Not long ago, most scholars traced Greek history back to 776 B.C.E.* That was the year of the Greeks' first dated record, a list of the winners at the Olympic Games. Greek poets had written of earlier centuries, of glorious battles and ancient kingdoms rich in gold. But to historians, these were just fairy tales. Then a startling discovery knocked the experts on their ears.

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History

Chapter One DAYS OF DARKNESS, DAYS OF DAWN

Birth of the Greeks

The Dark Age

Rise of the City-States

The Golden Age

The Greco-Persian Wars

Greek Against Greek

Macedonian Conquest

Alexander and the Hellenistic Age

Roman Rule

Map: Greece in the Golden Age

Cultural History

Chapter Two CULTURAL TRIUMPHS

Literature: The Ageless Song

Art and Architecture: The Dream of Beauty

Philosophy: The Search for Meaning

Science and Mathematics: The Keys to Mystery

Government and Society: The Experiment in Democracy

Belief System

Chapter Three THE GLORIOUS GODS

The Twelve Olympians

The Lesser Gods

Myths and Mysteries

The Ways of Worship

Death of the Immortals

Beliefs and Society

Chapter Four THE MYTHS WORK THEIR MAGIC

Mythology's Many Uses

Mythology in the Arts

Mythology in Everyday Life

The Legacy of the Greeks

Chapter Five THE LASTING LIGHT

The Torch Passes

The Living Greeks

THE ANCIENT GREEKS: A TIME LINE

GLOSSARY

FOR FURTHER READING

BIBLIOGRAPHY

INDEX