top of page


GG Grace
There are many wonderful sources listed below for becoming acquainted with ancient Hellas. The titles are not exhaustive. Many more fine scholarly works are out there. As a writer, I must say that I owe each and every scholar, translator, archeologist, and illustrator a debt of gratitude. Each tiny sliver of information they dig up, ponder, write about, and illustrate opens the door of ancient Hellas just a bit wider.
General:
Democracy Beyond Athens by Eric W. Robinson
Herodotus. The Histories. Penguin Classics. (Trans. Aubre De Selincourt)
Thucydides. The Peloponnesian War. Penguin Classics. (Trans. Rex Warner)
Ancient Greece: From Prehistoric to Hellenistic Times by Thomas R. Martin
Ancient Greece: Everyday Life in the Birthplace of Western Civilization. by Robert Garland
Pilgrims and Pilgrimage in Ancient Greece by Matthew Dillon
Hellas: A Short History of Ancient Greece by C.E. Robinson
The Ancient Greeks by M.I. Finley
The Landmark Xenophon's Hellenika by Robert B. Strassler
The School of History: Athens in the Age of Socrates by Mark Munn
Travel in the Ancient World by Lionel Casson
City of Sokrates: an introduction to Classical Athens by J.W. Roberts
Law:
The World of Prometheus: The Politics of Punishing in Democratic Athens by Danielle S. Allen
Law, Violence and Community in Classical Athens by David Cohen
Trials from Classical Athens by Christopher Carey
The Law of Athens Volume 1 (The Family and Property) by A.R.W. Harrison
The Law in Classical Athens by Douglas M. MacDowell
Lawyers and Litigants in Ancient Athens by Robert J. Bonner
Religion:
Ancient Greek Religion by Jon D. Mikalson
The Greek Way of Death by Robert Garland
Greek Religion by Walter Burkert
Miasma: Pollution and Purification in Early Greek Religion by Robert Parker
Restless Dead: Encounters between the Living and the Dead in Ancient Greece by Sarah Iles Johnston
The Seer in Ancient Greece by Michael Attyah Flower
Curse Tablets and Binding Spells from the Ancient World by John G. Gager
Women:
Women, Crime, and Punishment in Ancient Law and Society (Volume 2) by Elizabeth Meier Tetlow
Children and Childhood in Classical Athens by Mark Golden
Goddesses, Whores, Wives, and Slaves: Women in Classical Antiquity by Sarah B. Pomeroy
Women's Dress in the Ancient Greek World (ed. Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones)
Aphrodite's Tortoise: The Veiled Woman in Ancient Greece by Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones
Spartan Women by Sarah B. Pomeroy
Women in Classical Athens by Sue Blundell
Women's Life in Greece and Rome by Mary R. Lefkowitz and Maureen B. Fant
Family
The Family in Classical Greece by W.K. Lacey
Athletics:
The Ancient Olympics by Nigel Spivey
The Naked Olympics by Tony Perrottet
Ancient Greek Athletics by Stephen G. Miller
A Visitor's Guide to the Ancient Olympics by Neil Faulkner
Sparta:
Sparta and Lakonia: A Regional History 1300 to 362 BC by Paul Cartledge
The Spartans: The World of the Warrior-Heroes of Ancient Greece by Paul Cartledge
War:
The Western Way of War: Infantry Battle in Classical Greece by Victor Davis Hanson
Spartan Warrior 735-331 BC by Duncan B. Campbell & illustrated by Steve Noon
Hoplites: The Classical Greek Battle Experience. (ed. Victor Davis Hanson)
The Spartan Army by J.F. Lazenby
A Storm of Spears by Christopher Matthew
Cavalry:
The Cavalry of Classical Greece by I.G. Spence
Hippeis: The Cavalry of Ancient Greece by Leslie J. Worley
Some personal favorites:
The People of Plato: A Prosopography of Plato and Other Socratics by Debra Nails
Greece in Spectacular cross-section by Stephen Biesty.
The Ancient City: Life in Classical Athens and Rome by Peter Connolly and Hazel Dodge
Ancient Greek Religion by Jon D. Mikalson
A Visitor's Guide to the Ancient Olympics by Neil Faulkner
A Storm of Spears by Christopher Matthew
Recommended suggestions from Dr. Helena Schrader:
Das Andere Sparta by Conrad Stibbe (German only)
Sparta and Lakonia: A Regional History 1300 to 362 BC by Dr. Paul Cartledge
* * *


Sources for
Ancient Hellas
bottom of page