10 Great Books about Ancient Greece for You Now
Book ListsThe most important ancient civilization? The foundation of the modern world? Check out our curation of 10 of the best books on ancient Greece.
Links to purchase or find a copy in your library are available for each book listing. (Note: books are listed in reverse-chronological order).
For more Greek book lists, check out our book lists on Cleopatra and Alexander the Great or our other book lists, including another ancient civilization, Rome.
1. Small, David B. Ancient Greece: Social Structure and Evolution. Cambridge University Press, 2019.
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This book examines the development of ancient Greek civilization through a path-breaking application of social scientific theories. David B. Small charts the rise of the Minoan and Mycenaean civilizations and the unique characteristics of the later classical Greeks through the lens of ancient social structure and complexity theory, opening up new ideas and perspectives on these societies. He argues that Minoan and Mycenaean institutions evolved from elaborate feasting, and that the genesis of Greek colonization was born from structural chaos in the eighth century. Small isolates distinctions between Iron Age Crete and the rest of the Greek world, focusing on important differences in social structure. His book differs from others on Ancient Greece, highlighting the perpetuation of classical Greek social structure into the middle years of the Roman Empire, and concluding with a comparison of the social structure of classical Greece to that of the classical Maya civilization.
This book applies anthropological concepts of social structure and evolutionary theory to Ancient Greece.
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David B. Small is Professor of Archaeology at Lehigh University, Pennsylvania. A Fulbright fellow, he has conducted research in Greece, Italy, Israel, Honduras, and the United States
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2. Pomeroy, Sarah B., Stanley M. Burstein, Walter Donlan, Jennifer Tolbert Roberts, David W. Tandy, and Georgia Tsouvala. A Brief History of Ancient Greece: Politics, Society, and Culture. 4th edition. Oxford University Press, 2019.
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Revised and updated throughout, the fourth edition of A Brief History of Ancient Greece presents the political, social, cultural, and economic history and civilization of ancient Greece in all its complexity and variety. Written by six leading ancient Greek historians, this captivating study covers Greek history from the Bronze Age into the Roman period.
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Sarah B. Pomeroy is Distinguished Professor of Classics and History Emerita at Hunter College and The City University of New York Graduate Center.
Stanley M. Burstein is Professor of History Emeritus at California State University, Los Angeles.
The late Walter Donlan was Professor of Classics Emeritus at the University of California, Irvine.
Jennifer Tolbert Roberts is Professor of Classics and History at City College and The City University of New York Graduate Center.
David W. Tandy is Research Fellow in Classics at the University of Leeds, UK.
Georgia Tsouvala is Professor of History at Illinois State University.
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3. Rhodes, P. J. A Short History of Ancient Greece. Bloomsbury Academic, 2019.
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Classical Greece and its legacy have long inspired a powerful and passionate fascination. The civilization that bequeathed to later ages drama and democracy, Homer and heroism, myth and Mycenae and the Delphic Oracle and the Olympic Games has, perhaps more than any other, helped shape the intellectual contours of the modern world. P J Rhodes is among the most distinguished historians of antiquity. In this elegant, zesty new survey he explores the archaic (8th – early 5th centuries BCE), classical (5th and 4th centuries BCE) and Hellenistic (late 4th – mid-2nd centuries BCE) periods up to the beginning of Roman hegemony. His scope is that of the people who originated on the Greek mainland and Aegean islands who later migrated to the shores of the Mediterranean and Black Seas, and then (following the conquests of Alexander) to the Near East and beyond. Exploring topics such as the epic struggle with Persia; the bitter rivalry of Athens and Sparta; slaves and ethnicity; religion and philosophy; and literature and the visual arts, this authoritative book will attract students and non-specialists in equal measure.
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P.J. Rhodes is Honorary Professor and Emeritus Professor at the University of Durham, UK. His many publications include Thucydides, Books II (1988), III (1994), and IV.1-V.24 (1998); Ancient Democracy and Modern Ideology (2003), A History of the Classical Greek World, 478-323 BC (2010) and Alcibiades (2011).
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4. McInerney, Jeremy. Ancient Greece: A New History. Thames & Hudson, 2018.
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An extensively illustrated introduction to ancient Greek history
Ancient Greece: A New History is a new, single-authored survey of the ancient Greek world that brings the past to life with a fresh narrative and vivid images. Drawing on the latest archaeological research and textual evidence, award-winning teacher and scholar Jeremy McInerney shows that many of the issues that concerned the ancient Greeks―justice and inequality, nationalism and xenophobia, medicine and science―are relevant today.
