The Economic and Social Growth of Early Greece 800-500 B. C.

Literature & Fiction

Chester G. Starr

Genre Fiction

Oxford University Press

In a long and distinguished career, Chester Starr has written on topics ranging from early man, to the early Athenian democracy, to the role of sea power in the classical world. And one of his finest works - the product of his broad interests and expertise - has been A History of the Ancient World, long a standard work on the distant past. Now this landmark book is available in a new edition, offering an informative account of early history from the rise of the first cities to the fall of the Roman Empire.This richly illustrated new edition deftly explores the broad expanse of early human history. Though Greece and Rome occupy center stage, Star also surveys the cities and empires of Mesopotania, India from the early Indus civilization to the Gupta state, and China from the Hsia dynasty to the Han empire. In this new edition, he has incorporated the latest research into his lucid and informative narrative, reworking virtually every chapter to bring the work completely up-to-date. He has revised his discussions of early humankind to account for the most recent findings; he presents a new view of the Jewish revolt against Rome led by Bar Kockba; and he has thoroughly updated the bibliographies. In addition, his account of the end of the Roman Empire has been rewritten in light of the most recent rethinking by classical historians.

A history of the ancient world

History

Ancient Civilizations

In scope, accuracy and soundness of judgement, this is one of the best general ancient histories in print. The best single thing about the book is the breadth of coverage. Now for the first time, the student of non-Western history is presented with some account of the ancient history of India and China in context with the ancient Near Eastern and classical cultures. The critical bibliographies are another praiseworthy feature. The best sections cover a wide range, illustrating the breadth of the author's competence. General excellence like this cannot be achieved without mastery of detail. This is an excellent book.

History of the Ancient World 2/E **College Ed 04

The end of the Roman republic -- The unfolding absolutism -- The intellectual decline of the early empire -- Sterility and fertility

Civilization and the Caesars: The Intellectual Revolution in the Roman Empire

Norton & Company

Dust jacket notes: "The idea of explaining man's present condition by a disciplined, factual description of his past is one of the great achievements we owe to Hellenic creativeness; but the historical approach was not easily reached, for history is a sophisticated means by which man accounts to himself for his nature. Only the Chinese, the Hebrews, and the Greeks independently invented the idea of history. In this illuminating book Chester Starr traces the Greeks' slowly gathering awareness of the past as a continuous series of real events different from the present, yet leading up to it. He begins with the Iliad and the Odyssey, which are not yet history, but storehouses of folk memories. Against the background of early Greek philosophy, art, and literature he discusses the development of conscious ideas of space, time, human causation, and political evolution - none present in Homer. Many of these factors have not previously been considered in historiography. Expansive colonization in the seventh century B.C. accelerated social and economic changes in Greece itself. The city-states were forced to endure real political history, both to internal cleavages an din external clashes. The new political tensions produced an audience without which Herodotus would not have written. Mr. Starr shows how the sixth century brought to Greece qualities necessary to the historical attitude: freedom of investigation untrammeled by politics or religion; the understanding of causation in human terms; the rise of objectivity and impersonality, exhibited in satire and elsewhere; and finally the appearance of written prose as a vehicle. When Herodotus begins to write, Mr. Starr's absorbing tale is done; as he himself remarks, there is no need to comment once again in detail on the amazing genius of the first historian. This book is a major contribution to historiography."

The Awakening of the Greek Historical Spirit

KNOPF

In the 19th-century classic, The Influence of Sea Power Upon History, Alfred Thayer Mahan argued the paramount importance of naval superiority in peace and war. This work is still considered definitive today, but as Chester Starr, eminent historian of antiquity, points out in this thought-provoking volume, Mahan's theories have led to serious distortions in the way historians interpret the role of naval power in antiquity. Trade by sea was always important in providing raw materials as well as luxuries, but only rarely was it protected by an established navy. As Starr reveals, two nations that did protect their trade routes--Athens and Carthage--both fell after long duels with land-based forces, Sparta and Rome. And though Rome went on to create the most perfected and widely based naval structure in antiquity, when Rome fell it was due to invasions by land, not by sea. Starr describes major naval battles in fascinating detail, and he examines technological developments as they help to illuminate the limitations of galleys in warfare. Ranging from the Bronze Age to the fall of the Roman Empire, this innovative study provides an important corrective to Mahan's thesis, both as applied to ancient history and to modern strategic thinking.

The Influence of Sea Power of Ancient History

Barnes&Noble, Inc.

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