Daily Life of the Ancient Greeks - (Greenwood Press Daily Life Through History) 2nd Edition by Robert Garland (Hardcover)

About the Book

Ancient Greece comes alive in this exploration of the daily lives of ordinary people-men and women, children and the elderly, slaves and foreigners, rich and poor. With new information drawn from the most current research, this volume presents a wealth of information on every aspect of ancient Greek life. Discover why it was more desirable to be a slave than a day laborer. Examine cooking methods and rules of ancient warfare. Uncover Greek mythology. Learn how Greeks foretold the future. Understand what life was like for women, and what prevailing attitudes were toward sexuality, marriage, and divorce. This volume brings ancient Greek life home to readers through a variety of anecdotes and primary source passages from contemporary authors, allowing comparison between the ancient world and modern life.

A multitude of resources will engage students and interested readers, including a Making Connections feature which offers interactive and fun ideas for research assignments. The concluding chapter places the ancient world in the present, covering new interpretations like the movie 300, the founding of modern Greece, and the ways in which classical culture still affects our own. With over 60 illustrations, a timeline of events, a glossary of terms, and an extensive print and nonprint bibliography, this volume offers a unique and descriptive look at one of the most influential eras in human history.

Book Synopsis

Ancient Greece comes alive in this exploration of the daily lives of ordinary people-men and women, children and the elderly, slaves and foreigners, rich and poor. With new information drawn from the most current research, this volume presents a wealth of information on every aspect of ancient Greek life. Discover why it was more desirable to be a slave than a day laborer. Examine cooking methods and rules of ancient warfare. Uncover Greek mythology. Learn how Greeks foretold the future. Understand what life was like for women, and what prevailing attitudes were toward sexuality, marriage, and divorce. This volume brings ancient Greek life home to readers through a variety of anecdotes and primary source passages from contemporary authors, allowing comparison between the ancient world and modern life.

A multitude of resources will engage students and interested readers, including a Making Connections feature which offers interactive and fun ideas for research assignments. The concluding chapter places the ancient world in the present, covering new interpretations like the movie 300, the founding of modern Greece, and the ways in which classical culture still affects our own. With over 60 illustrations, a timeline of events, a glossary of terms, and an extensive print and nonprint bibliography, this volume offers a unique and descriptive look at one of the most influential eras in human history.

About the Author

ROBERT GARLAND is Roy D. and Margaret B. Wooster Professor of the Classics at Colgate University. His research focuses on the social, religious, political, and cultural history of both Greece and Rome. He has written ten books and many articles in both academic and popular journals. His books include Introducing New Gods (2nd ed. 2008), Celebrity in the Ancient World (2006), Surviving Greek Tragedy (2004), Julius Caesar (2004), The Greek Way of Death (2nd ed. 2001), The Piraeus (2nd ed. 2001), The Greek Way of Life (1990), Religion and the Greeks (1994), and The Eye of the Beholder: Deformity and Disability in the Graeco-Roman World (1995). He has produced Greece and Rome: An Integrated History of the Ancient Mediterranean for The Teaching Company (2008), and has been a consultant and discussant for several television productions on the ancient world.