Key features include more than 200 color images; chapter-opening timelines, detailed maps and plans; chapter-ending illustrated “Spotlight” features; and instructor and student resources.
225 color, plus 47 line drawings
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Jeremy McInerney is Davidson Kennedy Professor of Classical Studies at the University of Pennsylvania and chair of the Graduate Group in Ancient History. He is the author of many books, editor of Blackwell’s Companion to Ethnicity in the Ancient Mediterranean, and coeditor of Landscapes of Value: Natural Environment and Cultural Imagination in Classical Antiquity.
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5. Sowerby, Robin. The Greeks: An Introduction to Their Culture. 3rd edition. Routledge, 2014. (note: 4th edition to be released in Fall 2024)
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The Greeks has provided a concise yet wide-ranging introduction to the culture of ancient Greece. In this new and expanded third edition the best-selling volume offers a lucid survey that covers all the key elements of ancient Greek civilization from the age of Homer to the Hellenistic period. It provides detailed discussions of the main trends in literature and drama, philosophy, art and architecture, with generous reference to original sources, and places ancient Greek culture firmly in its political, social and historical context.
The new edition has expanded coverage of the post-Classical period with major expansions in the areas of Hellenistic history, literature and philosophy. More emphasis is placed on the Greek world as a whole, especially on Sparta, and the focus on social history has been increased. The Greeks is an indispensable introduction for all students of Classics, and an invaluable guide for students of other disciplines who require grounding in Greek civilization.
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Robin Sowerby was Senior Lecturer in English Studies at the University of Stirling, Scotland. Trained as a classicist, his research interests centre upon the Classical tradition. He has written introductory studies of the major Classical epics and is author of Early Augustan Virgil (2010), The Augustan Art of Poetry (2006) and The Classical Legacy in Renaissance Poetry (1994).
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6. Martin, Thomas R. Ancient Greece: From Prehistoric to Hellenistic Times. Second edition. Yale University Press, 2013.
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This compact yet comprehensive history brings ancient Greek civilization alive, from its Stone Age roots to the fourth century B.C.
“A highly readable account of ancient Greece.”—Kirkus Reviews
Focusing on the development of the Greek city-state and the society, culture, and architecture of Athens in its Golden Age, Thomas R. Martin integrates political, military, social, and cultural history in a book that will appeal to students and general readers alike. Now in its second edition, this classic work now features new maps and illustrations, a new introduction, and updates throughout. “A limpidly written, highly accessible, and comprehensive history of Greece and its civilizations from prehistory through the collapse of Alexander the Great’s empire. . . . A highly readable account of ancient Greece, particularly useful as an introductory or review text for the student or the general reader.”—Kirkus Reviews “A polished and informative work that will be useful for general readers and students.”—Daniel Tompkins, Temple University
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Thomas R. Martin is professor of Classics at the College of the Holy Cross. His publications include Herodotus and Sima Qian: The First Great Historians of Greece and China, Ancient Rome, and, as co-author, The Making of the West: Peoples and Cultures.
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7. Cartledge, Paul. Ancient Greece: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press, 2011.
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This highly original introduction to ancient Greece uses the history of eleven major Greek cities to illuminate the most important and informative aspects of Greek culture. Cartledge highlights the role of such renowned cities as Athens (birthplace of democracy) and Sparta, but he also examines Argos, Thebes, Syracuse in Sicily, and Alexandria in Egypt, as well as lesser known locales such as Miletus (home of the West’s first intellectual, Thales) and Massalia (Marseilles today), where the Greeks introduced the wine grape to the French. The author uses these cities to illuminate major themes, from economics, religion, and social relations, to gender and sexuality, slavery and freedom, and politics.
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Paul Cartledge is the inaugural A.G. Leventis Professor of Greek Culture at the University of Cambridge.
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8. Roisman, Joseph. Ancient Greece from Homer to Alexander: The Evidence. Wiley-Blackwell, 2011. (note: sourcebook)
publisher description
With fresh, new translations and extensive introductions and annotations, this sourcebook provides an inclusive and integrated view of Greek history, from Homer to Alexander the Great.
