This comprehensive, readable survey of the Classical past is ambitious in scope: it ranges from the Aegean world of the second millenium BC to Augustine's City of God . More than that, it considers not only how the ancient world is remembered today but also how the Greeks and Romans perceived and felt the influence of their own past.

From 1981 to 2008 Simon Price was a Lecturer at the University of Oxford, where he taught Greek and Roman history for Lady Margaret Hall and St Hugh's College. He has written, co-written, or co-edited books on ancient religions and rituals and also co-edited The Greek City from Homer to Alexander.
Peter Thonemann has taught Greek and Roman history at Wadham College, Oxford, since 2007. He has published widely on the history of Asia Minor, and is director of the Monumenta Asiae Minoris Antiqua XI project. His first book, The Maeander, will be published shortly.