A History of Greece, 1300 to 30 BC

A History of Greece: 1300‒30 BC, offers a comprehensive introduction to the foundational political history of Greece, from the late Mycenaean Age through to the death of Cleopatra VII, the last Hellenistic monarch of Egypt.

• Introduces textual and archaeological evidence used by historians to reconstruct historical events during Greece’s Bronze, Archaic, Classical, and Hellenistic periods
• Reveals the political and social structure of the Greek world in the late Mycenaean period (thirteenth century BC) through analysis of the Linear B tablets, the oldest surviving records in Greek
• Features numerous references to original source materials, including various fragmentary papyri, inscriptions, coins, and other literary sources
• Provides extensive coverage of the Hellenistic period, and covers areas excluded from most Greek history texts, including the Greek West
• Features judicious use of illustrations throughout, and considers instructors’ teaching needs by structuring the later sections to facilitate teaching a parallel course in Roman History
• Balances scholarship with a reader-friendly approach to create an accessible introduction to the political history of one of most remarkable ancient civilizations and sophisticated periods of world history

List of Figures ix

List of Tables xii

List of Boxes xiii

Abbreviations and Reference Conventions xvi

Preface xxii

Introduction xxvii

1 The Geography of Greece 1

Part I: Bronze and “Dark Age”: circa 1300–800 BC 21

2 The Mycenaean Age 23

3 The End of the Bronze Age and the Great Migrations 46

4 Greece in the Later “Dark Age” (circa 900–750 BC) 58

Part II: The Archaic Period: circa 800–479 BC 73

5 Colonization 75

6 Sparta from the Messenian Wars to the Creation of the Peloponnesian League 93

7 Tyranny 106

8 Athens from Cylon to Cleisthenes 121

9 Persia and the Ionian Revolt 138

10 The Persian Wars 151

Part III: The Classical Period: 479–323 BC 169

11 The Athenian Empire 171

12 Sparta and Athens during the Pentecontaetia 182

13 From the Outbreak of the Peloponnesian War to the Peace of Nicias 196

14 From the Peace of Nicias to the Surrender of Athens 210

15 The Lacedaemonian Ascendancy in Greece 227

16 The Boeotian Ascendancy in Greece and the Second Athenian League 243

17 The West from the Sicilian Expedition to the Campaigns of Timoleon 257

18 Philip of Macedon and the Conquest of Greece 272

19 Alexander the Great and the Conquest of Persia 293

Part IV: The Hellenistic Period: 323–30 BC 317

20 The Wars of the Diadochi 319

21 The Creation of the Hellenistic States 336

22 Sicily and the West from Agathocles to the First Punic War 351

23 The Hellenistic World in Equilibrium 364

24 The Coming of Rome 387

25 Twilight of the Hellenistic World 409

Tables of Rulers 429

Glossary 434

Index 458

Victor Parker is Associate Professor of Classics in the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand. He has published some fifty specialized articles in Greek, Roman, and Near Eastern history as well as a commentary on the historian Ephorus.

BLACKWELL HISTORY OF THE ANCIENT WORLD

A History of Greece 1300 to 30 BC

"Parker's A History of Greece provides both an eminently readable account of historical events and a wealth of primary source discussions that guide the reader through the challenges of historical interpretation."
Sheila Ager, University of Waterloo

"In lucid and elegant prose, Victor Parker does not baulk at dealing with the complexities of our evidence, but presents an erudite, accessible and authoritative account of the political narrative of the greek world. A History of Greece will become a standard textbook for introductory courses on Greek history."
Lynette Mitchell, University of Exeter

A History of Greece, ca. 1300 to 30 BC offers a comprehensive introduction to the foundational political history that shaped the Ancient Greek world, covering the period from the late Mycenaean Age through to the death of Cleopatra VII, the last Hellenistic monarch of Egypt.

Structured chronologically, the book introduces readers to some of the textual and archaeological evidence utilized by historians to reconstruct the historical events that occurred during Greece's Bronze, Archaic, Classical, and Hellenistic periods. For example, the political and social structure of the Greek world in the late Mycenaean period is revealed through analyses of the Linear B tablets, the oldest surviving records in Greek. The book also explores various fragmentary papyri, inscriptions, coins, and other literary sources in reconstructing historical events. It provides a richly textured, but concise political narrative of events after the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC., including the destruction of Corinth by the Romans in 146 BC., up until the end of the Hellenistic Period in 30 BC. Balancing scholarly precision with a reader-friendly approach, A History of Greece offers an accessible introduction to the political history of one of most remarkable ancient civilizations and sophisticated periods of world history.