More than 4,000 years ago, the ancient Greeks invaded the rugged hills and fertile plains of the Balkan Peninsula, and in the centuries that followed, they built one of the greatest and most influential civilizations in history. Their enduring legacy to modern society includes mythology, poetry, drama, sculpture, architecture, science, and political thought. Spanning more than 2,000 years, from the beginning of Minoan civilization in the third millennium BCE to the Roman annexation of mainland Greece in 146 BCE, Encyclopedia of the Ancient Greek World, Third Edition provides a comprehensive survey of the classical Greek world.

Table of Contents

• Editors and Contributors
• List of Maps
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction to the Revised Edition
• Introduction to the Original Edition
• A
• abacus
• Abdera
• the Academy
• Acarnania
• Achaea
• Achaeans
• Achilles
• Acragas
• acropolis
• Adonis
• Aegean Sea
• Aegina
• aegis
• Aeneas
• Aenus
• Aeolian Greeks
• Aeolis
• Aeschines
• Aeschylus
• Aesop
• Aetolia
• afterlife in ancient Greece
• Agamemnon
• Agathocles (ruler of Syracuse)
• Agathon
• Agesilaus II
• Agiads
• agora
• agriculture in ancient Greece
• Ajax (son of Oileus)
• Ajax (son of Telamon)
• Al Mina
• Alcaeus (of Lesbos)
• Alcestis
• Alcibiades
• Alcmaeon
• Alcmaeonids
• Alcman
• Alexander IV
• Alexander the Great
• Alexandria (cities)
• Alexandria
• alphabet, Greek
• Amazons
• Ambracia
• Amphictyonic League
• Amphipolis
• amphora
• amulet
• Anacreon
• Anaxagoras
• Anaximander
• Anaximenes
• Andocides
• Andromache
• antefix
• Antigone (daughter of Oedipus)
• Antigonus I Monophthalmus
• Antioch on the Orontes
• Antiochus III the Great
• Antipater
• Antiphon
• apeiron
• Aphrodite
• Apollo
• Apollodorus of Athens
• Apollonia
• Apollonius Rhodius
• Aratus
• Arcadia
• archaeology of Greece
• Archidamus dynasty
• Archilochos
• Archimedes
• architecture, ancient Greek
• archon
• Areopagos
• Ares
• Argos (city)
• Arion (poet)
• Aristides
• aristocracy
• aristocracy, Greek
• Aristogiton and Harmodius
• Aristophanes (playwright)
• Aristotle
• Artemis
• Artemision
• artifact
• artisan
• Asclepius
• Asia Minor
• Aspasia
• assembly, ancient Greek
• assimilate
• astronomy in ancient Greece
• Atalanta
• ataraxia
• Athena
• Athens
• Atlantis
• Atlas
• atomoi
• Atreus
• Attica
• aulos
• B
• Bacchylides
• Bactria
• Barsine
• basileus
• Bassae
• Battle of Aegospotami
• Battle of Gaugamela
• Battle of Hydaspes River
• Battle of Issus
• Battle of Plataea
• Battle of the Granicus River
• Bellerophon
• Bessus
• birth control in ancient Greece
• black-figure pottery
• black peoples and ancient Greece
• Black Sea during the Greek period
• Boeotia
• Bosporus
• boxing, ancient Greek
• Brasidas
• bronze
• Bronze Age in ancient Greece
• bronze, ancient Greek
• Bucephalas
• Byblos
• Byzantium
• C
• Cadmus
• calendars, ancient Greek
• Callias (Greek diplomat)
• Callimachus
• Callinus
• Calydonian Boar Hunt
• Calypso
• capital
• Carthage
• caryatid
• Cassander
• Cassandra
• casting
• Catana
• cavalry in ancient Greece
• cella
• Celts and ancient Greece
