Description
“A masterly summary.”―The Times Literary Supplement
The spread of Greek civilization through Europe and into Africa and the Near East started long before the classical period, long after Troy, Mycenae, and Knossos had fallen. This study gives an archaeologist’s view of one of the vital essential periods of European history, describing how, out of a time of reduced population and comparative penury, the Greeks set their sails north, south, east, and west to plant trading posts and colonies, to harvest no matter what harvest of materials and expertise the barbarian could offer, and to disseminate some great benefits of their very own abruptly developing and brilliant civilization.
The book vividly demonstrates the price of archaeology to the historical record and indicates how much the humanities and culture of classical Greece already owed to foreign influences. 332 black-and-white illustrations