The legacy of ancient Greece flourishes to the present day: Athens was the first city to develop democracy, and Greek philosophy, art, poetry, and architecture still exercise a profound influence on the way we think and act today. The Pocket Timeline of Ancient Greece is a beautifully illustrated guide to this civilization's rich and fascinating history, from the region's first settlers to the beginning of the Roman empire.
The lively and engaging 32-page book is divided into five sections, each considering a different period of ancient Greek history, and containing short but satisfying chapters on such diverse topics as religion, the Olympic Games, poetry, theater, and warfare. Readers learn about the early civilizations and their collapse into a Dark Age, during which writing was forgotten. Gradually cities such as Athens, Corinth, and Sparta began to grow rich and powerful. Sparta developed into a military society, in which all men were full-time soldiers, forbidden to have any other trade or job.
The book describes the lives of families in the home and of the Gods on Mount Olympus, and is beautifully illustrated with dozens of color photos of ancient monuments and artifacts, from a vase portraying Olympic athletes fighting in the event known as the pankration, to a doll that was owned by a young Greek girl, to a Greek warrior's bronze helmet and leg armor. The book closes with an account of Alexander the Great, a military leader so powerful that some believed him to be the son of Zeus, who created an empire that stretched from Greece to India.
Did you find this review helpful?