It covers all the major themes of Ancient Greek history, set in the context of both the preceding and following periods.

Brian A. Sparkes received his training in classics and archaeology at Kings College London and at the British School of Archaeology at Athens. He has recently retired from the Chair of Classical Archaeology at the University of Southampton. His previous publications include Greek Pottery: an Introduction (1991) and The Red and the Black: Studies in Greek Pottery (1996).