P. J. Rhodes - A History of the Classical Greek World

Blackwell History of the Ancient World

This series provides a new narrative history of the ancient world, from the beginnings
of civilization in the ancient Near East and Egypt to the fall of Constantinople.
Written by experts in their fi elds, the books in the series offer authoritative accessible
surveys for students and general readers alike.

Published

A History of the Hellenistic World
R. Malcolm Errington

A History of the Ancient Near East, Second Edition
Marc Van De Mieroop

A History of the Archaic Greek World, ca. 1200479 BCE
Jonathan M. Hall

A History of the Classical Greek World, Second Edition
P. J. Rhodes

A History of the Later Roman Empire, AD 284 621
Stephen Mitchell

A History of Byzantium, Second Edition
Timothy E. Gregory

In Preparation

A History of Ancient Egypt
Marc Van De Mieroop

A History of the Persian Empire
Christopher Tuplin

A History of the Roman Republic
John Rich

A History of the Roman Empire
Michael Peachin

A History of Babylon, 2200 BC 75 AD
Paul - Alain Beaulieu

History of Greece, ca. 1300 to 30 BC
Victor Parker

This second edition first published 2010

2010 P. J. Rhodes

Edition history: Blackwell Publishing Ltd (1e, 2006)

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Rhodes, P. J. (Peter John)

A history of the classical Greek world, 478323 BC / P.J. Rhodes. 2nd ed.
p. cm. (Blackwell history of the ancient world)

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 9781-4051-9286-6 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Greece-History-To 146 B.C.

I. Title.

DF214.R49 2010

938 dc22
2009032179

Contents

19 Spartas Imperialism and Collapse
Appendix: Persia and its Rebels

24 Philip II of Macedon
Appendix: Persia and the Greeks in the Reign of Artaxerxes III

25 Demosthenic Athens
Appendix: Sparta

Illustrations

Figures

Maps

Preface

This book gives an account of the classical period of Greek history, from the aftermath of the Persian Wars in 478 to the death of Alexander the Great in 323. I have tried to make it a straightforward account, but one which combines analysis with narrative, which combines other aspects of Greek life with political and military matters, and which shows clearly the evidence on which it is based and the considerations which have to be borne in mind in using the evidence. In the course of writing it I have on particular topics consulted works by many people, including other histories comparable with this one, but I have deliberately not directly compared my treatment of the period with any other.

The book will be published about the time of my retirement after teaching Greek history in the University of Durham for forty years. I am enormously grateful to the colleagues who supported me in that, and in particular to Dr O. T. P. K. Dickinson, who helped with the opening paragraphs of chapter 1 (but who is not to be blamed for what I have finally chosen to say there); to the generations of students who listened to the lectures and participated in the tutorials out of which the book has grown, and in particular to Mr S. English, who as an undergraduate attended the lectures and tutorials and afterwards as a research student read the whole book in draft and identified many points at which it needed to be improved; and to Dr L. Rubinstein, who likewise has read the whole book and helped me to improve it. I am grateful also to Mr A. Bertrand of Blackwell Publishing, who invited me to write the book, and to everybody who has been involved in its production; and to those who have given permission for the use of copyright illustrations.

* * *

The request for a second edition has given me the opportunity to do some updating and correct some errors, and to act on some of the helpful notes sent to me by Prof. S. Hornblower, author of the corresponding volume in the Routledge History of the Ancient World. In addition, at the suggestion of the publishers and their advisers, I have made the following substantial changes: (a) it was not my task to write a history of archaic Greece (on which see the volume in this series by J. Hall, A History of the Archaic Greek World, ca. 1200479 BCE), but while retaining the summary in the Introduction I have added some material to chapters 2 , 3 and 4 so as not to plunge so abruptly in medias res ; (b