Not too much to say here: no doubt this is slightly out of date, but Finley is so cautious--he's perfectly willing to say that we don't know this or that, rather than make uneducated guesses--that I doubt he steers us wrong too much. Otherwise, this is an ideal book on ancient Greece for me personally, since I can't handle the self-congratulatory liberal cheer-leading that goes on every time anyone talks about classical Greece. This book ends before classical Greece. Q.E.D. ( )

938 FIN

A good overview of Early Greece from the Bronze Age through to the Archaic eras based on academic and archaeological understanding at the time (i.e. early 1970's). Many of the authors interpretations still stand however findings in the intervening years have shed a different light on this early period of history e.g. dark age Crete post the palace complex phase. The final chapters dedicated to Sparta, Athens and Archaic Culture in Greece are a little underwhelming and fail to give the reader a good understanding on the actual society and reflected archaeological record, becoming little more than an opinion piece of the key political figures of the period. ( )

A readable summary of knowledge as it stood at the time of publication of this work. It ranges from the stone ages to Archaic Greece, i.e. before the Classical Period in the 5th century B.C. It touches on most aspects of early Greece - the civilization of Crete, the Cyclades, Cyprus, Mycenae, the rise of Athens and Sparta are included. Archaeology is used to help broaden out knowledge of these early periods, as well as Greek texts for the later periods. A bibliography is provided which gives an indication of the state of scholarship at the time.