The First Western Greeks

This book acquaints us with the discovery and excavation of the first Greek establishment in the West, Euboean Pithekoussai on the island of Ischia in the Bay of Naples.

This publication celebrates a major exhibition shown at the Palazzo Grassi, Venice in 1996 - a detailed study of Greek civilisation in the Western world. From the 8th century BC, Greece enjoyed an era of exceptional development and colonial expansion. New settlements sprang up along the west coast of Italy, from the Bay of Naples and the Gulf of Tarentum southwards to Sicily. Prosperity came quickly to these Western colonies: art, architecture, politics, religion, literature and science flourished as a result of a dynamic fusion of cultures, marking the beginning of an age of intense creativity. This book contains visual and textual documentation of this formative period of Greek history. Based on the collection of artefacts in the Palazzo Grassi exhibition, it contains photographs and 60 essays to survey the subject in broad detail. Following a chronological path, the book traces the diffusion of Greek influence in the West, exploring every aspect of the new societies from town planning and economy to the evolution of the Greek alphabet; from the maritime adventures of the first Achaen navigators to the revolutionary thought of the first philosophers.

How can biblical authority be a reality for those shaped by the modern world? This book treats the First World as a mission field, offering a unique perspective on the relationship between the gospel and current society by presenting an outsider's view of contemporary Western culture.

The history of the Greek cities of Italy during the period of Roman conquest and under Roman rule form a fascinating case study of the processes of Roman expansion and assimilation and of Greek reactions to the presence of Rome. This book reassesses the role of Magna Graecia in Roman Italy and illuminates the mechanisms of Roman control and the process of acculturation. Specifically it explores the role of the Greek cities of Italy as cultural mediators between the Greek and Roman worlds. It is the first full length treatment of the region as a whole in English for over thirty years.

Deals with ancient Greece's possessions in Sicily and the coastal regions of southern Italy.

Who were the ancient Greeks? They gave us democracy, philosophy, poetry, rational science, the joke. But what was it that enabled them to achieve so much? The ancient Greeks were a geographically disparate people whose civilization lasted over twenty centuries - and that made us who we are today. And here Edith Hall gives us a revelatory way of viewing this scattered people, identifying ten unique personality traits that she shows to be unique and central to the widespread ancient Greeks. Hall introduces a people who are inquisitive, articulate and open-minded but also rebellious, individualistic, competitive and hedonistic. They prize excellence above all things but love to laugh. And, central to their identity, they are seafarers whose relationship with the sea underpins every aspect of their society. Expertly researched and elegantly told, this indispensable introduction unveils a civilization of incomparable richness and a people of astounding complexity.