Ancient Greece: An Explorer's Guide

by Robert Emmet Meagher, Elizabeth Neave

Few locations in the world offer as many captivating ancient sites and monuments as Greece, and the ancients who built them knew how to choose spectacular natural settings that in themselves would satisfy any traveler. With its text rich in maps, site plans, and photographs, Ancient Greece provides potential explorers eager to bask in both beauty and history with a wealth of material to ignite the imagination and facilitate trip planning. Authors Meagher and Neave structure the book around four itineraries, three of which correspond to distinct eras and regions. The Minoan itinerary unfolds on Crete; the Mycenaean is focused on the Peloponnese; the Classical itinerary on Athens. The final, eclectic itinerary focuses on the Cyclades and features island-hopping and a survey of the full span of Greek antiquity from the late Neolithic Age through the Classical period when the island of Delos, the mythical birthplace of Apollo, was the religious center of the Aegean. Each itinerary includes witty and erudite explorations of mythology, history, literature, archaeology, and architecture, as well as concrete help finding the most stunning sites that preserve and breathe that history today.

320 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2007

Reviews

[Wendelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

A learned but inviting guide for three different tours of Greece through thematic archaeological sites: Minoan, Mycenean, and Classical. Author style is languorous and pleasant with spikes of tart humor

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wasn't sure if I should put travel guides on my book list.....but it is not your run of the mill guide, and it did help me get info about the Iphigenia site I was looking for. Although it did NOT help me get there. For that I needed my friend Joan, the friendly bus ticket collector (the ONLY friendly bus ticket collector in Greece) and the taxi driver who plans to drive from New York to LA although it might be "dangerous." Plus, I thought it was kind of cool that it was a library book that actually went to Greece.