• cenotaph
• centaurs
• Cerberus
• Chaironeia
• Chalcidice
• Chalcis
• chariots in ancient Greece
• Chersonese (peninsula)
• Chilon
• Chios
• chiton
• chlamys
• chorus
• Cimon
• cinnabar
• Circe
• cist
• cistern
• citadel
• clan
• Cleisthenes of Athens
• Cleisthenes of Sicyon
• Cleomenes I
• Cleon
• Cleopatra (dynastic name)
• cleruchy
• climate and landscape, ancient Greek
• clothing, ancient Greek
• Clytemnestra
• Cnidus
• coinage, ancient Greek
• colonization, ancient Greek
• colonnade
• Companion Cavalry
• concentric
• concept of fate in ancient Greece
• concubine
• Conon
• Corcyra
• Corinna
• Corinth
• Corinthian
• Corinthian War
• council in ancient Greece
• course
• courtesan
• Cratinus
• Crete
• Critias
• Croesus
• Cronus
• Croton
• Cumae
• cupellation
• Cyclades
• Cyclops
• Cylon
• Cynics
• Cyprus
• Cypselus
• Cyrene (city)
• Cyrene (mythical figure)
• Cyrus the Great
• Cyzicus
• D
• dactyl
• Daedalus (mythical figure)
• Damocles
• Danaus
• Darius I
• Darius III
• Dark Age, Greek
• Delian League
• Delos
• Delphi
• deluge
• demagogue
• deme
• Demeter
• Demetrius I Poliorcetes
• democracy
• democracy in ancient Greece
• Democritus
• demos
• Demosthenes (Greek general)
• Demosthenes (Greek orator)
• denomination
• diadem
• Diadochoi
• dialect
• dialectic
• diekplous
• Diodorus Siculus
• Diogenes of Sinope
• Diomedes (mythical figure)
• Dionysius I
• Dionysus
• dioptra
• Dioscuri (Greek mythology)
• distaff
• dithyramb
• divination
• Dodona
• Dorian Greeks
• Doric
• dowry
• drachma
• Draco
• draconian
• draft
• E
• education in ancient Greece
• Egypt
• ekklesia
• ekphora
• ekstasis
• Electra (daughter of Agamemnon)
• electrum
• elegiac couplet
• elegy
• Eleusinian Mysteries
• Elis
• elite
• embroidery
• Empedocles
• empire
• endogamous
• entablature
• Epaminondas
• Ephesus
• Ephialtes
• ephor
• epic
• epic poetry, ancient Greek
• Epicureanism
• epicyclic
• Epidamnus
• Epidaurus
• epigram
• Epirus
• epitaph
• epode
• Eretria
• Erinna
• Erinyes
• Eros
• Etruscans
• Euboea
• eunomia
• eunuch
• Euphorion (from Chalcis)
• Eupolis
• Euripides
• Europa (mythological figure)
• Europe and Asia
• Eurypontid clan
• F
• feudal system
• fief
• flax
• fluting
• food and drink in ancient Greece
• foot
• forging
• The Four Hundred
• fresco
• frieze
• funeral customs, ancient Greek
• G
• gables
• Gaia
• Ganymede
• Gela
• Gelon
• genos
• geocentric
• geography of Greece
• gerousia
• giants in Greek mythology
• glaze
• gold in ancient Greece
• Gorgias
• Gortyn
• grammatistēs
• greave
• gymnasium
• gymnastics
• H
• Hades
• Halicarnassus
• Harpies
• Hecataeus of Miletus
• Hecate
• Hector
• Hecuba
• Helen of Troy
• heliocentric
• Helios
• Hellen
• Hellenistic age
• hellenization
• Hellespont
• Helots
• Hephaestus
• Hephaistion
• Hera
• Herakles (son of Barsine and Alexander the Great)
• Heracles (Mythological Figure)
• Heraclitus
• Hermes
• hero
• Herodas
• Herodotus
• Hesiod
• Hestia
• hestia
• hetairai
• heterosexuality in ancient Greece
• hexameter
• hieroglyph
• Hieron I
• himation
• Himera
• Hippias
• hippobotai
• Hippocratic oath
