A concise and accessible study of the foundations, development and enduring lega
cy of the cultures of Greece and Rome, centred on ten locations of seminal impor
tance in the development of Classical civilisation. Starting with Troy, where hi
story, myth and cosmology fuse to form the origins of Classical civilisation, Ni
gel Spivey explores the contrasting politics of Athens and Sparta, the diffusion
of classical ideals across the Mediterranean world, Classical science and philo
sophy, the eastward export of Greek culture with the conquests of Alexander the
Great, the power and spread of the Roman imperium, and the long Byzantine twilig
ht of Antiquity. A secure grasp of the nature of our Greek and Roman heritage is
absolutely fundamental to a true understanding of contemporary European society
and culture.
