Classical Athens boasted some of the most original and influential achievements in literature, art, philosophy, medicine and politics. This best-selling book, now issued in a second edition, provides a comprehensive and highly illustrated introduction to its history, society, culture and values aimed at the student and the general reader. The text has been extensively revised from the first edition and the bibliography updated. A wide range of topics is discussed, but the book refuses to divide up the Athenian world neatly into separate compartments, insisting that sense can only be made of the society by making connections between its history, institutions, values and environment. The book can be used either on its own or as an accompaniment to students learning Greek with the Reading Greek course.