This book is a new, shorter version of the successful book by the authors Ancient Greece: Political, Social and Cultural History (OUP, 1998). Four top experts in the classical world vividly and updatedly narrate the history of Greece and its culture in all its complexity and variety, covering the period from the Bronze Age to the Hellenistic Period and incorporating the most recent findings of archaeology, comparative anthropology, and social history into the narrative. They show how the early Greeks borrowed from their neighbors to eventually develop their own distinctive culture, which stood out for its remarkable creativity, adaptability, and flexibility. The authors go on to trace the complex and fascinating evolution of ancient Greek civilization until its final dissolution and its mingling with various other cultures. Using material evidence from archaeology, written testimonies from literary texts and inscriptions, and anthropological models based on comparative studies, this comprehensive volume offers an informed and serious presentation of the Greek world that is nonetheless accessible and enjoyable to readers of all kinds, whether they have minimal or zero knowledge of Greece.