Greek Archaeology: A Thematic Approach

Sifting through the remains of the ancient landscapes of Greece has revealed –– and continues to uncover –– a wealth of archaeological treasures. Greek Archaeology: A Thematic Approach presents an up–to–date synthesis of the material culture of the Greek world from its earliest Neolithic roots in 7000 B.C. to the rise of Roman influence that marked the close of the Hellenistic period in 146 B.C. To provide a long term perspective on the processes of continuity and change throughout the Greek world, chapters are arranged thematically, while focusing on various aspects of Greek culture in a chronological manner. Themes covered include settlement, monumental architecture, houses, agriculture, technology, trade, warfare, burial and religion. Chapters are supplemented with an extensive selection of illustrations for accessibility and to enhance clarity. This rich and rewarding journey into the material culture of the past will help shape our understanding of one of the greatest civilizations the world has ever known.

List of Figures.

List of Maps.

List of Tables.

Acknowledgments.

List of Abbreviations.

1 Introduction.

Across the Great Divide.

Chronology.

2 Settlement and Settlements.

Introduction.

Neolithic Greece.

Early Bronze Age.

Palatial Crete.

The Cyclades.

Mycenaean Greece.

The Early Iron Age.

The Eighth Century.

The Archaic Period.

The Classical Period.

The Hellenistic Period.

Conclusions.

3 The Architecture of Power.

Introduction.

Neolithic Dimini.

Early Bronze Age Lerna.

Neopalatial Knossos.

Mycenaean Pylos.

Early Iron Age Lefkandi.

Classical Athens.

Hellenistic Macedonia.

Conclusions.

4 Residential Space.

Introduction.

The Neolithic Period.

The Early Bronze Age.

Middle Bronze Age Greece.

Neopalatial Crete.

The Cyclades.

Mycenaean Greece.

The Early Iron Age.

The Archaic and Classical Periods.

The Later Fourth Century and the Hellenistic Period.

Conclusions.

5 The Countryside.

Introduction.

The First Farmers.

The Secondary Products Revolution and Mediterranean Polyculture Revisited.

Royal Estates.

Early Iron Age Pastoralists?

Down on the Farm?

Works and Days.

Conclusions.

6 Technology and Production.

Pottery.

Neolithic pottery.

Early Bronze Age pottery.

Minoan and Mycenaean pottery.

Early Iron Age pottery.

Archaic, Classical, and Hellenistic pottery.

Pottery production at Athens and Corinth.

Metallurgy.

The Neolithic and Early Bronze Age.

Second–millennium metalwork.

The age of iron.

The silver mines at Lavrion.

Conclusions.

7 Trade and Colonization.

Introduction.

Neolithic.

Early Bronze Age.

The Thalassocracy of Minos.

Mycenaeans Overseas?

Into the Iron Age.

Magna Graecia.

France and Spain.

The Black Sea.

The Eastern Mediterranean and Egypt.

Ships and Cargoes.

Conclusions.

8 Warfare.

Introduction.

The Early Bronze Age Aegean.

Pax Minoica.

Well–greaved Achaeans.

Well–built Mycenae.

Warfare in Transition.

Hoplite Warfare.

Naval Warfare.

Fortifi cations.

The Rise of Macedon.

Conclusions.

9 Death and Burial.

Introduction.

Neolithic Greece.

Early Bronze Age Greece.

Middle Bronze Age Greece.

Mycenaean Greece.

Early Iron Age Greece.

The Archaic Period.

The Classical Period.

Conclusions.

10 Religion.

Introduction.

Neolithic and Early Bronze Age Figurines.

Cretan Rural Sanctuaries.

Religion in the Cretan Palaces and Towns.

Cretan Converts?

Mycenaean Religion.

Religion after the Palaces.

Early Iron Age.

The Eighth Century.

The Archaic Period .

The Fifth Century.

The Fourth Century and the Hellenistic Period.

Conclusions.

Timeline.

Glossary.

References.

Index.

Christopher Mee is Professor of Classical Archaeology at the University of Liverpool. Formerly Assistant Director of the British School at Athens, Mee specializes in the prehistory of Greece and has directed excavation and survey projects in Lakonia and on the Methana peninsula. He is the author of Rhodes in the Bronze Age: An Archaeological Survey (1982), and co–author of A Private Place: Death in Prehistoric Greece (with William Cavanagh, 1998) and Greece: An Oxford Archaeological Guide (with Antony Spawforth, 2001).

"Despite such conservatism, the book manages to keep an essential balance between the detail of the archaeological material and the grand picture of socio–historical phenomena. It shifts between different spatial and temporal scales smoothly and it is certainly recommendable to any student wishing to introduce her/himself to Greek archaeology." (Bryn Mawr Classical Review, 7 November 2011)

"Christopher Mee′s Greek Archaeology is a thoroughly contemporary and innovative overview, which I recommend warmly to students from the sixth form to their sixties (and later) as an excellent introduction to the subject . . . This is a book for all who want to start to understand the whole of the glory that was Greece from its material culture. It also has good illustrations." (The Anglo–Hellenic Review, 1 September 2011)