The Greeks and Greek Civilization

In 1872 Jacob Burckhardt one of the preeminent historians of classical and Renaissance culture presented this revolutionary work which portrays ancient Greek culture as an aristocratic world based on a ruthless competition for honor a competition that led in turn to a tyranous state with minimal personal freedoms. Burckhardt''s landmark project the culmination of thirty years of scholarlship by leading Oxford historian Oswyn Murray offers a rich cultural history of a fascinating society.