World Eras: Rise and Spread of Islam (622-1650)

What did a typical ancient Greek eat for breakfast? How would a Greek doctor set broken bones? How were taxes levied in the ancient world? How were Greek law-courts run? What was a Greek funeral like? What did Greek philosophers think about? Who were the major gods and goddesses of Greek religion and myth? The answers to these (and many other) questions can be found in this comprehensive cultural encyclopedia of the ancient Greek world. Special attention is given to the arts – verbal, visual and performing – that have made ancient Greece the wellspring of high culture for all subsequent western civilization.

This volume, which reflects the latest advances in classical scholarship, covers life in the Greek-speaking world from the time of Homer and Hesiod to the death of Alexander the Great. Each chapter includes an introductory essay giving an overview of the material, plus unusually accessible topical entries.

In addition to an introduction by the editor, a glossary of foreign and technical terms, and a bibliography of scholarship essential for further reading, the following chapters, contributed by an international team of scholars, are included:

Chronology of world events during this period

Geographical survey of the Greek-speaking world during this period
Literature and art
Communication, transportation and exploration
Social class system and the economy
Politics, law and the milit