The history of ancient Greece is, on a global scale, one of the most impressive stories of achievement creation. A small people, residing in a poor country and fragmented into hundreds of warring city-states, managed to create one of the world's most remarkable cultures.

Concise and balanced, the Concise History of Ancient Greece: Politics, Society and Culture is a new shorter version of the highly successful book by the authors Ancient Greece: Political, Social and Cultural History (OUP, 1998). Four top experts of the classical world vividly and updatedly narrate the history of Greece and its culture in all its complexity and variety, covering the period from the Bronze Age to the Hellenistic Period.

Incorporating the latest findings from archaeology, comparative anthropology and the history of societies into the narrative, they demonstrate how the early Greeks utilized loans from their neighbors to ultimately develop their own unique culture, distinguished by its remarkable creativity, adaptability and flexibility.

The authors proceed to trace the complex and astonishing evolution of ancient Greek culture up to its eventual dissolution and its mingling with various other cultures. Using material evidence from archaeology, written records of literary texts and inscriptions, and anthropological models based on comparative studies, this comprehensive volume offers a presentation of the Greek world that is thorough and serious, yet, nonetheless, accessible and enjoyable for students and all kinds of readers with little or no knowledge of Greece.

[Excerpt from the text on the back cover of the edition]