Cambridge Companion To Archaic Greece, The

Description:
The Cambridge Companion to Archaic Greece provides a wide-ranging synthesis of history, society, and culture during the formative period of Ancient Greece, from the Age of Homer in the late eighth century to the Persian Wars of 490-480 BC. In ten clearly written and succinct chapters, leading scholars from around the English-speaking world treat all aspects of the civilization of Archaic Greece, from social, political, and military history to early achievements in poetry, philosophy, and the visual arts. Archaic Greece was an age of experimentation and intellectual ferment that laid the foundations for much of Western thought and culture. Individual Greek city-states rose to great power and wealth, and after a long period of isolation, many cities sent out colonies that spread Hellenism to all corners of the Mediterranean world. This Companion offers a vivid and fully documented account of this critical stage in the history of the West.

Review:
'With all the questions and debates that this volume presents, it certainly encourages the reader to explore the subjects more deeply.' --BMCR

Table of Contents:
Part I. History of Archaic Greece: 1. Tyrants and lawgivers Victor Parker; 2. Polis, community and ethnic identity Jonathan M. Hall; 3. Warfare and hoplites Peter Krentz; 4. The life cycle in archaic Greece Deborah Kamen; Part II. Literature and Philosophy: 5. Homer, Hesiod, and the epic tradition Jonathan Ready; 6. Lyric poetry Leslie V. Kurke; 7. The philosophers in archaic Greek culture Andrea Nightingale; Part III. History and Material Culture: 8. Colonization: Greece on the move, 900-480 Carla M. Antanccio; 9. Delphi, Olympia, and the art of politics Richard Neer; 10. The human figure in early Greek sculpture and vase-painting Jeffrey M. Hurwit.

Author Biography:
H. A. Shapiro is the W. H. Collins Vickers Professor of Archaeology and Professor of Classics at Johns Hopkins University. A Fellow of the Guggenheim Foundation, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, and the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, he is the author of Art and Cult under the Tyrants in Athens, Personifications in Greek Art, Myth into Art: Poet and Painter in Classical Greece, and co-author of Women in the Classical World. He has been a Visiting Professor at Munich University, Princeton University, and the University of Cape Town.