[Penguin History of Europe 01] • The Birth of Classical Europe

A stunning work of research and imagination that sheds new light of the ancient world.

The western world has long been fascinated by classical Greek and Roman cultures, whose ideas and achievements underpin our own. Yet little has been written about how those ancient societies existed in conversation with an even deeper past, reaching back to the world of the Trojans and the time of Homer. An authoritative history covering two millennia of human experience, "The Birth of Classical Europe" presents provocative new perspectives on the world in whose shadow we continue to live. The authors' thoughtful, innovative approach to understanding the epochs of Alexander the Great and Augustus Caesar shows how our own changing values and interests have shaped our feelings about an era that is at once remote and startlingly close.