- New translations of original sources are contextualized by insightful introductions and annotations
- Includes a range of literary, artistic and material evidence from the Homeric, Archaic and Classical Ages
- Focuses on important developments as well as specific themes to create an integrated perspective on the period
- Links the political and social history of the Greeks to their intellectual accomplishments
- Includes an up-to-date bibliography of seminal scholarship
- An accompanying website offers additional evidence and explanations, as well as links to useful online resources
authors
Joseph Roisman is Professor of Classics at Colby College. He has authored and edited several books, among them Brill’s Companion to Alexander the Great (2003) and The Rhetoric of Manhood: Masculinity in the Attic Orators (2005).
J.C. Yardley is Emeritus Professor of Classics at the University of Ottawa. He has published extensively on Greek and Roman history and sources. His books include Alexander the Great: Historical Sources in Translation (ed. with Waldemar Heckel, Blackwell, 2004) and many translations of key texts, from Tacitus and Justin to Livy and Quintus Curtius Rufus.
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9. Dillon, Matthew, and Lynda Garland. Ancient Greece: Social and Historical Documents from Archaic Times to the Death of Alexander the Great. 3rd ed. Routledge, 2010. (note: sourcebook)
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In this revised edition, Matthew Dillon and Lynda Garland have expanded the chronological range of Ancient Greece to include the Greek world of the fourth century. The sourcebook now ranges from the first lines of Greek literature to the death of Alexander the Great, covering all of the main historical periods and social phenomena of ancient Greece. The material is taken from a variety of sources: historians, inscriptions, graffiti, law codes, epitaphs, decrees, drama and poetry. It includes the major literary authors, but also covers a wide selection of writers, including many non-Athenian authors. Whilst focusing on the main cities of ancient Greece – Athens and Sparta- the sourcebook also draws on a wide range of material concerning the Greeks in Egypt, Italy, Sicily, Asia Minor and the Black Sea.
Ancient Greece covers not only the chronological, political history of ancient Greece, but also explores the full spectrum of Greek life through topics such as gender, social class, race and labour. This revised edition includes:
- Two completely new chapters – “The Rise of Macedon” and “Alexander ′the Great′, 336-323” BC
- New material in the chapters on The City-State, Religion in the Greek World, Tyrants and Tyranny, The Peloponnesian War and its Aftermath, Labour: Slaves, Serfs and Citizens, and Women, Sexuality and the Family
It is structured so that:
- Thematically arranged chapters arranged allow students to build up gradually knowledge of the ancient Greek world
- Introductory essays to each chapter give necessary background to understand topic areas
- Linking commentaries help students understand the source extracts and what they reveal about the ancient Greeks
Ancient Greece: Social and Historical Documents from Archaic Times to the Death of Alexander the Great. Third Edition, will continue to be a definitive collection of source material on the society and culture of the Greeks.
author
Matthew Dillon is an Associate Professor in Ancient History in the School of Humanities, University of New England, Australia. His main research interests are Ancient Greek History, and Religion.
Lynda Garland is Professor and Head of the School of Humanities, University of New England, Australia. Her main research interests are in the areas of Ancient History and Byzantine Studies.
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10. Boardman, John, Jasper Griffin, and Oswyn Murray, eds. The Oxford History of Greece & the Hellenistic World. 2nd edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002.
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From the epic poems of Homer to the glittering art and architecture of Greece’s Golden Age, to the influential Roman systems of law and leadership, the classical Greek world established the foundations of our culture as well as many of its most enduring achievements.
Now, in this vivid volume, readers can embrace the spirit of the classical world, from the eighth to the first centuries B.C., a period unparalleled in history for its brilliance in literature, philosophy, and the visual arts. This work also treats the Hellenization of the Middle East by the monarchies established in the area conquered by Alexander the Great. The editors, all celebrated classicists, intersperse chapters on political and social history with sections on literature, philosophy, and the arts, and reinforce the historical framework with maps and historical charts. Moreover, the contributors–thirty of the world’s leading scholars–present the latest in modern scholarship through masterpieces of wit, brevity, and style. Together with hundreds of excellent illustrations, these entries provide both a provocative and entertaining window into our classical heritage.
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John Boardman is Professor Emeritus of Classical Archaeology and Art, Lincoln College, Oxford.
Dr Oswyn Murray is Fellow and Tutor in Ancient History at Baliol College, Oxford.
Dr Jasper Griffin is Tutor in Ancient History at Baliol College, Oxford.
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