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A masterly summary.The Times Literary Supplement
The spread of Greek civilization through Europe and into Africa and the Near East began long before the classical period, long after Troy, Mycenae, and Knossos had fallen. This study gives an archaeologists view of one of the most important periods of European history, describing how, out of a time of reduced population and comparative penury, the Greeks set their sails north, south, east, and west to plant trading posts and colonies, to reap whatever harvest of materials and expertise the barbarian could offer, and to disseminate the benefits of their own rapidly developing and brilliant civilization.The book vividly demonstrates the value of archaeology to the historical record and indicates how much the arts and culture of classical Greece already owed to foreign influences. 332 black-and-white illustrations
