature, battles, and philosophical movements.
By design, Magill’s Choice reference sets compile and update previously
published material from Salem Press in order to produce affordable
and useful works. Ancient Greece brings together relevant essays from six
different sets: Great Events from History: The Ancient World, Prehistory-
476 C.E. (2004), Great Lives from History: The Ancient World, Prehistory-
476 C.E. (2004), Cyclopedia of World Authors, Fourth Revised Edition
(2004), Encyclopedia of the Ancient World (2002), Weapons and Warfare
(2002), and Magill’s Guide to Military History (2001). For each of these
essays, the bibliography was brought up to date with the latest sources. In
addition, 29 essays were newly commissioned specifically for Ancient
Greece, making the work the only comprehensive source on this subject
matter from Salem Press.
Each biographical essay in the set identifies the figure’s field of accomplishment,
such as “Playwright” or “Statesman.” Entries on rulers also provide
locations and date ranges, such as “King of Seleucid Dynasty (r. 223-
187 b.c.e.).” The best information about year and place of birth and death is
provided; in some cases, only the century in when an individual flourished
is known. Each topical essay begins with a brief summary and provides in
The main text of each essay includes a phonetic rendering of the name of
the profiled figure or topic on the first mention, such as (EHS-kih-neez) for
Aeschines; a Key to Pronunciation is provided at the beginning of each volume.
Biographical essays include subheadings called “Life” and “Influence.”
Most entries on topics offer the sections “Summary” and “Significance.”
Longer overviews use topical subheadings to guide readers
through the text. All essays end with a “Further Reading” section of additional
resources, an author byline, and “See also” cross-references directing
readers to related entries within Ancient Greece.
At the beginning of all three volumes are a Complete List of Contents,
the Key to Pronunciation, and three maps showing ancient Greece from
different periods: the seventh century b.c.e., during the Archaic Age; the
fifth century b.c.e., during the Classical Age; and 185 b.c.e., during the
Hellenistic Age. At the end of volume 3 are six appendixes: a Time Line of
important events from 2600 to 31 b.c.e.; a Glossary of more than 150
terms; a Bibliography of helpful sources; a list of Web Sites about ancient
Greece; a list of Literary Works arranged by author; and an annotated list of
Historic Sites, including Web sites.
Three indexes provide multiple access to the text: a Category Index, a
Personages Index of people discussed in the entries, and a comprehensive
Subject Index of concepts, names, titles, and places. In addition, the set is
fully illustrated with more than 150 photographs, lists, tables, maps, and
other useful sidebars to help bring ancient Greece to life.
We would like to thank our Editor, Thomas J. Sienkewicz, the Minnie
Billings Capron Professor of Classics at Monmouth College, for his invaluable
expertise. Our gratitude is also extended to the outstanding scholars
who contributed material to this work; a list of their names and affiliations
follows.