• Hippodamus
• Hippolytus
• Hipponax
• Homer
• homoioi
• homosexuality in ancient Greece
• hoplite
• hubris
• humors
• Hyacinthos
• hydrostatics
• I
• Ibycus
• iconography
• Illyris
• impiety
• incised or raised relief
• ingot
• initiation
• inscription
• Io
• Ion
• Ion of Chios
• Ionia
• Ionian Greeks
• Ionian revolt
• Ionian Sea
• Ionic
• Iphigenia
• iron use in ancient Greece
• Isaeus
• Isocrates
• Isthmian Games
• Italy, Greek influence in
• Ithaca
• Ixion
• J
• Jason (mythological figure)
• Jason (tyrant of Pherae)
• javelin
• Jews in ancient Greece
• K
• kantharos
• King’s Peace
• kinship
• kinship system in ancient Greece
• kithara
• kitharistēs
• Kleitus the Black
• klinē
• Knossos
• knot
• komos
• kore
• kouros
• Kraterus
• Krypteia
• kylix
• Kyme
• L
• labyrinth
• Laconia
• land warfare in ancient Greece
• language, ancient Greek
• Laocoön
• law and law courts in ancient Greece
• Leda
• Lefkandi
• lekythos
• Lelantine War
• Lesbos
• Leucippus
• Leuktra
• libation
• limestone
• lineage
• Linear B
• linen
• lithic
• liturgy
• Locri
• Locris
• logic
• the Long Walls
• Lyceum
• Lycurgus (Greek statesman)
• Lycurgus of Sparta
• Lydia
• lyre
• lyric poetry
• lyric poetry, ancient Greek
• Lysander
• Lysias
• Lysimachus
• M
• Macedonia
• maenads
• magic in ancient Greece
• Mantineia
• mantle
• Marathon
• marriage in ancient Greece
• Massilia
• material culture
• mathematics, ancient Greek
• meander
• Medea
• medicine in ancient Greece
• Medusa
• Megara (city)
• megaron
• Melos
• Memnon
• Memnon of Rhodes
• Menander
• Menelaus
• Messenia
• meter
• metics
• metope
• metropolis
• Midas of Phrygia
• Miletus
• millet
• Miltiades
• Mimnermus
• Minoan civilization
• Minos
• Minyans
• molding
• monarchy
• monotheism
• monsoon
• mortar
• mosaic
• Mount Olympus
• murex
• Muses
• music in ancient Greece
• Mycale
• Mycenae
• Mycenaean civilization
• mythology, ancient Greek
• Mytilene
• N
• Narcissus (mythological figure)
• Naukratis
• Naupactos
• Nausicaa
• naval warfare in ancient Greece
• Naxos (Sicily)
• Nearchus
• Nemean Games
• Neoptolemus
• Nereus
• Nestor
• Nicias (Greek general)
• Nike
• Niobe
• nomad
• nomadic pastoralism
• nymphs
• O
• obol
• obsidian
• obverse
• Oceanus
• odeion
• Odysseus
• Oedipus
• oligarchy
• Olympia
• Olympias (mother of Alexander the Great)
• Olympic Games
• Olynthos
• omen
• oracle
• oratory
• Orchomenos
• order
• ore
• Orestes
• Orion (mythological figure)
• Orpheus
• Orphism
• orthogonal planning
• ostracism
• ostrakon
• P
• paidotribēs
• painting, ancient Greek
• palisade
• Pan
• Panathenaia
• panegyric
• pankration
• pankration
• pantheistic
• pantheon
• Panticapaeum
• papyrus
• Paris (mythological figure)
• Parmenides
• Parmenion
• Parthenon
• pastoral poetry
• pastoralism
• patriarch
• Patroklos
• Pausanias (geographer)
• pediment
• Peisistratus
• Peleus
• Pella
• Peloponnese
• Peloponnesian War
• Pelops
• Penelope
• pentathlon
• peplos
• Perdiccas
• Pergamum
• Periander
• Pericles
• perioikoi
• Persephone
• Persepolis
• Perseus (mythological hero)
• Persia
• Persian Wars
• personal names, ancient Greek
• petasos
