The Hellenistic Age chronicles the years 336 to 30 BCE, a period that
witnessed the overlap of two of antiquity's great civilizations, the
Greek and the Roman. Peter Green's remarkably far-ranging study covers
the prevalent themes and events of those centuries: the Hellenization,
by Alexander's conquests, of an immense swath of the known world; the
lengthy and chaotic partition of this empire by rival Macedonian bands;
the decline of the city-state as the predominant political institution;
and, finally, Rome's moment of transition from republican to imperial
rule. It is a story of war and power-politics, and of the developing
fortunes of art, science, and statecraft, spun by an accomplished
classicist with an uncanny knack for infusing life into the distant
past, and applying fresh insights that make ancient history seem
alarmingly relevant to our own times.
"Spectacular . . . [filled with] Mr. Green's critical acumen."
-The Wall Street Journal
"Green draws upon a lifetime of scholarship to brilliantly sum up the
three-hundred-year Hellenistic age. . . . Happily, this book's
brevity-admirable in itself, and in its concision, elegance, and
authority-isn't achieved at the expense of subtlety and complexity."
*-The Atlantic Monthly
*
"An interesting and well-written overview . . . Students of world
history are in Green's debt."
-The Philadelphia Inquirer
"Marvelous . . . splendid . . . a brilliant introduction to this crucial
transitional period."
-Publishers Weekly (starred review)
