Ancient Greece remains one of the world?s most fascinating and important civilizations. Its impact on modern Western society is fundamental. Greek statesmen and warriors thought, debated and fought their way to the peaks of power, experimenting with a vast range of governing systems, from democracy and tyranny to aristocracy and monarchy. Opening in the Minoan and Mycenaean Bronze Age, this encyclopaedic military and political history looks at the democratic revolution in Athens and its clash with the Persian empire. Covering the Persian and Peloponnesian Wars, the great battles of Marathon, Salamis and Plataea, the Syracusan expedition and the rise and downfall of Sparta, the book evokes the excitement and danger of ancient warfare. Discover more about the men and women who helped to build and destroy city-states and armies: Solon the Great Reformer, Miltiades, the victor at Marathon, Aristides the Just and Pericles of Athens. The dynamic interaction of politics, philosophy, history, love and war in ancient Greece resulted in a uniquely captivating story of battles, tyrants, soldiers and slaves. Through over 200 vivid photographs, artworks, maps and plans, the military and political history of classical Greece is brought to life. There is detailed information on weapons, fleets, tactics and armies, from the extraordinary power of the hoplites to the unprecedented dominance of Athens? trireme galleys. This is an essential account of the people, places and events that shaped and transformed ancient Greece, leaving a legacy that underlies much of the modern world.