• phalanx
• Pheidias
• Pheidon
• Philip II
• Philip III Arrhidaeus
• Philip V
• Philoctetes
• philosophy, ancient Greek
• Philotas
• Phocaea
• Phocis
• Phoenicia
• phratry
• Phrynichus (playwright)
• phyle
• pictograph
• Pindar
• Piraeus
• Pithecusae
• Pittacus
• plaiting
• Plataea
• Plato
• plinth
• plowshare
• Plutarch
• pneumatics
• polis
• polis
• polychrome
• Polycleitos (sculptor)
• Polycrates
• Polyphemos
• Porus
• Poseidon
• Poseidonia
• Potidaea
• potsherd
• potter’s wheel
• pottery, ancient Greek
• Praxiteles
• prayer, ancient Greek
• Priam
• Priapus
• primogeniture
• Procrustes
• Prometheus
• prophecy and divination in ancient Greece
• prostitutes in ancient Greece
• Protagoras
• prothesis
• Ptolemy I Soter
• Ptolemy II Philadelphus
• Pygmalion
• Pylos
• Pyrrhus
• Pythagoras
• Pythagorean theorem
• Pythian Games
• R
• regent
• regimen
• reincarnation
• relic
• relief
• religion in ancient Greece
• repoussé
• reverse
• Rhegium
• rhetoric
• rhetoric in ancient Greece
• Rhodes
• Rome
• Roxane
• S
• sacrifice, ancient Greek
• Salamis (city in Cyprus)
• Salamis (island in Greece)
• Samos
• Samothrace
• Sappho
• sarcophagus
• sarissa
• satire
• satrap
• satyr play
• satyrs
• science in ancient Greece
• script
• sculpture, ancient Greek
• Sea of Marmara
• Second Athenian League
• Seleucid Empire
• Seleucus I Nicator
• Selinus
• Semonides
• serf
• Sestos
• Seven Against Thebes
• Seven Sages
• Seven Wonders of the World
• sextant
• ships and seafaring in ancient Greece
• Sicilia
• siege of Gaza
• siege of Halicarnassus
• siege of Tyre
• siege warfare in ancient Greece
• Sikyon
• Silenus
• silt
• silver in ancient Greece
• Simonides
• Sinope
• Sirens
• Sisyphus
• Skepticism
• Skylla (sea monster)
• slaves in ancient Greece
• Socrates
• Solon
• solstice
• sophistēs
• sophists
• Sophocles
• sound box
• Sounion
• Sparta
• spelt
• sphinx
• spindle
• spindle whorl
• sports in ancient Greece
• stasis
• statics
• stele
• Stesichorus
• stoa
• Stoicism
• stylobate
• stylus
• sussition
• swastika
• Sybaris
• syllabary
• symposium
• synoecism
• Syracuse
• T
• taboos
• talent
• Tantalus
• Taras
• Tegea
• Telemachus
• Terpander
• terra-cotta
• terrace
• Thales
• Thasos
• thatch
• theater in ancient Greece
• Thebes (Greece)
• Themistocles
• Theocritus
• Theognis
• Theophrastus
• Thera
• Theramenes
• Thermopylae
• Theseus
• Thessaly
• Thirty Tyrants
• Thrace
• Thucydides (historian)
• Thucydides (politician)
• timber in ancient Greece
• Timoleon
• Tiresias
• Tiryns
• Titans
• torsion catapult
• trade and commerce in ancient Greece
• transmigration
• trappings
• trepanning
• tribe
• tribute
• triglyph
• trireme
• Troilus
• Trojan War
• Troy
• tumulus
• tunic
• Typhon
• tyrannos
• tyrants
• Tyrtaeus
• U
• use of elephants in ancient Greece
• V
• vassal
• vault
• vellum
• villa
• viticulture
• vivisection
• volute
• votive
• W
• whorl
• wickerwork shield
• wine, ancient Greek
• women in ancient Greece
• wrestling in ancient Greece
• writing in ancient Greece
• X
• Xanthippus
• Xenophanes
• Xenophon (historian)
• Xerxes
• Z
• Zancle
• Zeus
• Bibliography