Greece, with all its temples, cities, and sanctuaries created by Europe's most formative ancient civilization, is a must-see for the archaeological traveler. This valuable new addition to the acclaimed Oxford Archaeological Guides series provides coverage of all the main archaeological sites in Greece, ranging from prehistory to the sixth century AD. The individual sites are arranged by region, and include Philip's Tomb at Vergina, the Palace complex at Mycenae, the Temples of the Acropolis, the Hellenistic city of the Messene, and the Roman colony of Corinth. Also included in the book are 'partner factor' ratings that rank the most worthwhile sites for travelers to visit during their stay. An up-to-date introduction surveys Greece's landscape, history, and archaeology from the Neolithic period to the end of antiquity, and places the sites in their cultural context. Finally, there is a chronology for reference and a glossary of essential terms.
Book Description
Frequently Bought Together
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
In the mid-second century A.D., a widely traveled geographer named Pausanias made an exhaustive survey of the major cities, temples, and byways of Greece, writing one of the world's first travel books in the bargain. Two millennia later, British archaeologists Mee and Spawforth follow in Pausanias's footsteps, correcting and updating his observations and providing clear directions on how to reach such fabled places as Orchomenos, Thermopylae, and Eleusis.
Mee and Spawforth write from an on-the-ground point of view, orienting readers toward significant ruins and points of interest at more than a hundred sites. Some of them, such as the Acropolis of Athens, Sparta, and Pylos, are well known to archaeologically inclined travelers; only the most seasoned of them, however, will have attained the authors' knowledge, helpfully shared, of how to gain the best view of Mount Olympos or the Temple of Athena Nike or how to find the Sacred Spring at Corinth. Other sites, such as the Middle Helladic ruins of Tiryns and the Temple of Apollo at Bassai, are somewhat more obscure, but, in the authors' estimation, well worth a visit for their historical and scenic value alike. The book is well illustrated with maps, architectural plans, drawings, and photographs, and includes abundant sidebars that expand on historical and cultural points in the text.
Mee and Spawforth's book makes a first-rate companion for travelers to Greece, and a useful reference for the home library as well. --Gregory McNamee
About the Author
Tony Spawforth is Professor of Ancient History and Greek Archaeology at Newcastle University and Curator of the Shefton Museum of Greek Art there. He was co-editor of the Oxford Classical Dictionary and the Oxford Companion to Classical Civilization. Christopher Mee is Professor of Classical Archaeology at the University of Liverpool.
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Authors
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good maps, great details, even some picnic spots included,
By A Customer
This review is from: Greece: An Oxford Archaeological Guide (Oxford Archaeological Guides) (Paperback)
The new edition of the Oxford Archeological Guide to Greece (part of a excellent series on various parts of the ancient world)will be useful to any interested visitor to over 100 sites of mainland Greece and to Evia, Aegina and Thassos. The guide includes clear maps and a solid introduction to the history and geography of Greece and offers a clear glossary of deities and important figures. It also contains famous quotes and their explanations to add dimension to sites which have been mentioned by classical authors.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great guidebook,
By
This review is from: Greece: An Oxford Archaeological Guide (Oxford Archaeological Guides) (Paperback)
This guide doesn't cover as much territory as the "Blue Guide Greece", but it generally offers more detailed info on the places it does cover, and you can never have enough info on places to visit when you're touring around a foreign country, so such in-depth coverage of sites is very welcome. This book also includes interesting info on even some well known sites that I've never seen in any other book (and I've read a lot). If you're interested in archaeology you shouldn't visit Greece without this guide; I only wish I'd had it with me the last time I was there.
3.0 out of 5 stars
Oops. Where are the Islands, Magna Graecia, and Ionia?,
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Greece: An Oxford Archaeological Guide (Oxford Archaeological Guides) (Paperback)
The main reason this book gets only three stars is because it is mistitled. The book itself is otherwise quite thorough in its coverage. It is packed with line drawings, monochrome photographic halftone images, maps, and siteplans. Oddly enough for a book that only covers part of Greece, it covers northern Greece including Thessaly and Macedonia.I am quite pleased I bought this book. I think it would make an excellent companion on an ancient-historical and archeological tour of mainland (modern) Greece, and even includes attractions for the bored partner of the academic tourist. However, I am extremely frustrated, since I wanted to find out more about the sites of ancient Ionia and Magna Graecia which lie in the modern countries of Turkey and Italy respectively (I have a particular interest in the site of the sanctuary of Hera near Samos town on the island of Samos). In this hurried time when books are bought partly on the strength of their titles, it's really asinine that the title should be so inaccurate.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
