"This is ancient Greece--but not as we know it. Few people today appreciate that Greek civilization was spread across the Middle East, and that there were Greek cities in the foothills of the Himalayas. This book tells the story of the Greeks outside Greece, such as Sappho, the poet from Lesbos; Archimedes, a native of Syracuse; and Herodotus, who was born in Asia Minor as a subject of the Persian Empire"--Dust jacket flap.

Philip Matyszak teaches ancient history in the University of Cambridge's Institute of Continuing Education. His many books on the ancient world include Ancient Athens on 5 Drachmas a Day, Greek and Roman Myths: A Guide to the Classical Stories, and, most recently, Sparta: Fall of a Warrior Nation.