Frank Carlson Library

The recent economic crisis in Greece has, paradoxically enough, created better conditions for tourism. The Greeks are painfully aware that tourism is their best-functioning remaining industry. They value the visitor as never before, treat them with a warmth and courtesy that exceeds what you'll find in other parts of Europe. And more people are therefore coming here in unprecedented numbers. To bring the current message of Greek tourism to a reading...

In ancient Athens, thousands would attend theatre festivals that turned writing into a fierce battle for fame, money, and laughably large trophies. While the tragedies earned artistic respect, it was the comedies--the raunchy jokes, vulgar innuendo, outrageous invention, and barbed political commentary--that captured the imagination of the city. The writers of these comedic plays feuded openly, insulting one another from the stage, each production...

"Engaging images accompany information about Spartans. The combination of high-interest subject matter and light text is intended for students in grades 3 through 7"--Provided by publisher.

Written in the 2nd century by the Greek historian Polybius, "The Histories" is a multi-volume work detailing many of the events, people, and ideas of the Hellenistic Period. While his focus is the space of time in which ancient Rome became a world power from 220 to 167 BC, Polybius also discusses his role as a 'pragmatic historian', a discourse on fate (called tyche), and the superiority of the mixed constitution. Though all forty volumes have not...

No girls allowed at the Olympic Games! That's the rule when the magic tree house whisks Jack and Annie back to ancient Greece. But when Annie tells Jack to go to the games without her, he knows she's up to something. Will Annie find a way to see the games? Or will she herself--and Jack--into Olympic-size trouble?

On his deathbed, some historians claim that when he was pressed to name a successor, Alexander muttered that his empire should go "to the strongest". Other sources claim that he passed his signet ring to his general Perdiccas, thereby naming him successor, but whatever his choices were or may have been, they were ignored. Alexander's generals, all of them with the loyalty of their own corps at their backs, would tear each other apart in a vicious...

Paul Cartledge, one of the world's foremost scholars of ancient Greece, illuminates the brief but iconic life of Alexander (356-323 b.c.), king of Macedon, conqueror of the Persian Empire, and founder of a new world order. Alexander's legacy has had a major impact on military tacticians, scholars, statesmen, adventurers, authors, and filmmakers. Cartledge brilliantly evokes Alexander's remarkable political and military accomplishments, cutting through...

Stranded deep in enemy territory, the Spartan general Clearchus and the other Greek senior officers were subsequently killed or captured by treachery on the part of the Persian satrap Tissaphernes. Xenophon, one of three remaining leaders elected by the soldiers, played an instrumental role in encouraging the Greek army of 10,000 to march north across foodless deserts and snow-filled mountain passes towards the Black Sea and the comparative security...

Imagine a time when the gods turn a blind eye to the agony of men, when the last of the hellions roam the plains, and evil stirs beyond the edges of the map.

Antiochus III, the king of the Seleucid Empire for four decades, ruled a powerful state for a long time. He fought and won many battles from India to Egypt, and he lost almost as many. Compared with most of the other Hellenistic monarchs of Macedonian-founded kingdoms, Antiochus had a greater variety of units that he could field in his army. He was in a unique position among the other kings because he had access to the traditional infantry-based Greek...