The Archaeology of Ancient Greece

by James Whitley

The Archaeology of Ancient Greece provides an up-to-date synthesis of current research on the material culture of Greece in the Archaic and Classical periods. Its rich and diverse material has always provoked admiration and even wonder, but it is seldom analyzed as a key to our understanding of Greek civilization. Dr. Whitley shows how the material evidence can be used to address central historical questions for which literary evidence is often insufficient, and he also situates Greek art within the broader field of Greek material culture.

Genres: History, Archaeology, Nonfiction, Classics

484 pages, Paperback

First published October 4, 2001

Reviews

[Jeremy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't feel particularly qualified to review the correctness of the scholarship. The survey of material was useful. There seemed to be a good balance of broad overviews of a particular time period and fairly specific details about particular locations, with good drawings and maps. The book starts with a historical introduction to "classical archaeology" that I found surprisingly interesting. It helps to fit together historical concerns like art history (scuplture, Greek vases, etc.), classics and literature, and early archaeology. The ideologies that motivated these fields seem dated at best, but I can still see their effects in my own interests in the area.